Who doesn't follow a "cookie cutter" training program?

#21
Adam - I only loosely

Adam - I only loosely followed a training program for the marathon I ran two weeks ago. I decided to run it ~ 12 weeks out, after comparing what I was already doing to various plans.

I found that my mileage and schedule was approximately at 9 weeks out of Hal Higdon's Intermediate 1 or Intermediate 2 plan, and then just upped my long runs roughly as Hal suggests. I reviewed the plans and got the gist of what I should be accomplishing, and then just did whatever the heck I wanted.

It worked really well for me. I skipped a long run (not the 20s, the "cutback" long runs), added an additional 20+, ran longer when I felt good, and ran much shorter when I felt not so great. It worked well for me, BUT, because I ran longer or ran faster when I felt good, I actually ended up with higher miles than the plan suggested. Also, I didn't have time-related goals.
 
#22
Lately, my plan has been to

Lately, my plan has been to run when I feel like running. That generally amounts to running 1 to 3 times per week. I almost always get some kind of long run in on Sundays. I used to think that if I didn't run 3 or more times per week that I would lose conditioning, but I haven't found that to be the case.
 
#23
Found this in an article by

Found this in an article by Matt and it rang true for me. This as well as running hilly trails made me a bit faster



4. Try to keep up

Intriguingly, McGregor’s research has also uncovered some evidence that runners who train in groups are more efficient than runners who train alone. What’s more, it appears that less gifted runners with smaller “aerobic engines” get the biggest boost from a group environment.

“If you run a lot against other people,” he explains, “and you have a smaller engine, you have to make up the deficit you have with respect to the people who have bigger engines. So, if you’re going to compete with them, you’ve got to figure out a way to run fast, and the only way to do that is to learn to run more skillfully, thus more economically.”

You want a running technique drill? Here’s one: Find a training partner who’s just a little bit faster than you and try to keep up with him or her!





http://running.competitor.com/2010/09/natural-running/ask-the-experts-whats-your-take-on-pose-and-chi-running_13831
 
#24
coaches create separate

coaches create separate groups based upon ability for a reason... if you are constantly trying to keep up....you are running hard when they are running easy and when they are running hard you are dying. You end up burned out and injured.





Shacky said:
y.”

You want a running technique drill? Here’s one: Find a training partner who’s just a little bit faster than you and try to keep up with him or her!





http://running.competitor.com/2010/09/natural-running/ask-the-experts-whats-your-take-on-pose-and-chi-running_13831
Click to expand...
 
#25
 Not necessarily. I hate it

Not necessarily. I hate it when my friends refuse to run with me because "you run way more than me I won't be able to keep up". I feel like yelling "Yes I do run way more than you and yes on fresh legs I probably am faster than you, but when I say hey I'm going on a four miler and I just ran 18 yesterday guess what you'll probably be pushing me faster then the other way around. "

If you want to train with someone faster or fitter than you thats great practice just don't train with them 100% of the time.
 
#26
Shacky - part of my recent

Shacky - part of my recent speed increase is #4 exactly. About a year ago, when I started BFR, I busted my hump to get fast enough to run with some of my coworkers. They claimed they ran about a 9:00 to 9:30 pace. Around December, I got down there and started running with them.

One of the guys is really fast - when he goes out alone, he's typically around 7:00 or lower - but enjoys the company a lot.

A year later, we're not running 9:00 to 9:30 anymore. More like 8:00 to 8:30. All of us.
 
#27
ajb422 I think shacky was

ajb422 I think shacky was sayin run with someone faster than you... not someone who runs "more". The danger of running with someone faster than you regularly is you end up racing on your training days..which in turn kills you for your races. Maybe on some easy runs for them when its a medium day for said slower runner is cool.
 
#28
Well right but the same

Well right but the same principle applies, if you make your speed day on one of their marathon pace days you'll be fine. The idea being you can still "train" with someone who is much faster than you so long as you pick your days wisely. If I were fast (which I'm most certainly not) I wouldn't invite my slower friends along on a day that I was planning on hanging out near my max speed. But I might invite them along on a day I wanted to run at 75% of my max pace if I knew that was on the upper end of their max pace. He said a "drill". Implying do this once or twice a week not do this every day.
 
#29
AJB, I'm with ya.  Silly

AJB, I'm with ya.



Silly C,

If you train at 8 min pace and its comfortable...how do you run a 5:20 something marathon?? Not being mean, just your training pace doesnt match your race performance.
 
#30
I've not really followed a

I've not really followed a plan. I loosly followed the FAST plan for my first 1/2 simply because I didn't have time to run more than 3-4 days a week. I normaly get out when I can and decide what I'll do after my first mile. If I'm feeling good I'll do some fartliks or a tempo, the better I feel the faster I'll run. Same with long runs, I have several routes that are easily changed up for longer or shorter distances depending on the day.
 
#31
Burt - what the heck is a

Burt - what the heck is a training day? And training for what? To run? To me that is kinda absurd and laughable.

As I've mentioned before, I only run what I'm feeling. Some days I feel like going fast, other days I feel like going long. I NEVER feel like I am training and I hope I never do.

Cabello spoke the truth when he said to forget about speed. It'll come eventually so why screw up a good run by obsessing over it?
 
#32
Shacky- I am not sure how to

Shacky- I am not sure how to answer that question. haha



A training day IS not a racing day. In any particular week when one is "training" there will be a mix of easy, moderate and hard efforts. If every day is hard or if your runnning TOO hard then you miss or underperform on other important workouts. WHich in turn leads to crap races at best
 
#33
i understand your

i understand your perspective... but SOME people enjoy training and putting "feelings" on the shelf. It all comes down to competitive running or not



Shacky said:
Burt - what the heck is a training day? And training for what? To run? To me that is kinda absurd and laughable.

As I've mentioned before, I only run what I'm feeling. Some days I feel like going fast, other days I feel like going long. I NEVER feel like I am training and I hope I never do.
Click to expand...
 
#34
I think this is the big

I think this is the big difference between a lot of people here. Some just run for the enjoyment of it and some are more competitive and are in an almost constant state of training. I think I fall somewhere in the middle, I run because I enjoy it, I train because I like the feeling of getting faster. But i don't obsess over training, if I miss a day or a week, no big deal.
 
#35
Barefoot Burt

Barefoot Burt said:
A training day IS not a racing day. In any particular week when one is "training" there will be a mix of easy, moderate and hard efforts. If every day is hard or if your runnning TOO hard then you miss or underperform on other important workouts. WHich in turn leads to crap races at best
Click to expand...



I have been wondering this for quite some time now and it seems a good point to ask it-


If you do what Burt suggests training is, but you never have a real plan to race does it still count as training? People have claimed I am before, but I have a very hard time contemplating saying "I'm training". I follow what most people would consider to be a decent training plan (intervals, long runs, hills, recovery days ect....) and I make up plans in advance and usually stick to them (baring injury or exhaustion). I'm attempting to get better and faster but have no real goal in mind. There are some events I'm contemplating doing, but there is the very distinct possibility that I'll never run in an organized race. So is this still "training"?
 
#36
i guess training usually

i guess training usually constitutues you have a goal race with a goal time and working towards acheiving that. Heck I dunno. I guess my whole point is to run within yourself not what someone else does.
 
#37
Yes, because you will be

Yes, because you will be fully trained in the event you decide to enter a race.
 
#39
Barefoot Burt wrote:AJB, I'm

Barefoot Burt said:
AJB, I'm with ya.



Silly C,

If you train at 8 min pace and its comfortable...how do you run a 5:20 something marathon?? Not being mean, just your training pace doesnt match your race performance.
Click to expand...



It was a trail marathon, that's how! The first place female ran it in 3:42 this year. We ran for an hour in the dark, so there were some points where a group of people and I were stopped and making sure we were still on the trail. Then there was a beaver pond I had to walk through, and a bunch of walls I had to climb over, and hills where I had to grab on to trees to descend.

And I never said the 8 minute mile was comfortable! (8:30 is, though)

The week before the marathon, I ran a 3.3 mile race in 24:31
 
#40
Hi Silly, I realize it was a

Hi Silly, I realize it was a trail mary... and I aint bustin your chops I run really slow on easy days, slower than 8 thats for sure.



the 3.3 mile race...was that barefoot?



SillyC said:
Barefoot Burt said:
AJB, I'm with ya.



Silly C,

If you train at 8 min pace and its comfortable...how do you run a 5:20 something marathon?? Not being mean, just your training pace doesnt match your race performance.
Click to expand...



It was a trail marathon, that's how! The first place female ran it in 3:42 this year. We ran for an hour in the dark, so there were some points where a group of people and I were stopped and making sure we were still on the trail. Then there was a beaver pond I had to walk through, and a bunch of walls I had to climb over, and hills where I had to grab on to trees to descend.

And I never said the 8 minute mile was comfortable! (8:30 is, though)

The week before the marathon, I ran a 3.3 mile race in 24:31
Click to expand...
 
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