Experiment: Jogging for Sub 3

Almost certainly you will get hurt doing 2 hours of running a day unless that’s close to your current load???

I'm at 1:30-2:00 hrs per day jogging. Not my first rodeo. I've done this before. Want to see if LSD really works in the purest sense. Weight loss will be my speed training.

Just will add, in the past I've always got hurt running too fast or speed training. I don't get hurt walking, jogging, or running easy. So I thought, why not do that all the time?

I've always been a fan of high mileage at low intensity for the reasons you state. And I've always been able to race quite a lot faster than anyone would expect based on the slowness of my training runs. Nevertheless, it seems ridiculous to think that you will be able to race at sub-7:00 pace for 3 hours based on training runs at 8:45 pace. How fast were you training when you ran your 3:05?

You might check out some old books by Joe Henderson. One called: Long Slow Distance: The humane way to train, has profiles of 6 runners who ran various amounts of distance but no speedwork except races. Another (The Long Run Solution) explains his approach to the sport as a long slow distance guy. His is not the approach of many people around here, but he was in the sport for a long time and really seemed to enjoy it.

Hmm, I was running around 7:45-8:30/mi on avg. When I ran 3:05 I was injured as well. IMO, this experiment really boils down to weight loss vs. pace/speed training. I'm essentially ignoring pace and focusing on time and weight loss.

Thanks, I've read Henderson, Van Aaken, and Newton. This is my first time using their ideas for prep.

Well, I'm very skeptical but I hope you can do it. Please report back next June!

You jog 1.5-2 hours per day now, and will use jogging 1.75-2 hours per day as a method to lose 50lbs? Or there are dietary considerations at play here too? Not sure how adding a Saturday long run will help you lose 50pounds on its own.

Go for it. I love this idea as an experiment and as a building block for faster marathons later. And I hope you stay healthy. This sounds somewhat like the Japanese approach - a ton of miles at a slow pace to build your aerobic base.

From a 2016 Competitor article:

"Nobuya “Nobby” Hashizume of the Lydiard Foundation served as an assistant coach for the Hitachi Ltd., Running Team between 1988 and 1991 and says that simply running a lot of mileage—building up a solid base of slower, steady miles—is one critical factor of Japanese success ... Hashizume also recalls that one corporate team coach, the former teammate of legendary marathoner Toshihiko Seko under late coach Kiyoshi Nakamura, had his runners log 60 minutes in the morning, 90 minutes in mid-day and 60 minutes in the evening every day for 4 weeks during the build-up phase. Hashizume calls this kind of running “get-down-and-dirty-on-your-knees” aerobic-base work, and the Japanese have mastered it for decades. “It so happens that the longer the competitive distance, the more heavily we rely on training. So marathoning happens to be one of Japan’s favorite events.”

Read more at

http://running.competitor.com/2016/01/training/three-secrets-of-japanese-marathoners_144071#MSpELDlz8tibKqoZ.99

Oh yeah, I will have to watch my calories. I've lost 5 lbs. so far while building to 1:00-1:30 per day and adding Sat longer run.

Thanks for encouragement Low and Slow.

This can definitely work if you have the patience and discipline on the diet side. Certainly best to start no faster than 8:45 or even 9:00 pace. Inside of a year you should be fit enough for 7:45 at the same HR/effort, which is plenty good for sub-3:00. Good luck.

Thanks!

Worked for Ed Whitlock · https://www.runnersworld.com/masters/ed-whitlock-and-the-age-of-simplicity

Yes, since I'm getting older I thought going easy all the time, except races, is the best way to stay healthy without injury. I'll just keep building up time if things go well in this experiment.