1. running.COACH Forum
  2. pace and longest run during preps for a marathon
Michael Schulz
Image
Total Running 7'937 km
Member since almost 6 years
Post #22 of 26

Hello,

yes the pace of longjogs is now much lower because now you train the "basic endurance" with low speed and low hf.

About 3 month before your marathon the pace of the long jogs will rise as the phase of preperation of the marathon begins.

Greetings

Micha

Hansruedi Nyffenegger
Image
Total Running 20'009 km
Member since over 8 years
Post #255 of 399

Hi again

The plan adjusts:

  • If you change your settings and press "10. Generate plan" under 10.
  • After competitions (I think after priority ** and *** competitions)
  • If you run regularly times faster than specified by RC, but only if the heartrate  is "in frame". (Probably as wel if you were slower)
  • When you reach a new max. Heart rate (here the changes are probably just minimal)
  • and after a long time without a new plan you will be asked anyway, but I would think that this happens only after a few months.
  • and if you drop several trainings, due to injury etc.
The update is not done secretly, but you are asked at the last 5 points whether RC should update your plan or not!

And there are probably more triggers, don't know them all

I think it would be a good idea to do another test-run in June/July. As one cycle of the plan is 5 weeks, you should  keep it as it is, as long as it seems OK for you. Until early summer you can work on the basics, then, about 5 month before Frankfurt (hope it will be possible to run then...) you could test and adjust the settings. Then you can start the trainings with a probably higher pace - and that might result in Longjogs of >30 km
 
And as Mike says: 3 weeks before Frankfurt would be perfect to test. Not only pace but everything: shoes, shirt, nutrition (same as Frankfurt!!!), tactics of drinking etc...

Well then: keep on running!

Hansruedi
 

Mike Oberli
Image
Total Running 4'028 km
Member since almost 14 years
Post #510 of 540

Around 3 weeks before the Marathon you will have a run in marathon pace for 90 min. People often use that run to do a semi marathon run without regeneration before. At best with the half altitude difference as the Marathon will have. The pace you are able to run for this training you probely are able to run for the Marathon, that because you will have much less load in the training short before the Marathon.

Mike Oberli
Image
Total Running 4'028 km
Member since almost 14 years
Post #509 of 540

Hi Tal

1. Do you mean the programm adapt your plan by itself? As I know no. I am not sure how it works at the moment, as I know, depend how you document your
runs, runing.COACH will ask you to adapt the plan after a wihle.

2. Yes, it makes sense to do it. Elite runner do that as well. Only with a test run you will know you increase your level or not. My girlfriend follows a triathlon plan from die USA. Every 8 weeks she has a test week. Swimming, running and cycling for given distances or times. The program adapt the plan after the test week. In case of running.COACH, you shoud do from time to time a test run by your self ,10k at minimum if your goal is marathon.

Al the best
Mike

Tal Avziz
User img default
Total Running 4'619 km
Member since almost 4 years
Post #2 of 2

first of all, many thanks for the detailed answer! much appreciated! 

i did 1 marathon a year ago (Amsterdam) in 4:16h and a test run of half-marathon in 1:52 a month ago. 

your explanation makes sense for me and I will stick to the program. couple of questions:

1. will it adjust moving forward? 

2. do you think I should do a test run later on the program to make sure I can meet the required pace? 

thanks again!

tal 

Hansruedi Nyffenegger
Image
Total Running 20'009 km
Member since over 8 years
Post #254 of 399

Hi Tal

It would be important to know your experience at first: are you running your first marathon or do you already have some experience? And which PB times do you have over which distances? 4 hours can be a magical (or illusiory) limit for beginners, for a competitive athlete it may just be an easy training run. Basically the values ​​30 km in 3 hours are suitable for sub 4. That would require roughly a PB of 1:50 for semi-marathon and 0:50 over 10 km. To be precise: the goal is a prognosis by RC based on what you can run now (so make sure your settings are correct), not a wish based on whatever...

The specified values ​​generally make sense. You should train at least 4 times a week for a marathon plus once or twice a week core stability. That means: you run your longjogs at the end of a training week with 3 or more runs with 10 km (or more) and strained core muscles, so you usually start tired in the last weeks of the plan.

Long jogs are deliberately slow: to train your "running foundation" and running on fat rather than Carbohydrates. If you would run faster, the load for the body would be so high that it would take a long time to recover.

Other plans put 32 km as a maximum, or 20 miles. A marathon is often called a 10 km run with 32 km warming up. Beginners in particular have the feeling that - if they manage 32 km, then they can do the marathon. It’s more complicated. The second 21 km are always much more difficult than the first ones. You can also crash into the wall on the last 4 km if you started too quickly. Therefore, neither 32 km nor 35 km would guarantee anything.

RunningCoach limits the long jogs to a maximum of 3 hours, that is at your pace approx. 30 km. Longer runs would result in a longer time to recover. A 3 h / 30 km lonjog usually leads you to the point where it gets tough. For many beginners, the "man with the hammer" is somewhere between 25 and 32 km. So you can often play with him. But it would make no sense to push you to often/to long over your limits.
 
To do longer runs than 3 hours could give you the confidence "that you can do it". If you already have some experience and are recovering well, you can consider to extend your lonjog once in September for maybe 30'. But for beginners I can say, based on my experience: trust an follow the plan.
 
Hansruedi
 

Tal Avziz
User img default
Total Running 4'619 km
Member since almost 4 years
Post #1 of 2

Hello,

I am training for the Frankfurt Marathon in October with a goal of less than 4 hours.

In the plan I got, the max run before is 30Km and the pace of the long runs is much slower than the pace required for the marathon. does it make sense? i know from previous plans that the longest run should be around 35Km. 

 

thanks for your help,

 

tal   

Reply