Triathlete Dad

My buddy, Tony, is training for a half-marathon. He has built up to a 9-mile long run, and plans to run 12 miles in the next couple weeks. He wants to run fast for these runs, believing it will strengthen his lungs and prepare him for the day of the race. I completely understand Tony’s desire to build that speed as quickly as he can. But, here’s my advice to Tony, and it benefits anyone training for a triathlon or distance run, like a marathon. Running at run pace every time, for the entire time of his long runs will set him up for injury, and eliminate the race entirely. So, I created a training schedule for Tony, that I put at the end of this article. It’s important to keep these long training runs at about 80% of your normal pace speed. You can pick up the pace during a portion of the run, but not the entire time. So for example, if you plan on running an 8-minute mile, just run the longer stuff at 9 to 9:30 minute miles. Let your body warm-up for 3 miles and then push it a little in the middle at 8-minute miles for 3-4 miles. Leave all the speed for your day at the track. Wait until you have a solid base of 6-8 weeks of running before you hit the track. Once you’ve built this base, then hit the track, one day each week. Let your body recover. If you feel like you’re stressing yourself, then you’re probably overdoing it, and you need to back off.
Here’s a good basic general distance running plan for triathlons or marathons:

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Tags: running, training, triathlon //