How often do you train at race pace? (Page 2)

You just didn't say how hard to run!!

Thanks Jorge.

Here you go!

http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/Running%20University/Article%201/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm

I'm a bit surprised by this thread, and worried I'm over-training in terms of effort.

If I define "race pace" as the pace I intend to ride 112 miles on the bike during an IM event, then I would say that the vast majority of my training is done at intensities ABOVE my race pace.

All these 60-120 minute rides I squeek in during the week are fast/hard rides.  Sure I slow it down on my weekly long ride, but even most of those (at this point) aren't done at IM pace - they're faster.  In fact, even if I was to ride 112 miles tomorrow, it would probably be faster than what I hope my IM pace will be... since in the IM I'll be holding back significantly since I have to run afterwards (the EN folks call this your "should bike pace" vs your "could bike pace".

So, I dare say that the vast majority of my bike rides are done at faster than IM race pace.

Did I drink the coolaid from Endurance Nation (I'm not a member but I did read thier long course training bible and really liked it) too quickly?  I was convinced that I wanted to get faster by riding lots, and riding hard.  I did not want to become very efficient at riding very slow.

Josh

Mostly easy.  Sometimes hard.

 How's that?

You can push harder on the bike than you can on the run since it is not weight bearing.  On the bike and swim I will include some VO2max and a fair amount of threshold work throughout the year.

However, if you were to do this on the run, most athletes would end up with an injury.

Shane

I couldn't tell you, because whatever answer I give will only apply to a handful of people.  I see people with training schedules that would break most people, but they can do it.  I see people who race every weekend, sometimes twice in a weekend, and that's the only hard workouts they do.  I've seen people who do zero intensity, just run easy, but run 80+ miles in a week.

There is no singular answer.  There is no "right" percentage of workouts.   Whatever is right is what's right for you.

If you want answers to your questions, go out and try different things.  See what works and what doesn't.  Then you'll have your answers.

I can tell you what I generally ascribe to.  I do probably 85-95% of my training as easy.  I can talk, I feel pretty good.  Right now, I do a medium effort whenever.  I don't schedule it, it just happens.  I let it go.  It's maybe once every week, or every other week.  Hard stuff....  I do very little of it.  I have done intervals all of once in the last 3 years.  I do progression runs, where I just let the pace come to me, and drive it down when I'm ready.  I do "tempo" runs, where I just go out and cruise at a comfortably hard level.

That's about the extent of it, really.  It's not fancy, it's not easy percentages or any of that stuff.  It's simple, and for me it works alright.  I tweak it when I feel it's necessary.

well for a quick example.. the few 5k's I ran last fall I was almost 2' faster per mile than my normal running pace.  depends on the distance really. 

How often do I ride at race pace (over 20mph)?  Whenever I am not pulling a trailer with kids in it- 20% of the time

Swim - 80% of the time I swim at Triathlon pace (below 1:30/100).  (Unless you are talking about swimming races that I haven't done since '93 (~1:03/100 for 500) then pretty much never)

Run - how often do I train at the pace I race

-a mile?  once a month. (5:08)

-a 5k? twice a month (~5:50)

-a 10k  ~ 3 times a month (~6:20)

-a half marathon? ~ 5 times a month (~6:40)

-a marathon - well more than half of my runs are at marathon pace (~7:30)

You want to periodirize your plan so you move from none-specific training to specific training.

You want to do enough training load (duration + intensity) to allow you 1) increase your fitness and go the distance 2) do enough without getting injuries and 3) do as much as your schedule and fitness allows you. You can achieve this by doing lots of volume, do less volume more intensity or a mix of both.

You want to do specific training for the demands of your race; that means doing some of your training at that intensity. That doesn't mean you shouldn't training at different intensities especially on triathlons where swimming and biking are sports where an athlete can handle bigger loads. However, you still want to make sure you are ready to swim, ride and run at x pace regardless if you sometimes go harder or slower on training.

Training levels (zones) are man made to make training more efficient (target specific adaptations), they interlayer with each other and your body know averages hence if your ride today at higher watts and tomorrow at lower watts, on avg you probably are riding at or +/- race pace anyway. IMO it is better to address different loads at different points in training so you produce various adaptations. EN stuff is nothing new, it is just simple sports physiology.

On the endurance / intensity debate:

I recommend to others and make sure I get in one long run (10 - 20 miles), long ride (30-60 miles), long swim (2 miles) per month.

I recommend to others and make sure I get in on high intensity (at or above race pace by doing a race or intervals) of each

I do most of my other workouts at tempo pace.