Run Run Away

Question:

Spend a few years running and entering some 10k’s and 10 milers. I’d set up for your first 10k sometime in the spring without doing any speed work. Once you are in the racing scene then begin to incorporate speed work. Focus on Boston MAYBE in 2003. Doug Burke – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – My prime exercise is cycling (I do it 6-7 days a week at 150-250 miles/week), and in cycling it’s recommended you don’t do interval training until you’ve built up your aerobic base.  That could be anywhere from a few hundred miles to a couple of thousand miles depending on your conditioning. I picked up running in October and currently run 3 times a week.  I started off with short distances but am now up to 6.5 miles.  It’s taken 4 months to get there, but I didn’t want to go too far too fast.  I’ll stick at a distance and wait at least two weeks before going further, and usually only after I beat a set goal time.  My current "progress time" is an 8 minute mile or better. Sometime down the road I’d love to qualify for the Boston marathon, but the time needed seems out of sight.  I’m 32, and if I recall, I’d need to run a 3:10 to qualify.  That means I need to run a 7:15 mile for the duration. Right now that seems out of sight, so I need to get some speed.  From a running sense, is there a pre-determined time when to start speed work? Should you log a certain number of miles, be in a certain condition? Thanks, James

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – My prime exercise is cycling (I do it 6-7 days a week at 150-250 miles/week), and in cycling it’s recommended you don’t do interval training until you’ve built up your aerobic base.  That could be anywhere from a few hundred miles to a couple of thousand miles depending on your conditioning. I picked up running in October and currently run 3 times a week.  I started off with short distances but am now up to 6.5 miles.  It’s taken 4 months to get there, but I didn’t want to go too far too fast.  I’ll stick at a distance and wait at least two weeks before going further, and usually only after I beat a set goal time.  My current "progress time" is an 8 minute mile or better. Sometime down the road I’d love to qualify for the Boston marathon, but the time needed seems out of sight.  I’m 32, and if I recall, I’d need to run a 3:10 to qualify.  That means I need to run a 7:15 mile for the duration. Right now that seems out of sight, so I need to get some speed.  From a running sense, is there a pre-determined time when to start speed work? Should you log a certain number of miles, be in a certain condition? Thanks, James

If you want to qualify for Boston, you have to recognize that running — not bicycling — must become your main focus.  A 3:10 marathon is just too demanding to be achievable as a sideline activity unless you are an unusually gifted athlete.  Also, the muscular development in your legs resulting from bicycle training may be counterproductive to running a marathon. Given that you’re willing to do this, speed work is probably not what you are most in need of.  Establishing aerobic endurance and getting your ligaments and bones to the point where you can withstand the training load are the first order of business.  You’re probably getting pretty well up to speed on the first point.  The second one takes much longer — at least a year. Having said this, it’s always a good time to do speed work.  The question is not when to start but what and how much to do.  Given that the Marathon is your goal distance, strides and Fartlek mixed in with your regular runs is probably a good way to start.  Add tempo runs as your running fitness improves.  Interval work is always OK, but go easy in the beginning and don’t let cut into your aerobic training too deeply.  You should probably get to the point where you’re covering about 35 miles per week before shifting your emphasis away from aerobic training.  Hill work is OK, but I’m guessing that muscular strength in your legs is not a problem given your bicycling background. Good luck!  Hope to be reading about your Boston experience someday!

Response:

Waiting to build a solid running base just like a cyclist would is highly recommended. As a cyclist moving to running, your aerobic system has some adjustments to make but your muscular-skeletal system is right now your weakest link. You’ll probably feel like you have the wind to run fast but the body needs to adapt to running. I follow the "train 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per mile slower than you could race" program for my easy and long runs, otherwise I find that I run too fast on a daily basis. I’ve seen suggested that speed work not be entered into until a full year of regular running and that it be preceded by hill-work to strengthen and prepare the body for the transition from base-building to speed. These are cookie-cutter answers as each of us has different abilities, but this is a number i’ve seen from Jeff Gallway and Hal Higdon, who are both involved in prepping large numbers of people for racing various distances but mostly marathons. The one type of speed work that one can usually practice with little ill effect, I think, is occasional racing. Depending on where you live, you may find races nearly every weekend spring-fall. It’s easy for me, and I think others experience the same thing, to race too often and for me every other week is too much; every three or four weeks is what I do and haven’t yet had problems maintaining health at this frequency. As to Boston, I’m running shorter races again this year (my third year running), from 5k to 1/2 marathon to gain more racing experience then making a boston qualifying try at Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, MN in June 2003. enjoy your running, bill – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – My prime exercise is cycling (I do it 6-7 days a week at 150-250 miles/week), and in cycling it’s recommended you don’t do interval training until you’ve built up your aerobic base.  That could be anywhere from a few hundred miles to a couple of thousand miles depending on your conditioning. I picked up running in October and currently run 3 times a week.  I started off with short distances but am now up to 6.5 miles.  It’s taken 4 months to get there, but I didn’t want to go too far too fast.  I’ll stick at a distance and wait at least two weeks before going further, and usually only after I beat a set goal time.  My current "progress time" is an 8 minute mile or better. Sometime down the road I’d love to qualify for the Boston marathon, but the time needed seems out of sight.  I’m 32, and if I recall, I’d need to run a 3:10 to qualify.  That means I need to run a 7:15 mile for the duration. Right now that seems out of sight, so I need to get some speed.  From a running sense, is there a pre-determined time when to start speed work? Should you log a certain number of miles, be in a certain condition? Thanks, James

Response:

My prime exercise is cycling (I do it 6-7 days a week at 150-250 miles/week), and in cycling it’s recommended you don’t do interval training until you’ve built up your aerobic base.  That could be anywhere from a few hundred miles to a couple of thousand miles depending on your conditioning. I picked up running in October and currently run 3 times a week.  I started off with short distances but am now up to 6.5 miles.  It’s taken 4 months to get there, but I didn’t want to go too far too fast.  I’ll stick at a distance and wait at least two weeks before going further, and usually only after I beat a set goal time.  My current "progress time" is an 8 minute mile or better. Sometime down the road I’d love to qualify for the Boston marathon, but the time needed seems out of sight.  I’m 32, and if I recall, I’d need to run a 3:10 to qualify.  That means I need to run a 7:15 mile for the duration. Right now that seems out of sight, so I need to get some speed.  From a running sense, is there a pre-determined time when to start speed work? Should you log a certain number of miles, be in a certain condition? Thanks, James

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