Overtraining a plate of beans?

April 4, 2010 8:01 AM

I have one month to train for a relay race. This is my first race ever, and I'm completely new to the idea of training for an event. I run regularly, but never fast or far. Help me get ready.

Ignignokt and I are signing up for the Cape Relay in May. We'll each be running three legs, approximately eight hours apart. The length of each leg varies, but generally they're between 3 and 8 miles. Total distance per runner is about 13-18 miles.

Currently I run four days a week, weather permitting. Two days on the treadmill, a little over 3 miles per run at 1.0 incline, between 5.0-6.5 mph. Two days outside, usually 4 but sometimes 5 miles, with a hill or two thrown in. I'm slower outside - I average a little under a 12-minute mile. I can run a 10-minute mile on the treadmill, but I can only keep up that pace for a couple miles. We usually warm up for runs with either weightlifting or bodyweight exercises. We do a weights-only workout one day a week, and I go to a yoga class once a week, sometimes twice if I can fit it in. I'd prefer not to give up either of these. I have one rest day per week. Ignignokt's schedule is similar, but with more lifting and without the treadmill runs and yoga, and his pace is faster than mine.

Our team is in it for fun rather than competition, and they know that I'm a slowpoke; we're more concerned about improving endurance than speed.

Most of the training programs I've found online are intended for running marathons or half-marathons. I've seen some relay advice, which recommends running at different times of the day and occasionally getting in two runs in a day, and we plan on doing that, but there's still the issue of how to get accustomed to running longer distances.

I am willing and able to spend more time both on the treadmill and outside. (My gym has a thirty-minute limit on equipment in theory, but in reality there are never more than a few people at the gym when I'm there, there are always treadmills open, and the time limit has never needed to be enforced.)

And to be honest, I don't have a very good grasp of how ambitious this is, or whether a month is enough time to get ready. I flip back and forth between "pssht, this'll be easy" to "what was I thinking, I'm going to kill myself."

We ran 7.3 miles yesterday, which is the longest either of us have ever run, and though our pace was slower we didn't stop and we don't feel like death today, so that's promising.

We'll customize our own training schedule in the end, but any advice you can provide would help greatly.

posted by Metroid Baby to health & fitness (4 answers total)

Try and work some intervals into your training schedule. The two basic kinds of training for runners are long, slow distance and short, fast distance. It sounds like you're doing pretty well with the first. By doing some of both (generally not on the same day) you'll probably advance faster than if you only do one or the other.

At least once, not too close to the race, simulate the race conditions for yourself. That is, run a couple of miles, then rest for however long you would for the race, then run a couple of miles, then rest, etc. Getting your momentum back after an extended rest can be difficult for some people, so it'll be good to find out if you're one of them before the race.
posted by jedicus at 8:13 AM on April 4, 2010

Jedicus has it right...Ino longer run: old age etc., but I began late in life and trotted about, gradually adding miles each few weeks...Mnaged to get length of run up to the point where I ran some 7 half marathons and NY Marathon, no great speeds but respectable. Start slow and then taper off.
posted by Postroad at 8:22 AM on April 4, 2010

Firstly, I'm sure you can do it - and it looks like a great run! With the event this close, I don't think it's a good idea to try anything new in your workouts - by all means try an interval run, but don't go too hard, and don't go nuts on the distance, as there's a real risk of injury if you do. I've often heard that you shouldn't increase your distance by more than 10% per week, which seems like fine advice.

To be honest, it sounds like you're pretty much in control of your training, but you are nervous! Well, that's totally natural, but if you do another couple of runs around the 7-9 mile distance you'll increase your confidence and have a blast on race-day. The adrenaline of actually taking part in an actual running race is amazingly powerful!

It's not quite clear from your question if you will be doing any running in the dark - if you are then I recommend one training run at night, to see what it's like. Again this is about confidence, but also to check that your torch is working as well as you need, etc. Jedicus' advice, to train in race-similar conditions, is great.

Oh, and don't forget to take it easy for a week or so before the event - it's called tapering, and its importance cannot be overstated.
posted by mjg123 at 8:38 AM on April 4, 2010

Interval training is the way to improve your endurance and speed, but there may not be enough time for much of that with only a month to go. If you will have to run 8 miles and are now only doing 5 you probably want to edge up your distance. If you can get comfortable at the longer distance and still work in some interval training that would be ideal. Don't overdo it though as the last thing you want is an injury before the race.
posted by caddis at 1:14 PM on April 4, 2010