Dropping Three Minutes

QUESTION: I am 50 years old and have been running 5-K races for a year now. I usually run in free runs in a local park, attracting usually about 200-300 runners, all of differing age and ability. I have managed to improve my time from 23:12 down to 20:58. The fastest runners generally finish around 17:00. (I usually place Top-30.) I absolutely love running, working out three times a week, averaging about 20 weekly miles. I interval-train at the beginning of the week and often race on weekends. My main goal is to actually win one of these races, which means I need to achieve a time of 17:00. I appreciate that most people would think this is not realistic given my age, but hey, why not aim high? Is it a case of doing more miles and making sure they are quality runs? Is it worth doing weights to improve leg strength?

HAL’S ANSWER: I can't promise you another three minutes of improvement. The closer you get to your maximum fitness level, the tougher it becomes to chip seconds away, much less minutes. But you certainly still have room for improvement. What you might consider is taking your focus temporarily away from those 5-K races and train up for a longer distance. Even a 10-K might offer some shift in your training approach, but consider aiming at a half marathon, if only to add some workout miles. You don't necessarily have to take this longer race seriously, but use it for motivation. Then, back to the shorter distances. I believe 20 miles is more than enough for improvement at the 5-K, but it depends on what you do with those fewer miles. 

"Q&A with Hal Higdon" is now available in the Kindle Store. Now you can download into your Kindle a year’s worth of question-and-answer columns by Hal Higdon for only 99 cents!

Hal uses TrainingPeaks to power his interactive marathon and half marathon training plans. Check out more of Hal Higdon's training plans here or on his website. 

Comeback Race

QUESTION: I was a recreational runner from age 18 to 27. I ran for fun and did a couple of halfs and a marathon, running 9:00 or 10:00 pace. That was five years ago. I am now 31, have two kids and did minimal training during and after both pregnancies. Now, I want to train for another half and get my focus back on running, but my current pace is closer to 11:00! My legs feel like bricks, especially for the first mile or two. Yesterday I was able to knock it down to 10:00 for a single mile in the middle of an 8-mile run. My legs felt better when I was running faster, but I don't have it in me to hold that pace. Is there anything that I can do to help improve my pace in my comeback race, or should I just focus on finishing, since I have not done much running in five years? 

HAL’S ANSWER: The quick and easy answer is, yes. Just focus on finishing. It sounds to me like you have enough fitness in your backpack to not to worry much about your first race back, whatever your pace. So don't push it. Go into the race with no goals other than to finish. Start in the back row if necessary to guarantee you don't get pulled out too fast. Run the first 10 miles at a pace you know you can handle, taking in the sights and scenery of a big race. With 3 miles to go, see how you feel. Run that last segment as though in a 5-K race. If struggling, simply cruise home. If you go into this comeback race with no specific goals other than to finish, you can build upon your accomplishment for your next race, whether marathon or not. I’ll be with you every step of the way.

Q&A w/HH is now available in the Kindle Store. Now you can download into your Kindle a year’s worth of question-and-answer columns by Hal Higdon for only 99 cents!

Hal uses TrainingPeaks to power his interactive marathon and half marathon training plans. Check out more of Hal Higdon's training plans here or on his website. Archived Q&A's from Hal can be found here.

Running The Runner's World Hat Trick

QUESTION:
I'm running the Runner's World Hat Trick during their "Half & Festival" in October, which means both a 5K & 10K on Saturday, and half-marathon on Sunday. I used the Novice 2 training program for my last half-marathon in April. Will this program be enough to prepare me for all three races? Should I run on my cross training days? I’m not concerned with time. I just want to challenge myself to do something new. Any suggestions you have would be great!

HAL’S ANSWER:
You don’t necessarily need to run on your cross-training days. You don’t need more running, just a different structure to that running. I would jump up in difficulty from Novice 2 to one of my intermediate programs. Intermediate 1 or Intermediate 2 for the marathon might be one choice, even if you don’t complete the full 18 weeks. At that level, runners do two runs on the weekend: a pace run on Saturday followed by a long run on Sunday. That comes closest to mimicking what you will experience in the RW Hat Trick. Intermediate 1 has somewhat less mileage than Intermediate 2, so that might be your best choice. I'm not sure I would recommend jumping to either one of my Advanced 1 or 2 marathon programs.

But another option - and maybe the best - might be my intermediate program for the half marathon. Take a look at Half Intermediate on my website. It does feature one day of speedwork. Do you think you can handle that type of training? One trick you might do is every third or fourth week, break your Saturday run in half - or near half. Do one run, rest for about the length of time you will have in the RW Hat Trick, then do run number 2.  

Q&A w/HH is now available in the Kindle Store. Now you can download into your Kindle a year’s worth of question-and-answer columns by Hal Higdon for only 99 cents!

Hal uses TrainingPeaks to power his interactive marathon and half marathon training plans. Check out more of Hal Higdon's training plans here or on his website. Archived Q&A's from Hal can be found here.

Dead Man Walking

QUESTION: I'm training for Chicago, my fourth marathon, following the Novice 2 program for the second time. Over the past four Saturdays, my long runs have suffered, unquestionably due in part to the extremely hot weather. The last two weeks, my legs have felt dead and seem to be getting deader. I've been doing the long runs about 60 seconds slower than race pace. I'm not sure if I have been overtraining and running too fast for the hot conditions. What steps should I take, if any, to try and recover? Some options I can think of: 1) Slow down my pace on the long runs; 2) Skip a run or two; 3) Stay on track with the program and hopefully push through it; 4) Something else?

HAL’S ANSWER: First, the weather lately has been brutally hot in many areas of the country. So if you tell me that you're doing your long runs 60 seconds slower than race pace, hmmm: That sounds way too aggressive. Heat makes pacing difficult, throwing all the numbers off. No wonder your legs are dead. You're almost racing your long runs, not running them. A couple of things happen when you do this: 1) You become chronically dehydrated; 2) You burn all the glycogen out of your muscles. Voila: Dead Man Walking!

Check your weight. Are you 2 or 3 pounds lighter than usual? Don't congratulate yourself on losing weight; you most likely lost fluids. When you become dehydrated, body temperature rises and you lose efficiency. Make a conscious effort to rehydrate.

As for glycogen depletion, it happens after marathons, but it also can happen if you do long runs too fast in training. Normally, most runners can replace their glycogen stores after a marathon in a week. But some runners take 3-4 weeks for recovery. You do not want to become chronically glycogen-deprived by training too hard. Make a conscious effort to follow a smart diet, which would include lots of complex carbohydrates. Take a few days off? Yeah, you probably need to do this--or at least cut back on your training by trimming some miles off prescribed runs.

One of the problems is that when you dig yourself into an overtraining hole, it's often hard to climb out of it. The hot weather can't last forever, can it? Let's hope not.

Q&A w/HH is now available in the Kindle Store. Now you can download into your Kindle a year’s worth of question-and-answer columns by Hal Higdon for only 99 cents!

Hal uses TrainingPeaks to power his interactive marathon and half marathon training plans. Check out more of Hal Higdon's training plans here or on his website. Archived Q&A's from Hal can be found here.

20 Miles Max?

QUESTION: None of your training programs have long runs over 20 miles. Do you recommend against running over 20 miles in training?

HAL’S ANSWER: It's not so much "against," but more "why?" Based on my own experience, I don't see a lot to gain from going much past 20 miles in training - unless you are an ultramarathoner. Could you improve your fitness and/or tolerance for longer runs by doing more than the three 20-milers that serve as the limit even in my Advanced 1 and 2 programs? Suppose on consecutive weekends, you ran 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and then 26 miles. I would not anticipate a major improvement in your aerobic capacity, thus your ability to turn a fast PR. I hate to scare everybody, but looming over your head would be the specter of overtraining, or even an injury that may have been prevented if you stepped off the road or trail at mile 20. If someone with 5-10 marathons under their belt wants to experiment with longer long runs, fine - I'll get out of their way. But I don’t endorse 20+ running.

Q&A w/HH is now available in the Kindle Store. Now you can download into your Kindle a year’s worth of question-and-answer columns by Hal Higdon for only 99 cents!

Hal uses TrainingPeaks to power his interactive marathon and half marathon training plans. Check out more of Hal Higdon's training plans here or on his website. Archived Q&A's from Hal can be found here.