- A Long Run - Time on your feet is very
important for any marathoner. HOWEVER,
I don't see the need for more than a 2:30
long run for a 3:00 marathon. For me,
because I run so many marathons, I tend
not to run longer than 2 hours in a training
run, but I do this run on a pretty tough 16.5
mile trail and at a good clip. If I'm
consistently under 2 hours, I'm in sub three
shape, so find a 16 to 17 mile rolling terrain
course and get to work. One time doesn't
count; this is something you need to be
able to do almost any day of the week.
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- A Medium Long Run - A 12 to 14 mile mid-week run is
always a good base booster, but can you make time for
it? Great if you can, but if not, it may mean a
Saturday/Sunday that's 3.5 hours and 30 miles. That's
OK, in fact it's better than OK; I do it all the time. You
need this medium long run for marathon strength so
don't skip it! You're getting into sub three hour shape if
you can do this workout at 7:00 pace and it doesn't zap
your legs the next day. Breaking it into two runs is OK,
but if so, one run really needs to incorporate some good
turnover.
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- Mile Repeats - Mile repeats build speed
and stamina and I can't make this one any
simpler. Run a mile every 7 minutes
whether you want to or not. These are a
must for consistent sub three
marathoning. I like doing at least 5 at
roughly 6 minute pace, which allows for a
one minute rest. I'm not a fan of the slow
jog in between because I don't want my
legs to forget the turnover they just had, but
do what you want as long as you're back up
to speed every 7 minutes. The key to
marathon-based mile repeats is not the
speed of the interval but the restriction of
rest. With this workout, even when you're
not as fast as you need to be (6 minute
pace), you're working your way there by
having less than a minute to rest. And if
you don't have a track, find a quiet road.
This is a non-track repeat workout on a
point to point 1.25 mile rolling road. I did 4
repeats, one every 8:30 minutes, each 5 to
10 seconds faster than the previous...the
way you want to do repeats. Once your
speed starts to suffer, call it a day...you
didn't come to the track to run at training
pace.
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- Balanced Pick-Ups - I don't believe much in 800 meter
repeats for marathoning. They don't provide enough
consistent leg fatigue (unless you barely rest) and to me
they make mile repeat workouts harder to complete
because your brain starts liking two less laps. That
doesn't mean I don't believe in faster-than-mile-pace
running; I just prefer doing it on a road or a trail. Set your
interval timer on 2 minutes 30 seconds, skip the first
beep (so you'll get a 5 minute warm-up), then hit the
pace hard (90% of max) at the next beep....then easy for
2:30...then hard. A rolling terrain course means you
can't control the timing of the pick-up...fun huh?! I like
doing the same amount of rest as acceleration...it's easy
to set your watch for and if you do 2:30s, you'll know
there's a hard one every 5. One hour = 11 fast ones.
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- 3N5s - This is not a track workout; it's a long marathon
pace type tempo run, but requires a track. I started
using this one when I got banged up doing non-
marathon training. If your 6 minute miles are a bit slow,
hit the track with the goal of running 3 laps in 5 minutes.
The math is 1:40/lap, 6:40/mile and a 2:55 marathon...
but only focus on 3 lap/5:00. My norm is 3N5X8 (or 6
miles in 40:00...again with no stops...it's a long tempo
run). I've gone as long as 3N5X16 (12 miles in 1:20).
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