Along the lines of what others have said... could you at least turn one of those weekdays into a workout? E.g. make Wednesday a tempo day, and ask your wife to do you a BIG favor and "help you out" by pacing you on the bike, because it's so difficult to maintain tempo pace alone, etc. etc.
ElRunner wrote:
Mileage is mileage. As long as it doesn’t make you hurt to run slower than your body is used to running, then you are okay.
Thanks @EIRunner. Running slower doesn't (usually) bother me. I try to use it as an opportunity to really focus on my form and footfall while we chat.
I think you are on the right track and I would focus on doing two 15 min tempos or fartleks two times a week after your lunch runs with your wife. It should feel really good to settle into your own pace and let loose. Then on the weekends, definitely do your own runs.
It sounds like you know what you're talking about. I really appreciate the advice.
Similar here.
We start the run together and she gets about 3 or 4 miles in at 9ish pace. I’ll either make it an easy day and go home with her, or stay out for a few more miles at my normal paces, or during our run head off ahead, turn around and run back to her. I keep the weekend long run and a harder midweek session.
Loads of options, she’s pretty happy we’re running together fwiw. I wouldn’t be inclined to do more than 3 or 4 at a slower pace, and nor would the wife as she doesn’t want to detract from my workout.
I did a lot of running with my wife, 3-4 miles at 10 minute pace, earlier this year. I just treated it like a warm-up and did my "regular" run afterwards. I ended up getting in the best shape of my life. Now my wife is pregnant and she takes the bike. We have to stick to paved trails, but it is really nice. She barely breaks a sweat, even when I'm tempos sub-6 pace.
I'd give up marathons for a wife like that!
Why you always running 11:00 min pace for her? Does she ever run 7:00 min/mile for you?
I gave up running with my wife years ago. 11:00 min pace runs got me to 51:00 min 10ks. You aren't getting anything out of it. Wife never liked running anyways.
In fact, I'm running less now than when I was at work. If I run everyday during this f'ing shutdown, my wife says I'm running too much.
Good luck. Don't count the 11:00 min/mile pace runs as anything. They're a waste of time. Just go for a walk instead.
semi_pro wrote:
big HONKING birds wrote:
Plodding along at 11:00 pace is a gigantic waste of time if you're shooting for a sub 2:40 marathon.
I realize 11 min miles will do nothing for my speed, but even slow miles build endurance. Do they not? I'm genuinely asking.
If you were a 20+ minute guy....yes.
If you're much fitter than that, no it's just too easy to really stimulate aerobic signaling. Usually need around 55%-60% HRmax as a minimum.
I’ve been running with my dog a lot more during this work from home situation many of us are in, usually around that 10:00 pace range (I let him choose the pace hahah).
You’re unlikely to benefit directly from the runs themselves, but you can certainly use them to your advantage. I recommend two options:
1. Get in your quality workout after running with your wife, later in the day. Go with this option when you feel you would benefit more from working out on slightly fatigued legs (longer runs, tempos, thresholds, etc.). You’ll teach your legs to remain strong while already fatigued, as needed racing a marathon.
2. Get in your quality run in the morning before work, mostly when you need your legs to be fresh. Like when you need have that extra pop for intervals or faster workouts. You’ll receive the regular benefits of your workout, and running with your wife later will provide an opportunity to shake your legs out further after a hard effort, promoting more recovery.
My main advice for both options is to not neglect your stretching and fueling for those wife runs. They may be extremely easy, but you’re still burning calories and stressing your muscles. The runs can be helpful for the reasons I mentioned, but will hurt if you don’t treat yourself right before and after.
Finally, my advice is based on the idea that you’re limited with your time to run during lunch. With bigger times windows, you have more options!
I would advocate slow running as much as the next guy. But not 11 min pace. You gotta stop doing that.
winski wrote:
Lots of ideas:
- instead of running straight, run in a figure-eight pattern around her as she runs, may be able to double or triple your distance this way
- intervals back and forth to her, jog at 11:00 pace on 1 minute recovery
- run (hop) on one foot for a minute, switch
- high knees / butt kicks / jog-lunges type drills @ 11:00 pace
- run backwards holding her hands, this is great for hamstring strength AND romantic
- crab walks, at 11:00 pace this will be hard
- use extra ankle weights or weight vest
- pull her with a resistance band
- ask if she wants to roller blade or bike some days
- carry her for part of the run
- bring a wheel barrow, jogging stroller, or rickshaw along, occasionally let her sit in it while you increase the intensity. if you don't want to bring it the entire run, you can leave it at your house and do some short out-and-backs
- try to convince her to double. Run 15 minutes yourself before, pick her up at the house for 30 minutes together @ 11, then 15 minutes yourselfafter in the morning. Then repeat in the evening. This way you get 1 hr at your own pace, and 1 hr at the slow pace, and you both get two breaks in the craziness of these times.
All said, enjoy the time together and that she wants to go together with you.
Great stuff!!
It's great that your wife wants to run with you and you should enjoy that. I don't think that you are harming your training in so far as you are doing some recovery miles a number of times a week at a pace not that different from what Kenyan runners do for recovery--often an hour or more at 9 minute pace or slower (and if you are sub 2:40 guy, then that's about commensurate, as they are running 4:40s-4:50s per mile for the marathon to your 6:05, each slowing down 40-50% on recovery miles. One of their three daily runs might be like this, at least for the first few miles if not an hour. Now what you can do with your wife is to make parts of the runs into strides, fartleks or repeat intervals, which would help both of you and you'd just go faster for a short distance each time, maybe a minute or a block or 20 seconds hard, and then join up again. Otherwise, take the fresh legs you get from these runs and use them on 15-20 minute tempos once a week, 30-40 minute tempos once a week, and intervals or good pace at the end of long runs on the weekends. Since you're home most of the time, get a set schedule for plyos, situps, pushups, rope-skipping, and the like at home, which you might be able to do with your wife or kids.
What do you mean, is 7.00 pace too fast?
FM117 wrote:
Carry her piggy back the last mile, just call it strength training.
I used to do the same thing and wore military boots through the snow.
Sasha Pachev wrote:
Time with your wife is precious, regardless of how slow she might run. I believe with a little creativity you can make it beneficial not only for your relationship, but also for your running performance.
I would start with doing a quick stride for maybe 200 meters at your mile race pace once every 5-10 minutes, and then turning around and running back to her at your normal easy pace. This way your HR will stay in a decent range while your brain will have the memory of running fast with good form. I believe that once you have finished an interval, you are still running it in your mind for a few minutes, and it is not just your HR and breathing. You are reliving running fast which is training you even though most of your running is still at 11:00 pace.
As you watch your response, you may want to adjust the length, the speed, and the frequency of those pickups. But the idea is to break up the monotony by injecting the experience of running fast.
The side of his face should get stronger too after his wife slaps him every time he gets back to her after his quick strides!!
Happy wife, avoid the strife!!
You should do a hard workout before running with your wife. Depending on how hard the workout is you will be happy running 11 minute miles as a cool down or it will be a good depletion run.
That's not how you're supposed to do it! You are supposed to run with your wife's younger, more attractive friend who's just taken up running just to keep her company. In fact maybe even your wife suggested it.
As the weeks progress and you become more acquainted running with this friend your testosterone levels will shoot up and before you know it your marathon running dreams will have become a reality.
Isn't your wife OK with running a little faster? She should be in at least decent shape from running 5 miles every weekday! 11 minute miles may be so slow it hurts your running form and economy.
From personal experience, I successfully ran LA Marathon on March 8 in 2:39 (6 min PR) averaging 85 mp for 12 week block and peaking with 3 100 mi weeks. I ran a rather significant part of my training volume very slow, 9:30 to 10 min miles - like after a hard day I had a double of 10K am, 10K pm each taking almost an hour. Sometimes I felt like I could go even slower, especially in the am sessions, even that felt tough. But I have some sort of psychological barrier at 1-hour 10K. Maybe you're ok with running 11 minute miles after all. But you surely don't need 5 days of recovery runs in a row only working out hard on weekends. Put one hard workout on Wednesday, either instead of lunch ron or as a double, and your training stimulus would be much more optimal.
Given your race times 10 min pace is actually a perfect easy pace. Why is everyone saying that’s too slow and s waste of time. If you are running over 70mpw that’s perfect. The more the better. Show me one one study or reference that says there is no aerobic benefit to 10 min pace for this guy?
Parsec wrote:
semi_pro wrote:
I realize 11 min miles will do nothing for my speed, but even slow miles build endurance. Do they not? I'm genuinely asking.
If you were a 20+ minute guy....yes.
If you're much fitter than that, no it's just too easy to really stimulate aerobic signaling. Usually need around 55%-60% HRmax as a minimum.
You really don’t need to be going very fast to reach 55% to 60% of hrmax.
My max is 195 so 55 to 60% is 107 to 117.
I ran with my girlfriend the other day for 40 minutes at 11 minute pace and averaged 130 hr.
My 5k pb is 18:30 from a weekly parkrun with no taper or peak, so while I may be slow by letsrun standards, I’m still far from a 20+ 5ker
I haven't read all the other responses, but I'd try to do your regular training in the morning and do the miles with your wife as extra training. Replacing your regular training with the wife miles plus some really hard efforts just doesn't sound great to me tbh.