Anyone who has ever trained for a marathon or even looked into training for one has read plenty of information on the importance of the two main tenants of marathon training. LSD(Long Slow Distance) runs and Speed work.
Speed work is not a problem.....run fast, run hard, occasionally throw up, and repeat....
LSD is what I have a tougher time with. Not so much the "L" or the "D"......but the "S" slow- is what I have a hard time with.... I'm not saying I'm FLASH or anything. I just have a hard time wrapping my mind around "go slower to go faster".
I've been told that the speed work is to increase speed(obviously) and LSD's are to build endurance...makes sense right?
When I put actual numbers to it....it doesn't make sense to me....
My goal is to maintain an 8:20 pace for 26.2 miles....that would put me finishing just under 3:40 and would mean the big BQ.
So if I do all my long runs.....like I've been told, at one and a half minutes per mile slower than race pace, that would put me running my long runs at a 9:50 pace....??
Can that be right?
I would love to hear from some of you runners who have run to qualify, qualified, or just run marathons.....
Look forward to reading your input!
Thanks!!
Grace and peace,
5 comments:
Hmmm...well, since a 9:50 pace is actually pretty fast for me, I think I'm out of this conversation. :) Wow...good luck in qualifying for Boston! That would be so awesome!
That is right. Your long runs can be give-or-take 90 seconds slower than the marathon pace goal time. I have noticed that this varies by person, and, of course, their amount of other running during the week (i.e. track workouts, tempo runs, races). I have run long runs without ever caring about my pace (so they are slow--like 10 minute miles), but then I can do sub 8s in the marathon. The adrenaline the day of the race seems to help me turn it on. Don't do all of your "racing" during training, so to speak. Save it for race day, and use the long run for its purpose--to prepare your body and mind for 20+ miles.
A more experienced runner gave me some good advice to keep the long runs slower until the last 5 or 6 miles then run at marathon pace. That way you teach your body to run a little faster while fatigued.
This is *absolutely* correct. It's a long explanation, but let me try to summarize...
To build your aerobic base (i.e., endurance), you need to work out 90 minutes or longer with a blood lactate measurement of 2mmol/liter. Since most of use don't have a blood lactate tester , we use heart rate as a proxy. When you look at what heart rate typically produces a blood lactate reading of 2 mmol/liter, it usually happens around 65% to 70% of your max heart rate.
If you have a heart rate monitor, and have an accurate *measurement* of your max heart rate, then instead of using pace, you can use your actual heart rate. But, since most don't have an HRM, we use pace as a proxy for heart rate, and hence, the slower LSD paces. It's all about making sure that you aren't driving your blood lactate above 2 mmol/liter during extended workouts. If you do so, you reduce the effectiveness of your aerobic conditioning workouts.*
* I didn't believe this either. My son was a serious rower for a while. I was clued in when I went to one of his conditioning workouts where he was working out with some world class rowers for conditioning. They were all rowing in slow motion. When I inquired why, I was educated by their coach - a two time medal winner himself. Likewise, they had 10 mile training runs where they would not exceed 10:00 per mile, even though they were all 6:00 milers. Same reason.
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