Q&A with Meredith

Liz posted a question in the Thursday Thoughts and I wanted to answer it as a whole other entry.

She asked, "I would LOVE to run this 18 mile race on October 7, and I have been running about 25-30 miles a week. I recently ran 9 miles and I felt very strong. Do you think if I kept building my long runs, I'll be able to run the 18-miler by then?"

This was an excellent question and I am so happy to answer it. Here is my response:

I think you have plenty of time to train for an 18 mile race on October 7th. I think your weekly mileage is far better than most people would be running that same race. In fact, that is the same weekly mileage I used to run my first three marathons. Since your longest single run to date is 9 miles, I would recommend increasing your long run each week by 1-2 miles. You can choose to actually run 18 miles as a training run before the race, or you might want to only run 16-17 miles as your longest training run before the race. I would also recommend keeping your weekly mileage roughly the same or even a little bit higher, like 30-35 miles.

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind to keep from getting injured.

-Do not increase your weekly miles too quickly. I would only increase that long run mileage.
Your long runs should be long, SLOW runs. We’re talking 1-2 minutes slower per mile than your race pace. For example, I run my marathons between an 8:00 and 8:30 pace per mile. I do my long runs between a 9:00 and a 9:30. The runs should be comfortable and you should be able to hold a conversation. If you feel yourself picking it up, slow it down.

-Your other daily runs should also be at a comfortable pace. Only once or twice per week should you be doing any speed workouts.

-And finally, if it hurts, STOP! Take some time off, rest and ice, and return to your running slowly. Usually it’s just soreness and a day or two off will really help.


If anyone else has running questions, or any questions you'd like to ask me, please leave a comment or send me an e-mail: meredith-gordon@insight.rr.com.