I said it before and i'll say it again, I just love how meticulous you are with your training. It really paid off and you did so well, it's been so awesome to watch!!! I'd love to know what you've got coming up next?! Please keep these videos coming!
I think back to this training every now and then, and those long moderate runs were pretty insane. Trying to get back to that level again and get some good racing out of it
Was super awesome to follow along in your training. Appreciate the final breakdown of your 10 weeks of dedicated training. And don't think I didn't see that thread you started on letsrun :)
Ben, huge fan and supporter of the series. I know you mentioned you've studied and read from the training logs of professional and elite runners, any recommendations on books, athletes, etc. ? Thanks!
Thanks for the support! Two of the books that I recommend are "Road to the Top" by Joe Vigil and "Running with the Buffalos" by Chris Lear. Road to the Top is much more scientific, but Running with the Buffalos gives some good insight to the University of Colorado's training in a story format. For several years now, I've just been finding people on running2win.com that log all of their training. I started with a couple of good runners that I ran against throughout college, but you can find lots of great runners on there. Most of the people who are on the top 20 mileage leaderboard on the left side of the site are good to look at. It's worth checking out NAZ Elite's website as well, because their runners keep the training logs public.
Thanks dude, glad you like them! Nothing really in the near future, just focusing on getting back into consistent training at the moment. Planning on a good summer of training at altitude.
Ben, really amazing stuff here. I'm sitting in the 1:10 range for the half right now, and this plan is really speaking to me! I'm wondering what pace you were calling LT pace...slower than 10K but faster than goal Half pace? 10mi race pace?
Some people got fed up with the Rubik's cube. And simply pulled it apart and put it back together solved. Others peeled the stickers off and put them back on. Don't advise doing either of those. The stickers won't stick back right and will fall off. And it is easy to break the tabs on the pieces and ruin the cube.
Man this is crazy. It blows my mind how much you progressed in only a matter of 10 weeks. Our coach has us peak/train for 6 months, frickin crazy man. What kind of template did you use for this log?
I think it gets easier as you get older and build more lifetime miles. What is not shown in this video is my summer and fall training, which was all a part of building to this half marathon as well. I still had some mini-peaks and rest periods throughout the past 6-7 months, but this was just the half marathon specific training cycle. I was able to average 114 mpw over a 3 week period during the cross country season, so I'm sure that definitely played a role in the half marathon peak. For the template, it was just something I whipped up in Microsoft Paint lol
Ben Barrows well it looks really tidy, I’ll have to look into that program! Holy crap man that’s some intense mileage! Our program trains for 5.5 months about, first 2.5 months being just mileage building. Unfortunately it’s not very great for good races, but all too important. Look forward to your next race!
Your coach has not lost his mind. Very likely he has read Dr Jack Daniels classic work on Running. Daniels is an advocate of the 24 week training cycle.
I'm currently a junior and I've run 16:30 the last 2 years this year I didn't improve much. At my max mileage I was at about 60-65, I want to run sub 16 and ideally 15:45, I'm currently in indoor track. But what do you think I should do training rise to reach a sub 16 5k
That's really hard to answer without knowing more about your training and how you actually respond to training. Just keep a nice mixture of quality work within your weekly mileage. Lots of lactate threshold work, some vo2max intervals, some light speed work, some hill sprints, the weekly long run. Stick to the principles and make sure you're not overtraining. Most of all, trust in the plan that your coach has for you.
PART TWO: Next, Is schedule a mid-week secondary longish run, building up to 16 miles. Probably do this on a Wednesday, since your long run in either Saturday/Sunday of each week. If the increased volume starts to feel like too much, consider going to a 9-day cycle, instead of trying to cram everything into 7 days. #3) If you have time time and means, it would be worth seeing if an extended stint at altitude would work for you. I’ve read where some people have higher positive reactions to training at altitude than others, so it would be worth it to see how you respond. Obviously, if you do, then I’d plan out a significant stint there. I’m going to Flagstaff in March & April to shadow NAZ Elite and learn from their program, to then use that knowledge at the high school I volunteer asst. coach at. I’m a big fan of their coach and what they’re doing there. #4) The Marathon can be a beast, and is definitely an unknown to you. You might catch lightening in a bottle twice, and knock it out of the park in your first attempt, BUT, I think it’s a good idea to take a test run at it, before you shoot for your OTQ. Certainly run one at an honest effort, but I think your main priorities for the first one would be to practices your drinking and fueling on the run in a race situation, and most importantly, feel out the distance - especially those last six miles. I’ve found that no matter what you throw into training, for whatever reason, nothing ever matches what you’ll feel the last six miles of a marathon, than actually a experiencing it in the race. I’d rather it not be a surprise to you, when you shoot for your OTQ. BOTTOM LINE though, you’re obviously a smart guy, Ben, and you know what you’re doing. It showed in your videos and in your Houston result. I hope what I’ve offered here helps. And again, if you feel like taking things out more, having a sounding board, or having me help in whatever way, feel free to email me directly (tim42k at gmail). I’m super excited to watch your journey toward the marathon! I plan to be spectating at the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials, as I have every year since 2004, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ON THAT STARTING LINE! Cheers, Tim
Looking back at my running log, I did my full strengthening routine for the last time on Tuesday before the race. I did some other light mobility work throughout the rest of the week, so I didn't stray too far from my normal routine. I did some hip mobility and 4 light strides the day before the race. I would normally do some light strides right before the race as well, but I don't think I was able to before this one just because everyone was so packed in the starting corral
How would you go about structuring a base building phase through the summer months(June-August), then transition into a 2.5 month 5K training cycle for high school cross country(September-November)? My 5K pr is 16:51. In season my coach does not give much volume. We hit around 30-40 mpw in season, although I typically will hit 50-75 mpw in the summer
That's a pretty loaded question to answer in a comment. Lots of easy-moderate running in the summer with a weekly long run. Do some strides and hill sprints throughout as well. Incorporate lactate threshold work in the second half of the summer. Not a ton changes in the season with the exception of adding harder interval workouts throughout the second two thirds of the season or so. I might do things differently for different people depending on how they best respond to training, and your coach knows you way better than I do.
For the actual hill sprints, I think hills on the steeper side are better, but I'm not sure of an actual grade. I try to do them on different hills if possible just to change up the stimulus and scenery a little bit.
I noticed Ben that you took one day sick. I’ll be on day three sick with flu, fever and a terrible chest once I start coughing I have trouble stopping. I’m was in week 6 of my London Marathon training but am freaked out that I’ve had this time and possibly more off. How long could I reasonably take off before it negates all the hard work I’ve put In up to now? I cut my speed and tempo session for this week. Any advice please .🙏
Well taking time off due to sickness vs just to rest without sickness will have different effects. If not sick, it seems like around 4 days off or so is when fitness will start being lost. If sick, there's some recovery time even if it's just 1 day of sickness. Here's what I do any time I get sick. As soon as I know that I can start running again without making things worse, that's when I start running again, even if it's just some light jogging. Then I take it day by day and decide when I am strong and healthy enough to resume training at full speed again. That amount of time can vary depending on the severity of the sickness. It's only as big of a deal as you make it, meaning a lot of it can be psychological. Even at 4-5 days out, that won't make a huge difference in fitness as long as you take the time to get your body completely rehydrated and fully nutritioned.
I highly admire your discipline and mental toughness as an athlete when it comes to both your planning and execution of your training, but where's the pain? Where's the suffering? As an 800m runner my workouts (in the summer) are high intensity, lactic filled repeats which are excrutiating, but even in the winter when I'm building my strength I do gruelling workouts on the track, road, grass and hills so I just wonder if you don't do these type of sessions for a particular reason or is it that Marathon/Half Marathon training doesn't involve any high intensity, 100% all-out max effort workouts that leave you laid on the ground in bits afterwards? I've watched your lumberjack and step-down ladder workouts and although they were tough, you didn't seem to be going all out and killing yourself like I would expect for someone running at as high a level as you. So why is there none of that 'grind' in your training?
There are already significant differences in training for the 800m vs the 1500m/mile, and that gap only widens as the race distance increases. The pain that distance runners endure might not be as intense as one might experience in an 800m specific workout, but we endure it for a much, much longer period of time. That's not to say one is worse than the other, but they're just different. Believe me when I say we have plenty of pain and suffering in our training. As a distance runner, taking pride in how much pain you can endure is often a recipe for getting injured or underperforming in races. The purpose of training is to be as ready for a race as possible, not to see how bad it can hurt. As far as the grind goes, again, it's a different kind of grind. Try running a handful of consecutive 100+ mile weeks while running twice a day at least 4 times per week and tell me that's not a grind
Ben Barrows Not disrespecting long distance running in any way, at the end of the day whether it’s 800m or a marathon it’s still the same sport. I am only 16 so I don’t do near the volume that you do, I only train once a day, 6 days a week averaging about 40-50 miles a week (I’m accually injured at the moment) so I understand how much resilience it takes to run 100+ miles a week consistently. But you never seem to show any very very tough workouts that you do, all of your work is Easy running (yes I know how important the aerobic base is) or Threshold runs or ‘easy speed’ workouts. I know long runs can be tough but that’s more mental strength than anything. I just would assume one of your days a week would be a gruelling half/marathon specific workout hitting race pace or faster.
But if you look at the training, there is a half marathon specific workout (or faster) every week from 2 to 10 with the exception of week 6, and that's only because I got sick. Anything that is a LT workout is the most specific half-marathon training that I could've done. When your half marathon pace is close to an hour, LT pace and half-marathon pace are basically the same. Even though none of the paces of my LT workouts actually matched my race day pace, those are all still half marathon effort. You have to adjust training paces based on the environment and conditions on that day. So my true LT pace based on my half marathon time was 5:06/mile, but that was in a race (meaning that I've got adrenaline going), with racing flats on, with perfect weather, with great competition, and on a very flat course. If I were to train in those conditions every day, then sure, my training LT pace would be close to that. However, I train on my own, on softer surfaces, in my trainers, often on hilly roads, very rarely with perfect weather, and I'm obviously not in quite as good of shape as when I'm peaking. All those factors add a lot of time to training paces. So let's take my 6 mile LT run in week 8 for example. I just said that LT pace and half marathon pace are the same if you can run close to an hour, so then why is my LT run at 5:29 pace? That's because it was close to 0 degrees, snowing, and I was running on slick hilly roads in my trainers. I would've been ecstatic if I could have run a half marathon at 5:29 pace in those conditions. So running through my schedule, here is every workout that was a half-marathon specific (and I'll substitute half marathon pace for LT since they're close to equal in this case) or faster interval workout (not including the easy speed): Week 2: 5 x 1 mile at half marathon pace Week 3: 5 mile run at HMP Week 4: 8 x 1000m at 5k pace Week 5: 6 mile run at HMP Week 6: Skipped because of sickness Week 7: 4 x 2 mile at HMP Week 8: 6 mile run at HMP AND 18 mile marathon pace run with 3 separate miles at HMP Week 9: 6 x 1200m at 5k pace Week 10: 6 x 1600m at HMP You're definitely underestimating the difficulty of those moderate long runs, since moderate is basically my substitute word for marathon pace. The 18 miler that I listed in week 8 was the most physically and mentally taxing workout that I did during this entire training block. The way that I do them, long runs are not just mental training. So while these workouts that I listed might not fit your definition of grueling, all of them are certainly challenging especially when combined with the rest of the components in my training. Most importantly, they prepared me to race as well as I could have on race day, and that's what counts. I could have run every workout harder and tell everyone that I was capable of a faster time because of what those workouts indicate, but that likely would have led to being cooked on race day and running slower than I did.
@@benbarrows7629 Ok, thanks again for replying I'm learning a lot here, but when training for any distance race are you not supposed to do some workouts a fair bit quicker than race pace? For example should you not do repeats at 10k pace or so? There's 1/2 Marathoners in my club who do workouts at 10k or even 5k pace so is running faster than race pace the odd time not important in a training cycle either?
David Smith I did do repeats at faster than HM race pace. In weeks 4 and 9, I had a significant workout at 5k pace. I originally had another 5k pace workout planned in week 7 with that 2 mile repeat workout being in week 6, but since I got sick, I cancelled the 5k pace workout and pushed the 2 mile repeats to the next week because that was more important. Lactate threshold is the most important system to train for a half marathon, so that’s what I do the most of. The other stuff is still a part of the training, but it’s just not as important so I don’t do it as much. That’s why I still do easy speed workouts and hill sprints. It’s important to touch on speed like that, but it shouldn’t be anything that exhausts you for the more important LT workouts. Priorities in training are different for different events and can be different for people training for the same event even because people have different physiologies.
I know you could run under 2:19 and qualify for the Olympic trials. Not a doubt in my mind. 👍
I love this mans videos
I said it before and i'll say it again, I just love how meticulous you are with your training. It really paid off and you did so well, it's been so awesome to watch!!! I'd love to know what you've got coming up next?! Please keep these videos coming!
In summary: do the miles, lots of variety, listen to your body, rest when tired.
thanks for being so open with how you trained Ben.
Thanks for sharing this Ben. It's really useful and informative as ever. Congratulations on a great conclusion to the training block.
Great job Ben it’s been awesome watching your journey to the half marathon. Hurry up with your strength and conditioning video please🤩
Very impressed with the moderate runs. I'm a ~15:00 5k guy and theres no way I could do double digit miles at 6:00ish regularly
I think back to this training every now and then, and those long moderate runs were pretty insane. Trying to get back to that level again and get some good racing out of it
Was super awesome to follow along in your training. Appreciate the final breakdown of your 10 weeks of dedicated training. And don't think I didn't see that thread you started on letsrun :)
Shhhh, that's a TH-cam secret for now!
I'm gonna try to follow this for my Spring half marathon. Kaioken Track Club!
your videos are great it's nice to watch. Thank you for all the work
Wow, you do all this without a GPS. I would feel naked without mine 😂
Imagine. Those runners who trained when they had NO GPS on the market!!!
Tuesdays Runner Timex and a car odometer baby. Those were the days!
Really impressive
Thanks for sharing
I like this .thank you for sharing your plan
Very helpful analysis, thanks.
Congratulations again!
Can I t try this? I’m a 1:23 half marathoner. If I adjust the paces a bit
I'm not going to stop you
Great video keep them coming
Thank you sir good workout.
Ben, huge fan and supporter of the series. I know you mentioned you've studied and read from the training logs of professional and elite runners, any recommendations on books, athletes, etc. ? Thanks!
Thanks for the support! Two of the books that I recommend are "Road to the Top" by Joe Vigil and "Running with the Buffalos" by Chris Lear. Road to the Top is much more scientific, but Running with the Buffalos gives some good insight to the University of Colorado's training in a story format. For several years now, I've just been finding people on running2win.com that log all of their training. I started with a couple of good runners that I ran against throughout college, but you can find lots of great runners on there. Most of the people who are on the top 20 mileage leaderboard on the left side of the site are good to look at. It's worth checking out NAZ Elite's website as well, because their runners keep the training logs public.
Awesome and with no GPS! Great stuff
I saw your lets run post, sub 2:19 baby!!
You're such a badass. I've been watching you for a long time and have really enjoyed your videos. Keep it up! What's the next goal?
Thanks dude, glad you like them! Nothing really in the near future, just focusing on getting back into consistent training at the moment. Planning on a good summer of training at altitude.
Hey Ben, great video! If you had done the 15 x 600m at 5k pace workout, what would the recoveries looked like?
Ben, really amazing stuff here. I'm sitting in the 1:10 range for the half right now, and this plan is really speaking to me! I'm wondering what pace you were calling LT pace...slower than 10K but faster than goal Half pace? 10mi race pace?
Best way to describe my LT workouts is probably half marathon effort, maybe a tad harder at times. Good luck!
Great race Ben! Awesome to see you hitting your goals, also quick question. Do you solve that rubik's cube?
Thank you! Yup, every once in a while if I'm sitting at my PC bored, I might give it a quick solve.
Of course he can solve that Rubik's cube. He just puts on his racing bib and he has those super powers!
Ben Barrows that's cool! I'm a runner too and recently started cubing!
I used to solve it. Knew how to do it and the next level Rubik's too. If only I could remember how...
Some people got fed up with the Rubik's cube. And simply pulled it apart and put it back together solved. Others peeled the stickers off and put them back on. Don't advise doing either of those. The stickers won't stick back right and will fall off. And it is easy to break the tabs on the pieces and ruin the cube.
Any Ambition on going for a sub 1:05 Half marathon? Also, what half marathon or marathon would you like to do next.
I just want to be as fast as possible, no real concrete goals in mind at the moment. No set plans for any race at all yet
is a sub hour possible for you?
Nah, at this point I'd be very grateful to be able to run any PB again
Man this is crazy. It blows my mind how much you progressed in only a matter of 10 weeks. Our coach has us peak/train for 6 months, frickin crazy man. What kind of template did you use for this log?
I think it gets easier as you get older and build more lifetime miles. What is not shown in this video is my summer and fall training, which was all a part of building to this half marathon as well. I still had some mini-peaks and rest periods throughout the past 6-7 months, but this was just the half marathon specific training cycle. I was able to average 114 mpw over a 3 week period during the cross country season, so I'm sure that definitely played a role in the half marathon peak. For the template, it was just something I whipped up in Microsoft Paint lol
Ben Barrows well it looks really tidy, I’ll have to look into that program! Holy crap man that’s some intense mileage! Our program trains for 5.5 months about, first 2.5 months being just mileage building. Unfortunately it’s not very great for good races, but all too important. Look forward to your next race!
Your coach has not lost his mind. Very likely he has read Dr Jack Daniels classic work on Running. Daniels is an advocate of the 24 week training cycle.
thanks for sharing Ben. As you know, we are all different which is why i will be posting a new series covering running essentials :-)
Your weight how much does it vary? Please share your weights if you track them.
Most of the time during heavy training, I'm probably 140-145 pounds. I don't really track that though
Thank you runner friend! Thanks for always sharing & keep up the great work.
He is quite skinny. Not much upper body muscle. That helps you go faster too.
Yep that is the point :) i'm 157 now from 183 jan1
I'm currently a junior and I've run 16:30 the last 2 years this year I didn't improve much. At my max mileage I was at about 60-65, I want to run sub 16 and ideally 15:45, I'm currently in indoor track. But what do you think I should do training rise to reach a sub 16 5k
That's really hard to answer without knowing more about your training and how you actually respond to training. Just keep a nice mixture of quality work within your weekly mileage. Lots of lactate threshold work, some vo2max intervals, some light speed work, some hill sprints, the weekly long run. Stick to the principles and make sure you're not overtraining. Most of all, trust in the plan that your coach has for you.
Ben Barrows thanks so much and great job at the half marathon that was amazing
PART TWO: Next, Is schedule a mid-week secondary longish run, building up to 16 miles. Probably do this on a Wednesday, since your long run in either Saturday/Sunday of each week. If the increased volume starts to feel like too much, consider going to a 9-day cycle, instead of trying to cram everything into 7 days. #3) If you have time time and means, it would be worth seeing if an extended stint at altitude would work for you. I’ve read where some people have higher positive reactions to training at altitude than others, so it would be worth it to see how you respond. Obviously, if you do, then I’d plan out a significant stint there. I’m going to Flagstaff in March & April to shadow NAZ Elite and learn from their program, to then use that knowledge at the high school I volunteer asst. coach at. I’m a big fan of their coach and what they’re doing there. #4) The Marathon can be a beast, and is definitely an unknown to you. You might catch lightening in a bottle twice, and knock it out of the park in your first attempt, BUT, I think it’s a good idea to take a test run at it, before you shoot for your OTQ. Certainly run one at an honest effort, but I think your main priorities for the first one would be to practices your drinking and fueling on the run in a race situation, and most importantly, feel out the distance - especially those last six miles. I’ve found that no matter what you throw into training, for whatever reason, nothing ever matches what you’ll feel the last six miles of a marathon, than actually a experiencing it in the race. I’d rather it not be a surprise to you, when you shoot for your OTQ. BOTTOM LINE though, you’re obviously a smart guy, Ben, and you know what you’re doing. It showed in your videos and in your Houston result. I hope what I’ve offered here helps. And again, if you feel like taking things out more, having a sounding board, or having me help in whatever way, feel free to email me directly (tim42k at gmail). I’m super excited to watch your journey toward the marathon! I plan to be spectating at the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials, as I have every year since 2004, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ON THAT STARTING LINE! Cheers, Tim
How do you know the pace if you don’t have a gps watch?
JJohn Hipp I just map my routes out online and do the math
Ben when in the training plan you refer to hill work, which is what you want to say, repeat on hill??
My hill work would consist of high knees, bounding, and sprints. 4-6 repeats of each drill for 50-100m
Ben Barrows thanks, I apply this plan for my next half marathon in September.
Would you recommend strides the day before a half marathon race? And/ or strides after the warm up before the race?
Also did you do any of your strength/mobility work the week of the race?
Looking back at my running log, I did my full strengthening routine for the last time on Tuesday before the race. I did some other light mobility work throughout the rest of the week, so I didn't stray too far from my normal routine. I did some hip mobility and 4 light strides the day before the race. I would normally do some light strides right before the race as well, but I don't think I was able to before this one just because everyone was so packed in the starting corral
Ok that is helpful, thanks for the reply Ben!
How would you go about structuring a base building phase through the summer months(June-August), then transition into a 2.5 month 5K training cycle for high school cross country(September-November)? My 5K pr is 16:51. In season my coach does not give much volume. We hit around 30-40 mpw in season, although I typically will hit 50-75 mpw in the summer
That's a pretty loaded question to answer in a comment. Lots of easy-moderate running in the summer with a weekly long run. Do some strides and hill sprints throughout as well. Incorporate lactate threshold work in the second half of the summer. Not a ton changes in the season with the exception of adding harder interval workouts throughout the second two thirds of the season or so. I might do things differently for different people depending on how they best respond to training, and your coach knows you way better than I do.
It was a lot to break down in one comment, so thank you for the response! Thank you for the input, and keep up the good work!
What percent of these runs were on concrete?
Hard to say. Most of my LT workouts and long runs were on chat/dirt roads, but a fair amount of my mileage is on asphalt or concrete.
Nice plan man! I was wondering, how steep are your hill repeats?
For the actual hill sprints, I think hills on the steeper side are better, but I'm not sure of an actual grade. I try to do them on different hills if possible just to change up the stimulus and scenery a little bit.
I noticed Ben that you took one day sick. I’ll be on day three sick with flu, fever and a terrible chest once I start coughing I have trouble stopping. I’m was in week 6 of my London Marathon training but am freaked out that I’ve had this time and possibly more off. How long could I reasonably take off before it negates all the hard work I’ve put In up to now? I cut my speed and tempo session for this week. Any advice please .🙏
Well taking time off due to sickness vs just to rest without sickness will have different effects. If not sick, it seems like around 4 days off or so is when fitness will start being lost. If sick, there's some recovery time even if it's just 1 day of sickness. Here's what I do any time I get sick. As soon as I know that I can start running again without making things worse, that's when I start running again, even if it's just some light jogging. Then I take it day by day and decide when I am strong and healthy enough to resume training at full speed again. That amount of time can vary depending on the severity of the sickness. It's only as big of a deal as you make it, meaning a lot of it can be psychological. Even at 4-5 days out, that won't make a huge difference in fitness as long as you take the time to get your body completely rehydrated and fully nutritioned.
Can you Break 4 minuets on the mile
Not even close
I highly admire your discipline and mental toughness as an athlete when it comes to both your planning and execution of your training, but where's the pain? Where's the suffering? As an 800m runner my workouts (in the summer) are high intensity, lactic filled repeats which are excrutiating, but even in the winter when I'm building my strength I do gruelling workouts on the track, road, grass and hills so I just wonder if you don't do these type of sessions for a particular reason or is it that Marathon/Half Marathon training doesn't involve any high intensity, 100% all-out max effort workouts that leave you laid on the ground in bits afterwards? I've watched your lumberjack and step-down ladder workouts and although they were tough, you didn't seem to be going all out and killing yourself like I would expect for someone running at as high a level as you. So why is there none of that 'grind' in your training?
There are already significant differences in training for the 800m vs the 1500m/mile, and that gap only widens as the race distance increases. The pain that distance runners endure might not be as intense as one might experience in an 800m specific workout, but we endure it for a much, much longer period of time. That's not to say one is worse than the other, but they're just different. Believe me when I say we have plenty of pain and suffering in our training. As a distance runner, taking pride in how much pain you can endure is often a recipe for getting injured or underperforming in races. The purpose of training is to be as ready for a race as possible, not to see how bad it can hurt. As far as the grind goes, again, it's a different kind of grind. Try running a handful of consecutive 100+ mile weeks while running twice a day at least 4 times per week and tell me that's not a grind
Ben Barrows Not disrespecting long distance running in any way, at the end of the day whether it’s 800m or a marathon it’s still the same sport. I am only 16 so I don’t do near the volume that you do, I only train once a day, 6 days a week averaging about 40-50 miles a week (I’m accually injured at the moment) so I understand how much resilience it takes to run 100+ miles a week consistently. But you never seem to show any very very tough workouts that you do, all of your work is Easy running (yes I know how important the aerobic base is) or Threshold runs or ‘easy speed’ workouts. I know long runs can be tough but that’s more mental strength than anything. I just would assume one of your days a week would be a gruelling half/marathon specific workout hitting race pace or faster.
But if you look at the training, there is a half marathon specific workout (or faster) every week from 2 to 10 with the exception of week 6, and that's only because I got sick. Anything that is a LT workout is the most specific half-marathon training that I could've done. When your half marathon pace is close to an hour, LT pace and half-marathon pace are basically the same. Even though none of the paces of my LT workouts actually matched my race day pace, those are all still half marathon effort. You have to adjust training paces based on the environment and conditions on that day. So my true LT pace based on my half marathon time was 5:06/mile, but that was in a race (meaning that I've got adrenaline going), with racing flats on, with perfect weather, with great competition, and on a very flat course. If I were to train in those conditions every day, then sure, my training LT pace would be close to that. However, I train on my own, on softer surfaces, in my trainers, often on hilly roads, very rarely with perfect weather, and I'm obviously not in quite as good of shape as when I'm peaking. All those factors add a lot of time to training paces.
So let's take my 6 mile LT run in week 8 for example. I just said that LT pace and half marathon pace are the same if you can run close to an hour, so then why is my LT run at 5:29 pace? That's because it was close to 0 degrees, snowing, and I was running on slick hilly roads in my trainers. I would've been ecstatic if I could have run a half marathon at 5:29 pace in those conditions.
So running through my schedule, here is every workout that was a half-marathon specific (and I'll substitute half marathon pace for LT since they're close to equal in this case) or faster interval workout (not including the easy speed):
Week 2: 5 x 1 mile at half marathon pace
Week 3: 5 mile run at HMP
Week 4: 8 x 1000m at 5k pace
Week 5: 6 mile run at HMP
Week 6: Skipped because of sickness
Week 7: 4 x 2 mile at HMP
Week 8: 6 mile run at HMP AND 18 mile marathon pace run with 3 separate miles at HMP
Week 9: 6 x 1200m at 5k pace
Week 10: 6 x 1600m at HMP
You're definitely underestimating the difficulty of those moderate long runs, since moderate is basically my substitute word for marathon pace. The 18 miler that I listed in week 8 was the most physically and mentally taxing workout that I did during this entire training block. The way that I do them, long runs are not just mental training. So while these workouts that I listed might not fit your definition of grueling, all of them are certainly challenging especially when combined with the rest of the components in my training. Most importantly, they prepared me to race as well as I could have on race day, and that's what counts. I could have run every workout harder and tell everyone that I was capable of a faster time because of what those workouts indicate, but that likely would have led to being cooked on race day and running slower than I did.
@@benbarrows7629 Ok, thanks again for replying I'm learning a lot here, but when training for any distance race are you not supposed to do some workouts a fair bit quicker than race pace? For example should you not do repeats at 10k pace or so? There's 1/2 Marathoners in my club who do workouts at 10k or even 5k pace so is running faster than race pace the odd time not important in a training cycle either?
David Smith I did do repeats at faster than HM race pace. In weeks 4 and 9, I had a significant workout at 5k pace. I originally had another 5k pace workout planned in week 7 with that 2 mile repeat workout being in week 6, but since I got sick, I cancelled the 5k pace workout and pushed the 2 mile repeats to the next week because that was more important. Lactate threshold is the most important system to train for a half marathon, so that’s what I do the most of. The other stuff is still a part of the training, but it’s just not as important so I don’t do it as much. That’s why I still do easy speed workouts and hill sprints. It’s important to touch on speed like that, but it shouldn’t be anything that exhausts you for the more important LT workouts. Priorities in training are different for different events and can be different for people training for the same event even because people have different physiologies.
Dragon Ball Z, WOW...
Yeah, if everything is PERFECT then you can do it. Sure.