[email protected] (Mark Mauro) wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> Thanks for the new plan Phil. It seems to make a lot of sense. Question. How slow should recovery
> runs be.
Like everything else, that depends. If you've run any races recently, you can go to
http://tinyurl.com/34haz and get some idea of how fast to run your recovery runs as well as any
other types of runs. For example, if you've run a 43 minute 10K, you should be running your recovery
runs no faster than 9:13 per mile. If you haven't run any races, maybe it's time to test yourself
and see where you stand. Most marathon plans call for running a few tune-up races 1 to 2 months
before the marathon. If the marathon is down the road farther, I'd do a 10K just to get your pacing
in allignment and predict your possible marathon pace at this point in your training.
A lot of people, me included, tend to run their recovery runs too hard. This defeats the purpose of
the recovery run, which is to help you recover from your last hard workout and prepare you for your
next hard workout. If you run them too hard it can make your hard workouts not as hard as they
should be. Then all your runs tend to be flat. I have to remind myself of this, because I don't like
running as slowly as is recommended. While going up a hill this becomes almost a walking pace.
A heart rate monitor would come in handy to more accurately gauge the correct pace of your recovery
runs. If you're running in the hills, this becomes difficult to gauge based on effort alone. Pete
Pfitzinger recommends in his book, "Advanced Marathoning," that recovery runs should be run at less
than 75% of maximal heart rate and less than 70% of heart rate reserve.
Here are some other recommended paces from the book: Long (17+ miles): 10-20% slower than
marathon race pace Medium-Long: 10-20% slower than marathon race pace General Aerobic: 10 miles
or less at a steady pace Lactate Threshold: 15K to half marathon race pace VO2 Max: 3-5K race
pace Recovery: < 75% MHR
-Phil