Thanks Emile and Mike... for the heart rate info... I'll keep chugging along knowing that at some point  it will improve, probably before I know it.

Bill and KenH ditto to what mike said - enjoy some time off.  All this SBR has me hungry for the wrong kind of food.

Additional thanks for the Plantar stretch/workouts..... no issues anymore and I'm taking precautions by doing more agility drills to strengthen and stretch the calves.

I got up this morning and ran 5mi and then plan on hitting the pool after work.  The time change is killing me!  Although it is worth it to have extra day light at the end of the day.

What does everybody else have planned for today?

Ran 3 miles this morning- will hit the pool this evening. Have to start doing longer swims to get ready for The Great Clermont Int'l Tri on 3/24. 

The time change usually takes a while to rearrange my training- I normally now do a lot more running at the beach and more open water swimming now that its light out.

I've got a local trail marathon this Saturday.  I originally signed up because the Pfitz training plan had me scheduled for something like a 24 mile long run so I figured it would be fun to run it with a bunch of other people.  My new plan only has a 18 miler scheduled but the days early next week are pretty easy.

There is lots of snow on the ground here but its supposed to be pretty decent weather Saturday.  I'm going to try to treat it like a training run, but my normal long run pace should put me pretty close to the front if previous year's results are consistent.   I hope I have the discipline to keep things in check and not hurt my training for my goal race.  Should be a really interesting experience.

Hi all!  I need some recommendations.  As you know, I had to take a week off.  I'm not sure how to re-adjust my running to be ready for a half marathon on May 18.  I've been using the percentages of one of the BT training plans for my running.  I had to modify it a little but the basics are to increase the long run mileage 11% for 3 weeks, week 4 decreases 40%, week 5 returns to the high value of week 3.  This was my plan:

3/107.7didn't do

3/178.55+11%

3/245.1-40%

3/318.55+11%

4/79.49+11%

4/1410.53+11%

4/216.3-40%

4/2810.53+11%

5/511.69+11%

5/1212.97+11%

5/18Race Day

My normal week is 2 runs of 30 minutes at any pace, normally about 9:30, nice & easy.  The long runs are run/walks. I missed my long run of 7.7 miles last weekend.  I have also missed both short runs this week.  

If my doc gives me the OK on Friday, I have a couple of questions:  (1)  What should I do this weekend?  (2)  How do I modify the schedule to be ready for the race?

Ken:  It looks like the main emphasis of your training for the half is building aerobic endurance and building up the ability for your leg muscles, tendons, etc to handle mileage.

The point of the 40% cutback weeks is (I'm assuming) to allow your body to catch up with recovery.  If you aren't feeling run down or sore, then you could probably skip some of those.

I've heard that the training adaptations that occur from long runs take about 30 days to fully occur.  The main adaptations for long runs are: teaching your body to burn fat as fuel efficiently,  capillarization,  and running economy.

If I were you, I'd adjust the schedule so that it builds about 11% week without the cut back weeks and I'd have it peak @ 13miles on 5/5.  Then on 5/12 you could run 13 again if you feel like it or maybe do a cutback that week to 8-10.  I think if you  map this out, you'll be able to slowly build up from a pretty reasonable mileage right now as you're coming off the leg/foot pain.

My personal belief for the type of training you're doing is that your main focus should be on miles per week and not necessarily the length of the long run.  You'd probably be in about the same shape for the half if you distributed your mileage out more evenly through the week, and you'd be less likely to get injured.  There is the mental aspect of hitting the race mileage in training before race day though which shouldn't be ignored. 

KenH - KenL gave some good advice.  In my opinion like KenL said you really need to run more than 2 days a week.  I truly believe only running two days a week and running the distances you need to train for a half marathon you are setting your self up for injury.  If I counted correctly you have 10 weeks until your race.  Hal Higdon has a half marathon training program that is 12 weeks long and starts out at really low mileage and builds up at an easy pace.  You could start out at week 3 and be ok if you get cleared by your doctor.  The program I'm talking about is his novice 1 program.  You can google Hal Higdon and it will come right up. 

KenL - Good luck with your trail marathon.  I wish I could go run races and make myself keep it at training pace but everytime I have tried that I end up going full tilt.  I'm just so stinking competitive I just can't get myself to do it.  That is one reason I don't race a lot because I'm always afraid I will go to hard and be sore for a week and screw up my training plan for my "A" race.

KenW - I agree with KenL.  I would drop the cutback weeks and just do the gradual build.  Peak at 13 on 5/5 weekend and then maybe 9-10 on the 5/12 weekend, possibly at a slightly faster pace and cut way back on the week before the race, maybe 5 or 6 miles midweek but 2-3 miles on other days.  Distributing your mileage out more over the week is also great advice.  Doing it like that decreases recovery time needed from a long run.  When I'm training for a HM, I don't always get to race distance in training but I have the experience of multiple HM so I don't need that warm fuzzy at that distance. 

I just got back from a 10k run outside.  Bike paths were pretty icy in spots but I wore my winter spikes and all was good.  Calm, sunny and about 18 degrees.  Getting real excited for our Florida trip, we leave on Sat.  Weather there looks great - highs around 80 with lows about 60.  I need to get all my bike gear together to make sure I don't forget anything.  I get my rental bike on Sun and hoping to ride everyday thru Fri.  Runs on some days with some lazy ocean swims.      

I can vouch for the Hal Higdon half marathon training program, it's a great starting place. 

Wow, a trail marathon - that sounds fun and hard, too.

Finally made it to the pool today for a 30 minute workout consisting of 500 yds warm-up, a 600 yard set and 200 cool-down. It felt great.

Now I am heading out for our Wednesday bridge run training group. It's a fun program that the Med. University (MUSC) puts on every year in the months leading up the Cooper River Bridge Run. My husband and I have done it for 3 years, and it's just a fun thing to do. There are always a good variety of runners there from very slow (walkers) to super speedy.

Tony - I was just thinking this weekend it is about time to start doing some yard work.  I need to get out and add some mulch to the flower beds and spray weeds in the yard.  Next week is our spring break so I will have the week off so I should have some time to get some stuff done.

Melissa - Sounds like you had a great swim!  I wish I could find the enthusiasm you have about swimming. 

Emile - on my week off, I've been cleaning up the yard and working in the vegetable garden.  If I can't work out, I might as well enjoy myself.

We had a beautiful weekend and week so far.  An unseasonably 75° today.  I've been wearing shorts and a t-shirt for days.  Boise is located in a valley that is a banana belt.  While much of Idaho may still has snow and winter, we may be spring like.  Many times in the past, I would ski in the morning and kayak in the afternoon.  That's hard to beat!  Now I just swim, bike or run!!

Thanks for all the help on re-working my running schedule.  I'm looking forward to working on your comments tomorrow.  

Most of the course is on a  crushed limestone path that is very flat... pretty ideal for running.  There are quite a few detours over onto single-track trails in a wooded area that could be interesting since we have a heavy snow melting now.  

If nothing else, at least I won't be on a treadmill.  Pfitz has these 'medium-long' runs in the middle of the week that are driving me nuts on the treadmill.  I think I've seen every episode of NCIS though, its on from 6am to 7am which is at the tail end of my morning runs

KenH- Where you live in Idaho sounds awesome!  I've always wanted to visit Idaho.  I've been all over the world but never been in the NW corner of the US.  How is your vegetable garden looking?  I've always had a garden until we moved to our new house about 7 years ago.  I really miss all the fresh vegetables and canned salsa, pickles, and okra throughout the year.

KenL - I know what you mean about Pfitz's mid week medium long runs.  When I trained for my marathon I did all my runs during the week in the morning.  I can remember rolling out of bed around 3:30 am to get those medium long runs in. 

Thank you guys for the conversation about running. I can honestly say that it has helped me understand everything I've been reading and put the marathon training plans into perspective for me.  What a wealth of experience....

Any thoughts/experiences on speed work? I'll just sit back and get further educated--- thanks in advance.....

yard work... for us down here, it's the time to weed and feed the lawn- we're a month or so away from the rainy season (we have two seasons here: Wet (June-Nov.) and Dry (Dec-May).

My opinion on speed work is that for 10k and up for runners at our level (not elite or sub-elite), its not very important.  I've progressed from a 5:26 marathon in spring of 2011, to 4:48 fall of 2011, to 3:45 spring 2012, to 3:12 fall of 2012 and I've done a grand total of maybe half a dozen speed work sessions.    I'm definitely on track for 3:00 this spring and the only speedwork I'll do is what the Pfitz plan says to, which is very little.

I've read that speedwork (and v02 max specific training) will improve anaerobic fitness but can actually hinder aerobic fitness.  For 10k and up, the most important thing is your lactate threshold... the speed at which you can run without accumulating lactate in your muscles forcing you to slowdown.  Nobody can run above this threshold for very long so even if you have all the speed in the world and a very high v02max (which is basically how much oxygen you are able to supply to your muscles) you're still not going to run a fast 10k, half, marathon, etc.

On top of that, speedwork is a big strain on your muscles, joints, etc and can easily lead to injury.

There is one thing that you miss out on with no or limited speedwork though, and its something people don't talk about much (but I've learned about on the internet, so I know its true, he he) is that there is an aspect of training where you teach your nervice system how to run fast.  One of the ideas behind doing "strides" is that you run fast for short durations in order to get your nervous system trained to run fast.  People sometimes say "it increases turnover" which I think is just another way to say the same thing.  Strides are really easy and fun, and the guy behind the famous McMillian calculator ( http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/) suggests doing strides regularly during easy runs.  Basically you just gradually build up your speed to a very fast pace and then coast back down to normal pace.  I think they are supposed to last for about 200 meters or so.

The irony is that the training most beneficial to the marathon doesn't even really hurt or feel that much like work when done correctly (except for the monotony of it at times).  However, people think that training is supposed to be hard so they want to do speedwork or HIIT intervals like the cross-fit folks because its harder so it must be better, right?  Meanwhile, I'm jogging along in an aerobic training pace doing mileage and setting new PR's consistently in the marathon

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention... aerobic development is a good investment because de-training is much slower than with anaerobic development.   It can take about 8 years to reach your aerobic potential even with optimal training and it just builds and builds.  You could anaerobic training every year and take a long break and keep starting over.  This is why you'll read about the idea that anaerobic stuff is for "sharpening".   Because you sharpen but its temporary.

Everything I just said is different when focusing on 5k and below though, that's definitely outside my expertise and I think requires more speedwork to run well.

Terry - What KenL said. KenL that was an excellent post!  A lot of what Ken is talking about is right out of Pfitz's Advanced Marathoner book which is a great read even if your not planning on running a marathon. 

Yes, excellent!

I love that post and will take that advice to heart. My last 2 injuries, or flare-ups of my damaged knee, happened when I was running "fast". Not fast to all, but fast to me :-) I am super pleased to hear stories of people who have made improvements while not focusing specifically on speed but on overall fitness. It's just so encouraging to hear that it can be done like that.

Also, KenL, that's an amazing progression in marathon times, really awesome!

I totally agree. and while I'm writing this I get an email update that I have attached.....I was going to comment on the whole HIIT program designed to burn calories and replace aerobic training as more marketable,  online triathlon has this to say...... I'm not totally in agreement with their analysis and not sure of the purpose of the article but have attached it for your consideration. . . 

http://triathlon.competitor.com/2013/03/training/20-minute-workouts_24024

20-Minute Triathlon Workouts

 By Matt Fitzgerald

• Published Mar 13, 2013
• Updated 17 hours ago

Do you think it’s not even worth changing into workout clothes if you only have 20 minutes to train? Think again.

To most non-athletes, 20 minutes of exercise seems like an eternity. But to endurance athletes in marathon training or triathlon training, a 20-minute workout may seem like it’s hardly worth the bother. After all, if your average workout lasts an hour, what can a 20-minute session possibly do to increase your fitness? Quite a lot, actually—even for the fittest endurance athlete. Consider these four benefits:

1. 20-minute workouts burn a meaningful amount of calories and, thereby, help you reach and maintain your optimal racing weight. For example, a 150-lb. runner burns approximately 280 calories in a moderate-intensity 20-minute run. If you normally miss a scheduled longer run roughly once every 10 days due to lack of time, you could burn an extra 10,000 calories over the course of a year by squeezing in 20-minute runs instead.

2. 20-minute workouts provide extra repetitions of the running stride, swim stroke, or pedal stroke that stimulate improvements in efficiency. A big part of what makes you a better, more efficient swimmer, runner, or cyclist is simply time spent practicing the movement. So, even short workouts count as additional movement practice.

3. 20-minute workouts can increase endurance by adding to total weekly glycogen turnover. An interesting Scottish study found that weekly training volume was a better predictor of marathon performance than the distance of the longest training run. In other words, the study suggested that marathon runners are better off running 50 miles a week with a maximum long run of 16 miles than running 40 miles a week with a maximum long run of 22 miles. The reason is that endurance improves through the repeated depletion of muscle glycogen stores in training. And a heavy week of training will result in more total muscle glycogen depletion, and thus build more endurance, than a lighter week. 20-minute workouts can add a meaningful amount of glycogen-depleting volume to your training week.

4. 20-minute workouts can produce an excellent high-intensity training stimulus. A little swimming, cycling, or running at anaerobic threshold intensity and above goes a long way. Twenty minutes is plenty of time to get all the high-intensity work you need to take your fitness up a notch.

There are basically two ways to incorporate 20-minute workouts into your marathon training, triathlon training, or any other endurance sport training. One is to do a 20-minute workout instead of taking a day off whenever you are too pressed for time to complete a longer workout. The other way is to add one or more 20-minute workouts to your weekly training schedule to increase your overall training volume without creating a significant risk of overtraining.

20-Minute Workouts

 The Filler – Simply swim, ride, or run at an easy tempo for 20 minutes. This is a great workout to do when you want to avoid the guilt of doing nothing but you’re not mentally or physically ready for anything challenging.

Tabata Intervals – Swim, ride, or run at an easy tempo for 16 minutes, then complete 8 x 20-second all-out sprints with 10-second passive recoveries between sprints.

Fartlek Intervals – Sprinkle 5 to 10 fast 30-second efforts throughout an otherwise moderate, steady-pace workout.

Threshold Session – Warm up for five minutes at a comfortable tempo, then go for 15 minutes at anaerobic threshold intensity (the fastest pace you could hold for one hour in a race).

Progression Workout – Swim, ride, or run for 15 minutes at a steady, moderate pace, then blast the last five minutes.

Time Trial – Swimming: Warm up, then swim 800 meters (875 yards) as fast as you can. Cool down as long as necessary to make the total workout 20 minutes. Cycling: Warm up, then ride 5 km as fast as you can. Cool down as long as necessary to make the total workout 20 minutes. Running: Warm up, then run 1 mile as fast as you can. Cool down as long as necessary to make the total workout 20 minutes.

Terry: Thanks for posting that article.  My main takeaway, and something I agree with is that total volume of training matters - so if doing twenty minute workouts increases the overall volume, then they are good.   I think some of the workout examples in that article are questionable though.  If you warm up properly (and if you like to do any cool down) then its not really possible to do a useful threshold workout in 20 minutes.  However, I could easily get a lot out of a 20 minute swim workout.  Its probably true that the less well-trained you are in a particular activity, the more value you can get out of a shorter workout session.  

I love the HIIT training fad because it gives me lots of fit looking muscular people to run past in the second half of marathons which gives me a greater sense of accomplishment.   You have no idea how many "cross fit endurance" t-shirts I see during the second half of my marathons.  I'm not talking about the first one where I limped into the finish with tears in my eyes on gimpy worn-out legs  

This is a pretty technical discussion about the idea of HIIT for endurance sports:

http://www.scienceofrunning.com/2012/01/crossfit-endurance-tabata-sprints-and.html