Back in the day, well before heart rate watches, and 220-age heart race specific zones, athletes trained by pace. Jack Daniels created a training with pace method, described in the book, the Jack Daniels Running Formula. I Suggest you find and study his book. Using the more and more reasonably priced availability of Gps units, what was outdated is new again. The technique is simple and easy:
1.Do a run test or race with a known distance, course that is flat. 10k, half mary, full mary, etc. This gives you the truth, a real measurable number. I takes ‘x’ minutes to run ‘y’ far. No guess work or pulling numbers our of the air based upon hopes and dreams.
2.Use his tables or a calculator online to get a vDOT number, determined by your test above. 3.Out of this VDot, find your running paces. Again, no guessing. You will be training using the correct pace, at all times.
4.Make a plan that applies these paces to obtain your PR goals.
5.Periodically retest to reset your VDot and set up brand new training paces, based on your increasing fitness.
6.Rinse, Repeat, Get Faster.Running faster paces is not as daunting as you Imagine – it can even be a great change of pace!
Marathon Training Schedule