Hi,
I would like some advice from all you marathoners out there.
I am currently training for a goal race next fall. It will be a long cross country race (30km) and my goal time is equivalent to a 2:45 - 2:48 marathon. My plan for this season has been to work on my 10k and 1/2 marathon speed with the goal to run sub 35 / sub 79 next spring. After that I will focus on a marathon regime.
This summer/fall I have been running 5-6 times per week (6-9h) (including 2 speed sessions and a cross country long run of 2h).
Here are the speed sessions that I have completed for the last two weeks:
week1. 5x1mile @ 5:45 rest=90s, hard but controlled
week1. 3x1000m @ 3:15/km rest=120s, very hard
week1. Race, 45minutes cross country, hard but controlled
week2. 2x4000m @ 5:59/mile rest=120s, moderate (only one this week)
week3. 10x1mile @ 5:57/mile rest=90s, moderate (last 2 reps a bit tough)
week3. not yet completed
I have experimented a lot with my speed sessions this summer and feel that I recover much quicker from threshold workouts rather than faster running (when I accumulate some lactic acid). For example after my 10x1 mile session I almost feel stronger the day after whereas after 3x1k my legs are really sluggish for a few days. I have been running 1 hard session almost every week this summer(1-5 min intervals 3k-10k pace at a total of 15-20min work).
My questions are really:
1. Is sub 35 / sub 79 a realistic goal in 4-6month time?
2. Should I perhaps focus more on threshold workouts and restrict harder running to perhaps every second week?
3. General training advice for my goal time
Thanks!