I am a long distance runner. I was never very good; in high school cross country, I never made varsity, and it took until my senior year to break 20:00 for a 5K. I stayed the same through my first 2 years of college, then transferred to a different school and there started actually training instead of just running. At this new school I actually tracked how many miles I ran, and instead of doing maybe 30 miles per week, I was started doing 50-60. Within a month I ran 18:25 for a 5K. The next year I ran 17:24. I stayed around there for the next year (except for a 16:59 on what I think was a short course). Last year, I trained for a marathon. This year, I decided I would try to break 17:00 on an official course.
I set up a training plan that had me maxing out at 70 miles per week, doing doubles (running twice a day) on my recovery days after a race or workout; 4 miles easy in the morning and 6-8 easy miles in the evening. I figured this would give me more mileage while saving my legs the wear and tear of a single longer run. I did a lot of tempo runs (20-40 minutes at a "comfortably hard" pace; around 5:55-6:05 for me) and long intervals on the track (800-1200m at 5:20 pace).
I had 2 goal races; a 5K 2 weeks ago and another 5K today. On the way, I also ran a few other 5Ks earlier in the season, along with a half marathon and the 3.5 mile JPMorgan Corporate Challenge. Here is what my progression looked like:
Race (goal) [actual] - comments
5K (17:30) [17:41] - first real race of the season, not many workouts under my belt yet; big hill at mile 2 slowed me down a lot
5K (17:30) [17:06] - 6 weeks make a big difference! I actually won this race and took 18 seconds off my official 5K PR
half marathon (1:20:00) [1:19:05] - I never thought I would be able to keep 6:00s for a half marathon but apparently my fitness has improved quite a bit from a few years ago. Got 2nd in this race
3.5 mile (19:30) [19:31] - Came through 5K in 17:19 here so that's pretty cool; it was really hot too
5K (17:00) [16:54] - first official sub-17! The middle mile was uphill so my splits went 5:20, 5:41, 5:19. apparently what I've been doing has worked!
5K (16:45) [17:09] - heat got to me today... it was in the 80s and I do not run well in the heat at all. first mile was 5:17 and then it just went downhill.
So even though my last race of the season didn't go as planned, I did still break 17:00 on an official 5K and ran a huge PR in the half marathon (previous was 1:21:23). I noticed that when doing doubles, I usually ran the morning run a minute per mile slower than usual (I'm not a morning person either) and ran the evening run much faster even though the pace felt the same. I usually felt fairly bad on these days but I always felt better the day after. I think I will keep the doubles in my schedules and try to double more often; maybe do an easy 4 in the morning before a typical 10-miler in the evening too. I also think I need to do more sprintwork; 200s and 400s to work on my leg speed and turnover. I can keep 6-flats forever, but anything under 5:45 or so feels very fast.
What does this mean to everyone else? Well, if you're serious about running, first and foremost, as nick1985 said in his post, you need to experiment and find out what works best for you. I've been running for almost 10 years and I still don't know what the ideal training plan is, but every season I make some modifications and find out what works and what doesn't.
Secondly, consistency is the single most important factor in running fast. You don't have to go out and hammer 10 miles every day for a year, but running at least 5 days a week and keeping that for a while will make you a better runner, period. Do that year after year and you will see remarkable improvements. In high school I always had this dream of being able to run 10 miles at a 7:00 pace. That is now an easy run for me, and I can run 10 in under an hour now.
Third; different workouts work different systems in your body. Tempo runs increase your ability to buffer lactic acid and keep a quick but not all-out pace for a long time. short repeats improve leg turnover and stride efficiency. long intervals raise your muscles' ability to use oxygen. Depending on what type of race you want to specialize in and your natural strengths and weaknesses, you should focus on different workouts.
Four: higher mileage almost always results in improvement as well. I used to think I was a lower mileage runner because after my first year at my new college and running high mileage, I kept getting injured. Then someone told me to slow down and just take it easy. Instead of running every run at a sub-7:00 pace, I ran 7:30 pace on my easy days. sure enough, I was able to run 70+ miles with no problems and even had some 80+ mile weeks. If you increase your mileage slowly, and slow your pace down too, you will adapt to the new stress and become better. Doubles help you get the mileage up too while cutting some of your daily runs in half. Note that you should still have at least one day dedicated to a long run so you don't miss out on the adaptations that come from that (increased mitochondria and capillaries).
So, to sum it up, the most important thing you can do to improve is to run consistently. Don't take too many days off in a week, don't run 50 miles one week and 10 the next, and don't take summers or winters off. It's good to take a week or two after a season to let the body recover, but any more than that and you will have to start off some scratch again. Running more miles will help too, but you have to be very careful and do it slowly and monitor your body to make sure you're not pushing too much, too fast. Once you're at a good mileage, you have to identify your strengths and weaknesses and what you'll have to work on to run well in the distance you'll be racing. Add doubles if you're feeling adventurous. And above all, don't forgot that easy days are meant to be easy!!!! If you run too hard on your easy days, you won't be able to give 100% effort in the workouts and races. And, easy days are actually when you improve; workouts tax the body, and easy days provide the recovery period when your body rebuilds even stronger.
With that, I bid you adieu. I smell and must shower.
I set up a training plan that had me maxing out at 70 miles per week, doing doubles (running twice a day) on my recovery days after a race or workout; 4 miles easy in the morning and 6-8 easy miles in the evening. I figured this would give me more mileage while saving my legs the wear and tear of a single longer run. I did a lot of tempo runs (20-40 minutes at a "comfortably hard" pace; around 5:55-6:05 for me) and long intervals on the track (800-1200m at 5:20 pace).
I had 2 goal races; a 5K 2 weeks ago and another 5K today. On the way, I also ran a few other 5Ks earlier in the season, along with a half marathon and the 3.5 mile JPMorgan Corporate Challenge. Here is what my progression looked like:
Race (goal) [actual] - comments
5K (17:30) [17:41] - first real race of the season, not many workouts under my belt yet; big hill at mile 2 slowed me down a lot
5K (17:30) [17:06] - 6 weeks make a big difference! I actually won this race and took 18 seconds off my official 5K PR
half marathon (1:20:00) [1:19:05] - I never thought I would be able to keep 6:00s for a half marathon but apparently my fitness has improved quite a bit from a few years ago. Got 2nd in this race
3.5 mile (19:30) [19:31] - Came through 5K in 17:19 here so that's pretty cool; it was really hot too
5K (17:00) [16:54] - first official sub-17! The middle mile was uphill so my splits went 5:20, 5:41, 5:19. apparently what I've been doing has worked!
5K (16:45) [17:09] - heat got to me today... it was in the 80s and I do not run well in the heat at all. first mile was 5:17 and then it just went downhill.
So even though my last race of the season didn't go as planned, I did still break 17:00 on an official 5K and ran a huge PR in the half marathon (previous was 1:21:23). I noticed that when doing doubles, I usually ran the morning run a minute per mile slower than usual (I'm not a morning person either) and ran the evening run much faster even though the pace felt the same. I usually felt fairly bad on these days but I always felt better the day after. I think I will keep the doubles in my schedules and try to double more often; maybe do an easy 4 in the morning before a typical 10-miler in the evening too. I also think I need to do more sprintwork; 200s and 400s to work on my leg speed and turnover. I can keep 6-flats forever, but anything under 5:45 or so feels very fast.
What does this mean to everyone else? Well, if you're serious about running, first and foremost, as nick1985 said in his post, you need to experiment and find out what works best for you. I've been running for almost 10 years and I still don't know what the ideal training plan is, but every season I make some modifications and find out what works and what doesn't.
Secondly, consistency is the single most important factor in running fast. You don't have to go out and hammer 10 miles every day for a year, but running at least 5 days a week and keeping that for a while will make you a better runner, period. Do that year after year and you will see remarkable improvements. In high school I always had this dream of being able to run 10 miles at a 7:00 pace. That is now an easy run for me, and I can run 10 in under an hour now.
Third; different workouts work different systems in your body. Tempo runs increase your ability to buffer lactic acid and keep a quick but not all-out pace for a long time. short repeats improve leg turnover and stride efficiency. long intervals raise your muscles' ability to use oxygen. Depending on what type of race you want to specialize in and your natural strengths and weaknesses, you should focus on different workouts.
Four: higher mileage almost always results in improvement as well. I used to think I was a lower mileage runner because after my first year at my new college and running high mileage, I kept getting injured. Then someone told me to slow down and just take it easy. Instead of running every run at a sub-7:00 pace, I ran 7:30 pace on my easy days. sure enough, I was able to run 70+ miles with no problems and even had some 80+ mile weeks. If you increase your mileage slowly, and slow your pace down too, you will adapt to the new stress and become better. Doubles help you get the mileage up too while cutting some of your daily runs in half. Note that you should still have at least one day dedicated to a long run so you don't miss out on the adaptations that come from that (increased mitochondria and capillaries).
So, to sum it up, the most important thing you can do to improve is to run consistently. Don't take too many days off in a week, don't run 50 miles one week and 10 the next, and don't take summers or winters off. It's good to take a week or two after a season to let the body recover, but any more than that and you will have to start off some scratch again. Running more miles will help too, but you have to be very careful and do it slowly and monitor your body to make sure you're not pushing too much, too fast. Once you're at a good mileage, you have to identify your strengths and weaknesses and what you'll have to work on to run well in the distance you'll be racing. Add doubles if you're feeling adventurous. And above all, don't forgot that easy days are meant to be easy!!!! If you run too hard on your easy days, you won't be able to give 100% effort in the workouts and races. And, easy days are actually when you improve; workouts tax the body, and easy days provide the recovery period when your body rebuilds even stronger.
With that, I bid you adieu. I smell and must shower.
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