Well, I will have a dozen projects (quite literally) going on at one time and when I tell myself, ok you really need to work on that painting which is 80% done, I go off on a tangent and work on some other project which has been waiting for my attention. So what am I avoiding tonight?
Well, I really need to get that painting finished, but I also really need to get a training plan in place for the start of January when I kick up the mileage as I train for a spring Marathon. So, painting out for tonight, and Marathon planning it is.
Ok, so I just got back from my 10km run. I laid out the route using runningmap.com and ran that. I used the route to calibrate my iPod+ chip so that it should give me more refined results for the next while (I will need to recalibrate when the snow and ice abates). I ran pretty hard tonight since I missed my weekend run and figured I'd put in some gusto.
Time for 10km was 53 mins on the nose. That works out to 5:18/km. Based on the training plan I am following that works out to equivalent race times of 25:20 for a 5 km, 1:57:25 for a Half-Marathon, and 4:06:31 for a Marathon. I can say right now, the Marathon would be pushing it, since I need some drastic mileage and time on the legs to get up to that. It would also be 22 mins faster than my other (first/best) Marathon time. So maybe that is a good goal time for a spring Marathon (I am not committing to that but it is something to keep in mind).
So based on my time tonight, here are my target training speeds for January 2009.
Key Workout #1
- 5km Race Time: 25:20
- 400m Pace: 1:52
- 600m Pace: 2:50
- 800m Pace: 3:49
- 1km Pace: 4:48
- 1200m Pace: 5:49
- 1600m Pace: 7:53
- 2km Pace: 9:57
- Short Tempo: 8:26
- Mid Tempo: 8:41
- Long Tempo: 8:56
- Easy: 10:01
- Long Tempo: 8:56
- MP: 9:25
- MP+10: 9:35
- MP+15: 9:40
- MP+20: 9:45
- MP+30: 9:55
- MP+45: 10:10
- MP+60: 10:25
- HMP: 9:05
- HMP+20: 9:25
- MHP+30: 9:35
Ya, it is but you write it down so that you don't need to look it up in the book all the time. The training plan I have is for 16 weeks. The training plan has the required training distances and paces are indicated for the 3 specific runs/week using the above terminology.
Key Workout #1 is a speed workout which is why there are so many short distances with an associated pace. This workout is meant for a track. Something that I will have to improvise in the winter (I might try to do these on the treadmill at work). As you can see, this workout is about speed. It has me running more than a minute faster per mile than race pace. The goal with this workout is to teach the body to run faster by performing at higher speeds and trains the body to more efficiently utilize oxygen intake.
Key Workout #2 is, as the pace names suggest, a Tempo training session. What is tempo? Tempo training consists of a couple slow miles to warm up and then a few miles at tempo pace which is a slightly faster than race pace speed. This workout is about teaching the body to maintain speed over longer distances. This pushes the envelope as the body must learn to deal with lactic acid buildup over longer periods, thereby making you more efficient for the slightly slower Marathon pace.
Then there is Key Workout #3, the long run. A translation of the acronyms is MP = Marathon Pace, HMP = Half Marathon Pace. The +xx indicates add xx seconds to the MP or HMP. So what good is a long run at slightly slower than Marathon Pace? Well, this is the workout that is going to get me to the end of the Marathon. The speed workouts will help me run faster and be more efficient, but this run is a long run of 6-20 miles (10km-32km) which will give me the time on my feet to allow my body to adjust to the beating I will subject it too on race day. You see race day, I will be running faster and by doing so I will be punishing my body that little bit more, not to mention race day will bring with it an additional 7-10km more distance than my longest training run.
So, how long is a Marathon? Several years of running, give or take a few, to get enough mileage on you to be able to train dedicated for 16-28 weeks, an only then does it take about 4 hours give or take an hour for most of us mere mortals.
Ok, enough chatting. Time to get these numbers into the spreadsheet that tracks my running exploits. The sheet that does not lie ;-)
28 more km to 1000km!!
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