Run hard everytime...?!? thoughts...??? (Page 3)

 Yeah, it's just a difference in terminology.  To me, a tempo run is anything that's above an easy effort.  Of course, I just usually call it a "medium effort" rather than "tempo run".  But same idea.  Depending on who you read, a tempo run can be 10+ miles.

For a 20 MPW running plan, I would stick to fartlek's / speedups vs. intervals.  These are short periods where you drop it down a couple gears, so to speak, and increase your speed for like 1/10 -1/8 mile.  This will start to teach your legs how to turn over and get moving. 

[hijack]

Braggart...[/hijack]

I'm a walking (limping?) example of what Jorge discussed, "...we get fitter faster than our muscles adapt...". Blew out a hammy trying to run tempo too frequently and probably too quickly, without the necessary adaptations, even though I've been at this tri-thing for a good year plus and feeling pretty good with the prior run workouts - my run volume was just not enough and too sporadic for me to be trying to run up tempo every workout. My ego got the best of me...

FIRST is not fast every time.  Whether or not it works depends on your running history and your abilities.  I think the FIRST program looks like they cut it out of a tri plan, but said cross train rather than saying bike and run.  They just stripped the running program down to the bare basics.  It is not run fast every time, they have a VO2max session (of relatively short duration) and a LT session and a longer run.  Those are the core workouts of any good running program.  While the cross training leaves out the specificity, it adds to your overall aerobic base.   FIRST is a reasonable plan, but I hardly believe it is original.  On the other hand, just get a decent plan off this site and you will see that the same three elements are there. 

I too have been wondering about this.  Last year before I decided to train for a triathlon, I was running 40-45 miles per week, long run 13 miles, and speed work 1x/week (6day/week running).  Now I'm trying to train for a triathlon ... add bike and swim ... not enough time to run 6 days per week. 

I'm also running just 3 days/week now.  I'm averaging about 25 miles per week.  My long run is still 13 miles and my other 2 runs are usually around 6 miles.  I just started doing speed work again ... but just once a week.  I too looked at the FIRST program, but it just seemed like a bit much since I'm also trying to do intervals on the bike.  I hope I get faster on only 3 days/week without running faster on EVERY run (like the FIRST recommends).  We'll see.  I'm going to try to up my mileage to about 30 miles by the summer (long run topping at about 16 miles). 

Again, no advice.  I'm just as curious and also wondering about those training rules such as speedwork not being more than 10% of your total mileage ... seems like this would go against the FIRST program. 

Good luck with the training. 

Put enough weight on your back to bring it up to 208, I think that you will find your runs hard enough.  I know that I do.

(Please don't really do this, its a joke)

This is the way that this really slow, heavy runner looks at his marathon training runs.  My goals are:

#1 Don't get hurt ~ Missing a week or more of training would be devastating

#2 Put the miles on my shoes ~ Missing my long and "almost long" runs would be devastating

Distant #3. Pace ~ Push the pace a little and try to negative split.

#4 Smile like a goober and enjoy the run

I've used the FIRST plan, and, for me, I have found it worked well. It isn't for everyone, and you have to be dilligent about it, but I liked it. I'd also say, although they downplay it both on the RW Web site article and in the book, there IS a chance for injury, esp. if you lack a really solid base. I wouldn't say that every run you do you go "hard" or "balls-out"...but you don't get a lot of room for the apocryphal "junk miles."

ETA: Like Scout said, the FIRST plan is a race-specific plan. It's not a way to train in the macro sense. I use it for my goal half marathon only. The rest of my running and training, I follow my "normal" plan.

What are you basing your decisions on other peoples' training on? Do they list P.E. or what not? (I don't use the log function)

It does, and is why FIRST isn't really a long-term training strategy.