At the heart of the philosophy, to quote the authors, is the belief that most runners do not train with purpose. The foundation of this program is built on targeted paces.
Here’s the weekly 3+2 training schedule in a nutshell:
Key Run #1 – Track Repeats
Key Run #2 – Tempo Run
Key Run #3 – Long Run
Plus two cross training workouts like swimming, cycling or another low-impact activity. The authors reason activities like crossfit are not an optimal choice because the short and intense workouts may not be the best approach for a runner to get faster for a marathon distance.
I am not about to give up my crossfit habit. I will continue to go three times a week. I will add swimming and cycling to my weekly routine.
The App is great! It does all the work for you! You just have to plug in a recent 5K time. I don’t have one so I used my 10K time (and then my half-marathon time) to get my plan. I changed my time to one minute faster so I am training for a 3:45 marathon as opposed to the 3:53 plan! Not sure if I am supposed to do that.
This is what I will be doing this week:
This will be a HUGE shift in training for me. I have never really done much targeted pace or speed work. My focus was always getting the long, slow distance runs done. I understand that these three runs are supposed to work together to improve overall endurance, running pace and speed. I am excited!
Right now I am more concerned about the weather than the actual training. We’ve had such crap conditions that I don’t know if I can hit the paces without ending up in the ER. The last thing I want to do is fall flat on my face or twist my ankle in the first week!
Whew! I’ve been really, really looking forward to getting into the thick of training again. I know it WILL NOT BE EASY but I am committed and ready to rock!
Wish me strong thoughts!
You can do it! I've never done targeted pace training plans either before now. This plan I'm following has a pace for every workout! :0 That being said, some are 'easy pace,' thank goodness, lol.
Thanks! It definitely keeps it interesting! I am counting the days to spring!
Would you possibly consider a treadmill for the speed work until the weather clears a little? I know – some people hate them, but for speedwork I feel they work very well.
Absolutely! I don't want to but that's what I may have to do! I haven't been on one in a long time so maybe it will work out okay.
I am a firm believer that the strongest runners do weight training and cross training instead of just running high mileage all the time. Someday I will listen to my own advice! Have fun with your training!
Thanks so much!
Is there any weight training or strength training as part of the program? I'm kind of surprised they don't mention it. I agree with afreshstart in that strength training has only helped me.
I'm using a similar approach, but modifying the track workouts to include hills since my race has a lot of those.
No weight training. Simply 2 crosstraining workouts like biking or rowing. Yeah it's an interesting plan. I am going to throw in hills too. Likely when the snow melts, I will add another hilly run.
I'm really interested in how the plan works and may try it for my half in the fall. Is the app available for Andriod or just iPhones?
Hey welcome back! I think there is an App for Android. I like it so far (well it's only the first week)
Might have to check this plan out in the future as I am a 3x per week type of runner. I just can't handle more than that. It's similar to the plan that my friend made me. Can't wait to follow along to see how it goes for you!
Sounds like a really interesting training program. I'm rooting for you!
My Hanson plan is has 3 runs a week similar to your plan which they call "something of substance runs", plus 3 easy/ recovery runs.
It is something I've noticed, like other comments above, that no plan mentions strength training. Perhaps it's because plan writers want to leave that up to individual runners rather than not deeming it necessary? Still, it would be interesting to see a professional trainer write an all-encompassing plan.
This blog site is pretty good! How was it made . I view something genuinely interesting about your site so I saved to my bookmarks . You can visit my site.
repair