hansons marathon method – Luke Humphrey Running

My easy days were too easy

December 22, 2020/0 Comments/in News, Uncategorized /by Luke Humphrey

I recently made a comment on my Strava log that I was making a conscious effort to make my easy days a little bit faster. This prompted a question from one of my followers who essentially asked what the benefits of running faster on their easy days would be. So… it depends, right? That’s the answer to a lot of these type of questions. Not every run should be your fastest, and as a coach, the problem is that if I give a range then the fast end of the is usually what is adhered too. So, to combat that a little bit, I want the focus to be on the easier side of things, knowing that the pace will creep up a bit. There are scenarios where we should go beyond the LSD style of running and that is what I want to explore today.

As we dive in I want to begin with adding more context to what I wrote in my log. If you have been reading my posts or listening to my podcasts, you know that I have been “treading water” as it comes to my training and fitness in 2020. As the year has wound down and I see some really great performances, not to mention the redefinition of age and performance, I have rekindled motivation for the next few years. I started looking back and reflecting on my training the last year, or so. It helps to really take an honest assessment of where you are coming from in order to determine the path forward. Prior to 2020, the vast majority of my easy runs were under 7:00 per mile. Most of this year, that number fell off substantially. I would say that the average pace of my easy runs was more like 7:15 pace. Now, to keep that in perspective, even if I ran 6:40 pace, that would still be a good 60-90 seconds slower per mile than my goal marathon pace. I am not making a set of rules for me and a set of rules for you! But, this was not a lack of ability, rather, a lack of just making the conscious effort.

So, looking at my goals, I realize that not everything can, or should, look the way it did when I was 25, or even 30 years old. There might be weeks where I need more recovery, but looking at this made me think about the cascading effects of “slacking” on my easy days. I don’t have any scientific backing on this, but to me, this was a cascading effect on the rest of my workouts. I was running significantly slower on my easy paces. When I went to do workouts, they just seemed so much faster than what they really should have been. Were they beyond my capability? Probably not, but mentally I couldn’t cross that bridge. Also, I have been using the word “averaged” a lot in this post and that’s important. Trust me, when there’s a run the day following a harder workout, I am going to go slower. At the very least, the first few miles I’ll let myself ease into it. I am talking about trends overall. If I have 4 easy days in a week, then the average might include 1-2 runs closer to 7 minute pace (+/-) while 1-3 will probably be a touch faster to 6:30 pace. So, don’t get it twisted that every single run is faster.

With a little bit of context now, when should you let it rip and when should you crank it up and when should you slow your roll?

Crank it up

When you take more easy days between SOS days. For instance, if you use a 9 day cycle or the alternator set up.
If you have gotten faster in races but your easy paces have stayed the same throughout.
If you are forcing yourself to slow down to be in the range and it’s causing gait change. Focus on running with a natural stride and increasing general endurance.

Slow it down

Don’t force the faster easy paces if you are trying to make a big jump in a race goal. Let effort dictate the pace.
You’ve tried increasing the average paces, but now workouts are suffering.

How I would start introducing more moderate paced runs, based on classic HMM plan:

Monday: Easy/Recovery- just coming off bigger weekend mileage that was more effort. Day before the SOS
Tuesday: SOS
Wednesday: OFF
Thursday: SOS
Friday: Recovery/Easy
Saturday: Easy/Moderate
Sunday: Moderate/Long

Over time, you might find that natural pace just becomes faster. Sometimes, we just have to convince ourselves first and then the body takes over. If so, let it roll. Just monitor effort and if you are whooped after a workout, don’t be afraid to take it easy. For me, it was a matter of convincing myself that I could still train pretty close to what I had in the past. For you, it might be convincing yourself that you are ready to take the next step. Either way, it can lead to big breakthroughs, given that you monitor data and physiological feedback. It also adds a little variety if you find yourself bored on easy days. Sprinkle ‘em in. See if anything happens!

Workout Variables: Strength Recovery Jogs

November 10, 2020/0 Comments/in News, Uncategorized /by Luke Humphrey

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Last week we discussed recovery repeats for speed workouts. If you missed that post, you can see HERE. This week I want to discuss the next group of repeats in the marathon training- the strength repeats. Traditionally, these are done at 10 seconds faster marathon pace per mile. You will see this written as MP-10. If you are familiar with HMM, you’ll recognize that the workouts are 6×1 mile, 4×1.5 miles, 3×2 miles, and 2×3 miles. The 6×1 has a ¼ mile jog recovery, while the 4×1.5 and 3×2 have a half mile jog recovery. The 2×3 has the most recovery, which is a mile jog recovery.

So if we are looking at the recovery from a ratio standpoint, the amount of recovery we are getting from a repeat is minimal compared to the amount of work we are doing. However, the intensity of the repeat is far lower. The other aspect to consider is the ability of the runner.

The faster the runner, the closer they get to the lactate threshold.

For instance, when I was at my peak, I’d train for 5:00-5:05 pace for the marathon, which would make my strength repeat at 4:50-4:55. My half marathon PR was at 4:52 per mile pace. So, with me, it all tied in nicely. However, I fully recognize that if your goal marathon pace is, say 10:00 min/mile, then there is not a huge difference there. Many of you may be averaging close to 9:50 pace for your marathon tempos!

I think that before we get into adjusting the recovery on these, we have to consider what we are trying to get out of these. For faster runners, it is accumulating volume at just under your LT. By faster, I’d say anything faster than 3:30, or so. For these people, it’d really be in the danger zone of your marathon pacing. You go out at this pace and sustain it, then it’s probably not going to end well. You aren’t at LT, but you are at a point that’s not sustainable. You’ll still be producing a lot of lactic byproduct and burning through carbohydrates.

For runners below that 3:30 range, really the closer you get to 4:00 and beyond, you aren’t producing big amounts of byproduct. We are really stressing the aerobic threshold, which is the point where we start seeing an inflection of lactic byproducts. It is often considered the crossover point of utilizing more carbohydrate than fat as fuel. With these folks, we aren’t working on improving the LT as we would be with the faster runners, but rather, trying to boost fuel efficiency and accumulating harder miles closer to goal MP.

As for recovery, you now see the trend- the faster the repeat will result in shorter repeats with a higher ratio of rest to work.

As you creep down to LT range, repeats lengthen out, volume increases, and rest to work ratio decreases. Once you get close to MP, the work to rest ratio will be the lowest. When I would do a workout like the 3×2 miles, they would be done in about 10:00 per repeat. A half mile jog recovery would be 3:45-4:00, usually. This would be a .4/1 ratio (about)- or 40%. I do see faster runners do similar workouts with 3:00 jog recovery, but I will say this, they usually aren’t training for a marathon. They are usually training for half marathons and under. Let’s say you are doing the same workout at about 20:00 per repeat. A half mile jog might be closer to 6:00-7:00, so we are still pretty close to that 40% range.

So… should we adjust?

When just looking at it by a numbers standpoint, I’d lean towards the idea of shortening these up. However, I keep coming back to the intensity of these, the volume, and the timing of these workouts. I also think about who is doing these workouts. First off, I’d say that if you are new to the philosophy, then don’t make this harder than they are. Now, if you are feeling super comfortable, or your paces are getting way too fast without any effort, then maybe consider it. If we were in that 40% range for recovery, maybe try decreasing recovery to 30% of the time doing the work. Or, even easier, back the 6×1 to a 200 meter jog, the 4×1.5 and 3×2 to a ¼ mile, and the 2×3 to a half mile jog and see how that goes.

I would be open to experimentation if you have been through the programs a few times and you know how you feel when you get to the strength block of the training. In essence, I want to be cautious. My other worry is the timing of the workouts. You’ll be in the peak volume of the training. You’ll be tired and you’ll be fatigued from the training. So, from that standpoint, just because you can, does it mean you should? That’s a decision that’s gotta be thought out. If you try it and fade off or you start flirting with injury, then stop it. There is no need to be a workout hero and not even make it to the starting line.

Going through this, I realize I am more vague on this, but I do think it’s something to explore in the right situations.

I think it’s something where keeping really good track of your previous data is a must.

Knowing how you handled previous segments should guide this decision. I don’t want you to take this as a free pass to just push the pace and take less recovery. I want you to focus more on controlling the pace and recognizing the effort. Then see if you can maintain that pace with less recovery. If inclined, give it a go. Best of luck and let us know how it goes.

Hanson Marathon Method: Choosing the right plan.

September 7, 2020/0 Comments/in News /by Luke Humphrey

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Being in the right plan can make all the difference in the world. If you are familiar with the plans in the books, then you know that there can be a big difference between what others use as a beginner plan and what the HMM beginner plan looks like. These differences has led to the creation of a number of different plans based on the original Beginner and Advanced plans. These plans have helped filled the gaps to meet more people where they are at in their marathon experience. All of these plans have led to a common question, “How do I know what plan I should be in?” I explore those plans in this podcast. I have also attached a presentation so you can have a visual.

Google Slides

Glass City Recap

December 22, 2020/0 Comments/in News, Uncategorized /by Luke Humphrey

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I ran CIM in the beginning of December and then took some time off. I was going through a lot of life changes so for the first time in a long time, running took a backseat on the priority list. I’ll have to admit, I didn’t really miss the training aspect. I still enjoyed the daily routine, but not the regimented routine I have been undertaking for the last 25 years!

As life began to sort itself out, I began to be accustomed to my routine. For a long time I had to be selfish with running (or at least I thought) and that left a lot of daily tasks to my wife. That always made me feel guilty and over time I think it was things like this that really affected our feelings towards each other. I always was an early riser, but it was usually to scramble to get around to meet the guys for an early morning run. Now I was getting up at the same time, but getting a couple hours of productivity done, school lunches packed, kid fed and dressed, and making sure bags were packed. Even after all that, I was out the door running by 9 am.

I started getting the desire to train again, but knew I had to change the approach a little bit. Not the philosophy, but just how this segment was to be approached. I had done two marathon segments in 2018 and ran two in 2017! I hadn’t even thought about that until writing this.

I had played around with more recovery and less mileage because I thought my body couldn’t handle what I used to do.

The truth is, it can’t, but it could handle a lot more than what I was doing. That’s a little off topic, as I still needed to change this segment. I had a ton of marathon work in my system, so I wanted to work on just being able to run faster. I hadn’t done much of anything under 5 minute pace (per mile) in a very long time and I want to get back to where that feels comfortable. However, this winter was pretty rough and I did a lot of simulated efforts on the treadmill. When I got outside, I tried to run faster. During the the last 6 weeks, I was able to get in the staple workouts of a Simulator and a 2×6 miles. I was pretty confident, at least in my ability to run respectable, but honestly, I knew it was going to be a little bit of a crapshoot.

Overall, from the first week of February until the week before the race, I averaged about 105 miles per week.

Not bad by any means, but a little less than what I averaged before CIM and about the same as what I averaged before Bayshore in May. I felt good physically. My back was in decent shape and my head was clear. My stress levels had decreased significantly. So, heading into the Glass City Marathon, I had two goals- 1) Was to compete for the win and 2) Run under 2:20.

RACE WEEKEND

The nice thing about this race was that it was close- about an hour away from home. Nikki and I still got a hotel room in Toledo, but just for convenience. Given the fact that our hotel for Boston two weeks earlier was in the 4 figures, this was nothing! We checked in and then headed over to the expo to pick our race packet up. Part of my elite entry included helping out for a couple hours at the expo, so I fulfilled that duty. Talking to the elite athlete coordinators gave me a lot of info and I knew the competition I was going to be racing against the next morning.

As expected, the weather deteriorated over the evening and into the night, but all reports said the rain was going to be gone, which was my biggest concern.

There is nothing worse than a cold rain. The morning was cold.

About 36 degrees, but the rain had stopped. However, the wind was steady at 10-15 mph and gusts up to 20+ mph. Woof! Oh well, I was honestly just glad it wasn’t 75 degrees! It did warm up a bit- I think starting temp was 39 or 40 degrees, but the wind was still there.

As I stood on the starting line I was pretty calm, but anxious to get going. I wanted to see how this thing was going to unfold. The half marathon and the full marathon run together for the first 9-10 miles, so I knew there’d be a good range of paces at the start. The race started and of course all the local hero’s went blowing by for their few minutes of fame. I was glancing around at bibs to see who was full and who was half marathoners. There was a couple guys that were on there own and then everyone else seemed to just kind of pack up. We started looping around the outside of the U of T campus and I tried to tuck in away from the wind. It was funny because there was so much back and forth with the pacing, so I just tried to stay calm. All was pretty well through the first 5-6 miles. I just ran my pace and let those young guys throw the sneaky punches. Looking at my splits, I was pretty steady at 5:18 ish pace. Miles 5 and 6 were 5:12 range, but I think we were with the wind.

However, by 6 miles, they must have tuckered themselves out and all of a sudden I was in front. Knowing the field, I knew that I had to set myself up for the best chance to win, so I stayed on the pace. I never pushed the gas to the floor, but I stayed honest at 5:18-19 pace. It was cold, and it was windy, so the field started falling apart. Pretty soon it was just myself and the eventual winner. From miles 7-15 we worked through a nice neighborhood and then into a big metropark and were on a bike path. We ran side by side all the way through 15 miles. I never felt like I was over the edge, but I felt like that was as fast as I could go without getting over the edge.

As we exited the park at 15, we made a right hand turn and this guy just blasted it. I ran 5:15 for that mile and he just dropped my like I had made a pit stop, or something.

To make matters worse, we were dead nuts straight into a headwind, too.

So, there was the break and he spent the next two miles putting a big distance on me. At that point, it was a matter of holding on. It just stunk because he was too far ahead to be in contact and I was all alone with third being a couple minutes back. No man’s land is incredibly lonely.

I am proud that the gap didn’t get any worse. At mile 20, or so, the biker next to me told me the gap was about 50 seconds and that’s where it stayed. As we headed back to campus, my calves were starting to cramp and my quads were fried. I was just spent and managing myself.

The wind definitely played a role with me. I looked at a couple calculators and a 10 mile head wind can add 10-20 seconds per mile, pretty easily. I would say that you throw in the factors of dehydration, being tired already, and then running completely alone for 10 miles and there’s a lot going on there. All in all, it was 2:22 and second place. I competed for the win for a long time and was on sub 2:20 pace for 20+ miles, but it ended rough.

Post Race

Now’s the time for too much information. I didn’t pee for almost two hours after the race. When I did, it was so brown I thought it was blood. I am telling you this because it’s important. I dehydrated myself really bad and that also had an effect. The thing is, I was really good with gels. I took 5 Isagenix Fuels. One right before and four during the race. However, it was so cold I couldn’t grab water.

I would be surprised if I took in 10 oz of water during the whole run.

That’s such a bummer, too. That’s a rookie mistake and it’s frustrating for myself. I’ve been doing this for 15 years and you always have to remember the basics!

The next couple days were brutal! I could barely walk. However, by Saturday, I felt good and went for a 3 mile jog. It was slow, but spring had finally come and I wanted to get some sun in! I ran the next week until mothers day. My hip was a little sore, but now it’s all good. I even started doing strides this week!

Moving Forward

I feel like I have one or two more chances at a Trials qualifier.

Right now, I need to step back from the marathon. I want to race some shorter races and get to where I can handle some things I haven’t done in a long time. My plan is to build up with a 5k and a 10k in June and July. Then run the Crim 10 Miler in August. From there I’ll transition right into marathon training for Indy on November 9th. I think there will be quite a few guys going after sub 2:19 and it’s a great course and race. It should be fun! I also want to get back to more strength. I keep saying it, but it’s my downfall!

At the end of the day, training for Glass City helped me transition to a new chapter of my life. I didn’t win, but I raced hard. I learned how to train without the reliance of a team. And I feel good with a lot of things in my life and my family! So, here’s to the rest of 2019.

My easy days were too easy

December 22, 2020/0 Comments/in News, Uncategorized /by Luke Humphrey

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

I recently made a comment on my Strava log that I was making a conscious effort to make my easy days a little bit faster. This prompted a question from one of my followers who essentially asked what the benefits of running faster on their easy days would be. So… it depends, right? That’s the answer to a lot of these type of questions. Not every run should be your fastest, and as a coach, the problem is that if I give a range then the fast end of the is usually what is adhered too. So, to combat that a little bit, I want the focus to be on the easier side of things, knowing that the pace will creep up a bit. There are scenarios where we should go beyond the LSD style of running and that is what I want to explore today.

As we dive in I want to begin with adding more context to what I wrote in my log. If you have been reading my posts or listening to my podcasts, you know that I have been “treading water” as it comes to my training and fitness in 2020. As the year has wound down and I see some really great performances, not to mention the redefinition of age and performance, I have rekindled motivation for the next few years. I started looking back and reflecting on my training the last year, or so. It helps to really take an honest assessment of where you are coming from in order to determine the path forward. Prior to 2020, the vast majority of my easy runs were under 7:00 per mile. Most of this year, that number fell off substantially. I would say that the average pace of my easy runs was more like 7:15 pace. Now, to keep that in perspective, even if I ran 6:40 pace, that would still be a good 60-90 seconds slower per mile than my goal marathon pace. I am not making a set of rules for me and a set of rules for you! But, this was not a lack of ability, rather, a lack of just making the conscious effort.

So, looking at my goals, I realize that not everything can, or should, look the way it did when I was 25, or even 30 years old. There might be weeks where I need more recovery, but looking at this made me think about the cascading effects of “slacking” on my easy days. I don’t have any scientific backing on this, but to me, this was a cascading effect on the rest of my workouts. I was running significantly slower on my easy paces. When I went to do workouts, they just seemed so much faster than what they really should have been. Were they beyond my capability? Probably not, but mentally I couldn’t cross that bridge. Also, I have been using the word “averaged” a lot in this post and that’s important. Trust me, when there’s a run the day following a harder workout, I am going to go slower. At the very least, the first few miles I’ll let myself ease into it. I am talking about trends overall. If I have 4 easy days in a week, then the average might include 1-2 runs closer to 7 minute pace (+/-) while 1-3 will probably be a touch faster to 6:30 pace. So, don’t get it twisted that every single run is faster.

With a little bit of context now, when should you let it rip and when should you crank it up and when should you slow your roll?