New Marathon Training Workout (to me)

I just came across a new (to me) workout for marathon prep.  Apparently it’s fairly well known by those in the know, but it’s news to me.  Basically, it goes like this:

5-6 weeks before your marathon (not on the same week as one of your long runs), go on mile warm up run and then do two 5-6 mile runs back to back. You do so at 20-30 seconds faster than your goal marathon pace.  And here’s the other kicker – in between the two runs, you take a 10 minute break.

What they say happens during that break is your legs get stiff.  Combining that with the faster pace, it simulates how you body will feel during the last 6 miles of the marathon.  They also say that some elite folks use this workout with pretty good results.

I looked on my training schedule about 6 weeks out I have a 12 mile run planned.  I’m going to do this workout on that day.  This won’t happen until December, but once it does, I’ll let you know how it goes.

Has anyone else done this workout?  How did it go?  Did it help prepare for your marathon?

-Scott

Dopey Challenge Trianing Plan

Who put a cartoon character in charge of a major race?

OK, so I’ve been preparing myself the past couple months for the Dopey training.  Yes, I’ve been training for my training.  Good thing too, cause I just settled on which plan to follow and Hal Higdon is the winner!  As you can see, week 1 requires you to be able to already run 13 miles at once.  So you better have done some pre-training to be ready to do that.

Not too bad, right?

Honestly, it doesn’t seem too bad.  Sure the back to back long runs will be tough, but they’re not as long as I thought they’d be.  I may add a little extra mileage, but maybe I should be smart and stick to the schedule as made.  After all, he’s the expert.  I settled on this plan because I’ve heard a lot of good things from several runners about following his plans before for marathons.  It’s worth a try.  Though I’m sure no plan is perfect since this is the inaugural edition of the Dopey, so if nobody’s done it, then maybe nobody knows the best way to prepare for it.  And maybe there is no best way to train.  I’m sure there are several plans that good for different people.  It’s not an exact science, after all.

True words. It takes a lot of work.

My only addition to his plan is I’ll continue on with my cross training during the week.  I know he has some cross training days in there, but I currently do more than that and want to continue.  I believe it is VITAL to cross train when doing distance running.  Need to keep your body strong in order to run strong.  So I’ll keep up with yoga, weight lifting, etc.  Not sure if I’m going to play soccer this fall though – I’d hate to invest in running this Dopey only to get an injury playing soccer – may have to skip a season.

Anyway, the official kickoff for this program is September 9th, 2013.  Just gotta make sure I’m ready to run 13 miles by the end of that week in addition to the other runs.  Shouldn’t be a problem.  I’m almost to that distance on my current long run and I’m basically running 5 days a week anyway.  Here’s to hoping for a successful training season and a successful Dopey completion!!!