Adjusting to Hansons

I haven’t officially started training for the 2015 California International Marathon training (that will start July 26th) but once I decided to use the Hansons Marathon Method, I thought it might be a good idea to read the plan more thoroughly and start integrating some of the concepts into my current training.

I purchased the Kindle version of the book a while ago, but since I’d be following the plan, I decided to buy the hard copy, too.  In addition, when I purchased the online training program, I got a “Hansons Coaching Services Standard Training Packet”.  (They’ve made a lot of money off of me so far.  I better PR!)

At this point, I’ve read most of both documents and created a daily training plan in RunningAhead.  I also added aspects of the training philosophy to my current 10K training.  Here are some things that struck me…

Easy Mileage

Easy Days.  The first 3 weeks of the 20 week plan are base building and feature a lot of easy running.  According to the program, easy running is key for marathon training.  It helps runners develop a stronger heart stroke rate, grow mitochondria that give energy to muscles, and promote fancy enzymes that help get oxygen delivery to all those essential mitochondria.  This is great news for me because unlike a lot of runners, I love easy days!  Maybe a bit too much since I’ve found myself in this plateau.  In any event, I don’t think this will be a problem for me.  If anything, I think I’ll be running my easy runs slower than I usually do.  From reading the pace guidelines, I think I will want to keep them no faster than a minute off of goal marathon pace, so 8:38 pace at the fastest.  I’ll do it for the mitochondria.

Long Runs. The authors immediately clarify that the plans don’t limit long runs to 16 miles.   Instead, long runs should be relative to overall weekly mileage.  Runners at the 60+/miles a week level should expect to run longer.  I’ll start off with 15 milers and won’t build to 20 milers until mid-October.  The Hansons touch on how really long runs reach a point of diminishing returns and can actually be counter-productive.  They advise runners to limit their long runs at the 2.5 to 3 hour range.  This will be a change for me because I have been used to running 20-24 mile long runs that last over 3 hours, week after week following Pfitz.  However, the pace guidelines for Hanson is faster.  According to them, the long run is meant to “should simulate the last 16 miles of the marathon, not the first 16”.  I was doing those Pfitz runs at an overall pace of about 8:30 pace – maybe a little faster – most weeks.  With Hansons, I’ll be dropping that down to 8:18 pace.  This weekend, I barely managed sub-9:00 pace so my long run pace needs to come down significantly.  Cooler temperatures will certainly help.

Warm Ups and Cool Downs. Warm up and cool downs are done at the slower end of the easy pace guidelines.  For me, that’s probably around 9:00 pace or slower.  However, I live in a neighborhood with “Heights” in the name so my cool downs almost always include a hard uphill climb.  The adjustment for me will be doing some strides, form drills, and dynamic stretching as part of the warm up as the program suggests.  I’m guessing it will add 5-10 minutes to my morning workout.

Recovery Jogs.  I tend to do a “sprinter’s jog” – super slow jogging – on my recoveries .  But, the Hansons say I should run them at the slow end of my easy pace.  Oh boy.  Integrating this suggestion is how the Hansons got their first opportunity to kill me.  I tried this on an interval workout on July 10th and July 14 and it was pretty rough.  But, it was easier the second time which gives me hope that I’ll adjust.

Something of Substance (SOS) Mileage

Besides easy mileage, there are the “something of substance” (SOS) workouts…

Speed Work.  The goal with these workouts is to recruit muscles different muscle types and develop running economy.  The plan starts with 400m repeats and moves up to a mile.  The authors emphasize that the intervals should be run at the prescribed paces in order to avoid over-stressing the anaerobic system, but not so slow that the runner doesn’t benefit from the training effect.  For me, I think the challenge will be striking the right balance between running hard and adequately recovering.

Strength Work.  These are tempo and marathon paced runs.  The goal of these workouts is to improve lactate clearance and tolerance, which is science-speak for being able to run faster longer.  These workouts are a huge reason why I switched to Hansons.  I’ve struggled to hit half-marathon pace or faster during workouts and I’m hoping that doing them more regularly will help.  With the Hansons plan, I’ll run a tempo run every week after the base building phase.  The first tempo run will be 5 miles at goal marathon pace and they will progress to 10 miles.

Other.  One of the biggest difference for me this training cycle: no doubles!  When I followed the Pfitz 18/80 plan, I was running twice-a-day at least once a week.  With Hansons, I’ll get all my mileage in as singles.

Looking Ahead

I’m planning to run the Rockville Twilighter 8K this Saturday and then wrap up the summer racing season at the Crystal City Twilighter 5K next Saturday.  Then, a week of rest and easy running before starting marathon training on Sunday, July 26th!