Week 24: 454 Miles Down

Are you sitting down? Big news: Last week I started training for the Chicago Marathon!  It was a distant possibility when I started this blog, pending good health and strong running in June. Check and check.

I'm using the Furman Institute of Running's "FIRST" Training Program. Only 3 runs per week, each a true workout intended to improve pace. No mileage padding here. Three other days are reserved for cross-training (like the cycling I'd do anyway). Friday's a day of rest.

The program (PDF) throws out terms like PMP and "slightly slower than your 10K race pace", which this pace calculator helped me decipher. Basically, my goal's to run a 4 hour marathon, which requires 9:09/mile or better. (unless I say otherwise, all these pace figures will be time per mile) So my 10K pace is 8:14/mile, the Tuesday "speed bursts" are at a 7:30 pace, my Thursday "tempo" runs are at an 8:30 pace and Saturday is 15-60 seconds slower than planned marathon pace. The challenge is not only increasing your weekend mileage but going progressively faster.

The fantastic first week:

Tuesday – Training begins on a warm summerish evening: 4.5 miles; warm-up, 6 x 1 min. speed bursts, cool-down

Thursday - 6 miles through a busy, indifferent Lakeview; 2 miles easy, 2 miles "tempo", 2 miles easy

Saturday - First long run's an easy one. Good thing too, since they'll only get harder from here. 8 miles, at 9:40 pace, on the type of late spring morning that inspires bad poetry.

Week 24: 18.5 miles

YTD: 454 miles
On pace for: 990 miles

Are you sitting down? Big news: Last week I started training for the Chicago Marathon!  It was a distant possibility when I started this blog, pending good health and strong running in June. Check and check.

I'm using the Furman Institute of Running's "FIRST" Training Program. Only 3 runs per week, each a true workout intended to improve pace. No mileage padding here. Three other days are reserved for cross-training (like the cycling I'd do anyway). Friday's a day of rest.

The program (PDF) throws out terms like PMP and "slightly slower than your 10K race pace", which this pace calculator helped me decipher. Basically, my goal's to run a 4 hour marathon, which requires 9:09/mile or better. (unless I say otherwise, all these pace figures will be time per mile) So my 10K pace is 8:14/mile, the Tuesday "speed bursts" are at a 7:30 pace, my Thursday "tempo" runs are at an 8:30 pace and Saturday is 15-60 seconds slower than planned marathon pace. The challenge is not only increasing your weekend mileage but going progressively faster.

The fantastic first week:

Tuesday – Training begins on a warm summerish evening: 4.5 miles; warm-up, 6 x 1 min. speed bursts, cool-down

YTD: 454 miles
On pace for: 990 miles

Comments

[Lou]

Yay! Chicago Marathon! I'm glad you're in. Also, I've never heard of this training program and I'm totally curious. I will be researching it now so I can intelligently discuss it with you later this evening over cards.