Week of 9/6/2010 – Miles with Myles – Time for Redemption
A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more.
-Pre
Following a sub par performance in the Rock and Roll Half Marathon earlier this month, I am ready for some redemption in the Chicago Half Marathon on Sunday. With that said, I will be taking it easy most of the week in preparation since I was pretty sore on my run today. If you aren’t racing this week, I encourage you to have a high mileage, high intensity week and that you not follow the training schedule that I post this week. For a similar week to what you should be doing, follow the week of 8/9/2010. Because it’s race week, we need to make sure that we watch our diets and be sure to eat a lot of whole foods packed with an ample amount of carbs. Additionally, especially in the days leading up to the race, be sure to keep hydrated.
Monday:
7 miles easy. I’ve already knocked this one out and it was pretty tough. I definitely was not fully recovered from my endurance run Saturday so if you’re like me, hopefully you took it easy today.
Tuesday:
1 mile at moderate pace following by 2-3 miles at tempo pace. Cool down for a mile at an easy pace. Note: For those of you racing this week, tempo pace is optional. I personally need to get some sort of speed in the week of the race or else I get out there on race day and “forget” what running fast feels like. This helps my mind and body stay in tune with the faster running, but I’d say that I probably am in the minority here. If you usually don’t do any faster runs the week leading up to the race, don’t start now! The week of a race is when you need to stick to the tried and true.
Upper body work out focusing on biceps, triceps, chest, and core.
Wednesday:
Rest.
Thursday:
7 mile run. Try to do this run in negative splits, but at the same time, don’t go overboard. With that said, start out very easy and gradually increase the pace of each mile thereafter.
Friday:
Rest and mandatory full body stretch.
Saturday:
2 mile light jog to loosen up followed by a full body stretch. This 2 mile jog should be very, very easy. Enough to get the heart going a little bit. Also, make sure to eat a nice carb-rich lunch/dinner. Note: the lunch before the race is the most important meal!
Sunday:
Go Time.
Total Mileage:
Advanced: 33.1 miles
Intermediate: 30.1 miles
Beginner: 25.1 miles
For those of us that aren’t familiar with running terms and training, could you explain some of the methods you mention? For example, tempo run, negative splits, and anything else that would be helpful. I’m wanting to improve my distance and time, but need help. Thanks!
Hi J,
Thanks for the comments and apologies for not clarifying. Some of these items can be found on the MGG 2/3 Marathon Training Program main page. Tempo pace can be best described as an uncomfortable, yet sustainable pace. To give you a better idea using actual numbers, I typically run a half marathon in 6:40 pace. My tempo runs are done between 6:18 and 6:30. Here’s a good article from a few years back:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-267–11909-0,00.html
Technically speaking, tempos increase your lactic acid threshold which enables you to go faster for longer. Lactic acid buildup is what causes soreness while you’re running. As for negative splits, this term refers to a run where you continuously increase your speed, typically at the mile interval. So for example, the first mile would be run at 7:00 pace, the subsequent mile would be at 6:50 pace, the next at 6:40, etc. It’s similar to chop-downs (see MGG 2/3 Marathon Training), but it’s at a much slower pace. This is typically what I would consider a “moderate” run for me. Hopefully this helps, and going forward I will try to elaborate on these terms!
Cheers,
Myles