Les Croupiers Running Club Forum

I'm curious about the runners world training pace calculator. and what others think..

I inputted with my latest half marathon time 1:24..

Easy Run 7:37 per mile
Tempo Run 6:19 per mile (ok can do that at club run)
Maximum Oxygen 5:42 per mile
Speed Form 5:16 per mile (hmm at a push !)
Long Run 7:37 - 8:37 per mile (seems slow to me)
Yasso 800s - 2:55 per 800 meters (about right) ..

when I input the half marathon time I'd like to be able to do 121,
Easy Run 7:21 per mile
Tempo Run 6:06 per mile
Maximum Oxygen 5:30 per mile
Speed Form 5:06 per mile
Long Run 7:21 - 8:20 per mile
Yasso 800s 2:49 per 800 meters

I guess this kind of tells me a few things:
to get quicker I need too..
1. I run my easy runs too easy..
2. My tempo runs are not quick enough (must try harder).
3. Speed work, needs to get harder.
but..equally.
I'm hitting a wall on ability and unlikely to get much quicker.. without hard runs..

Honestly, you two are like a pair of old women !!!!! If you want to run faster then you either increase your cadence or increase your stride length (or both !!!). Work on either of these and you will improve. FACT.

STOP OVERTHINKING THINGS.

Personally, I would start at the bottom of a steep hill..........

James - No! Hill repeats are a great way of gaining speed. It gives you loads of strength, and to run fast you need to be strong. It's a speed and strength session rolled into one. Legs need yo be strong to run fast. Most people neglect it (me included)
Most top runners will do them. Seb Coe did loads, as he was pretty fast.

James - As Stuart said, hills are a great workout to develop Speed, Strength, Stamina, Suppleness and Running Form. I honestly believe that hills are the reason Barry has produced so many top class athletes over the years !!!!!

I read that if you drop volume (cant remember exact percentage)but maintain intensity its possible to maintain performance for up to 21 days!

Food for thought for anyone who panics about getting enough miles in.

Being competitive is certainly a balancing act thats for sure!

The main thing is to recognise the importance of recovery as being as important as the training to adapt and avoid a plateau or worse.

so, interesting discussion.

So, does one cut back the miles and focus more on speed training.. and do you almost consider speed a semi race type event.. e.g. go as hard as you can?

i'm often or sometimes doing speed reps perhaps a little on tired legs.. so should i be having an easier day before speed reps.. or is that dont be an old woman..

James, it depends. I wouldn't increase several elements at the same time as that is courting injury. If you have a base of endurance (which is advisable) then add in the speed without increasing mileage (maybe even decrease mileage). I would do hill sessions in winter not now but I would be on the track all year round - once per week in winter, 2-3 times per week in summer depending on racing schedule.

Saying that, that may not float your boat. It depends on what you want to achieve and what you are willing to put into training.

I was saying to a client recently, you need to work out what your goal is then work backwards from that. Know what your lap times need to be for a certain track distance or mile/km times for a road race and work a certain degree faster than that in training.

If you don't know what you need to do to achieve something then you are never going to get there...

I love this thread. It compasses a lot of issues - not just about training, but about attitude.
And where do I stand on all this?
Listen to Martin and Evatt.
They're Barry boys, so they must know what they're talking about.
And if you knew what times they used to run, you couldn't help but be impressed.

I would go as far as saying there is no such thing as over training, just under recovering. When you think people can run marathons every day for 5-8, forces personnel can walk for days even weeks through jungles and deserts with little food.

In fact, if you don't 'over train', you won't progress...