Great questions. I’ll touch on these in detail during next month’s post on “How to Structure a Training Week,” but here are some brief responses for now.

1. There’s nothing magic, good or bad, about turning 40 and becoming a masters runner. Age is just one factor that impacts training like many others. Just like all things running, recovery time and adaptation rate are different from person to person. For this reason, I think the question of how much to run versus cross-train should depend on how you feel on quality days. I encourage people to (a) run less and cross-train more, (b) space workouts more days apart, or (c) do both, when they start to feel like they don’t have the “pop” in their legs on quality workout days. Injuries would be another big tip-off, particularly if they are of the overuse variety (tendinitis, IT band inflammation, persistent joint soreness, etc.). Usually, though, it’s mainly about feeling fresh for quality days.

2. Given any constrained schedule (i.e. everyone’s real life in this day and age), I recommend first setting a routine. This seems to be set in your wife’s case. When that is done, I then want to begin adding varied (this is key) speed work. If you can’t add time or distance, the way you can keep challenging your body is to provide different training stimuli from week to week. So, one week could be some hill repeats, the next fartlek, the next a tempo, and so on. As long as you keep changing the variables, the body will continue adapting and getting better, even within the same amount of training time per week.

1. Cross-training. I’m in the back end of my 30s, and I keep hearing about how masters runners can benefit from incorporating cross-training as opposed to solely running. How would I determine when I’ve reached that point? Is it a matter of starting to encounter injuries more frequently? Or is the benefit more that legs are fresher for the real workouts, while still getting some aerobic benefit on easy days? I’ve been running fairly consistently for the last 2 years (had only really run occasionally since high school), last year I’ve averaged 30-35 miles without any injuries to speak of.

2. How to fit in workouts in limited training time? This one’s for the wife, she’s gotten back into running for the past year or so, after the birth of our son. Because of work & parenting responsibilities, she’s able to get in about 2.5 hours of running per week, about 15 miles, over 3-4 runs. Usually 1 longer run (5-6 miles) and 2 or 3 shorter runs, all at fairly easy pace but with some strides at the end of 2 of those runs. Given her time constraints, what do you think would be the most beneficial change to her routine?

Really appreciate your time here and on your own blog. Thanks!

Arlina – thanks for the question! I actually think Caleb is going to tackle this issue in next month’s column.

One thing that is important for me with that warm up mile is allowing my form to settle in. I’ve been dealing with a dodgy knee for awhile and it takes about a half mile for it loosen up and feel good. If I hit the ground running fast right out the door I fear I might do some damage. A slow first mile and I’m good to go.

Thanks! I somehow pulled an 8:48 pace during a relay marathon yesterday, and so now I think I have a little more guidance.

Emby, the best way to set a baseline is to run a race (5k, etc) and then plug that into a calculator for some guidance. If you have one, you can also use a heart rate monitor to see how various paces translate to necessary effort. Easy runs should be around/under 70% of your max HR. The old school way to check easy pace is to make sure you can talk easily while running (i.e. run at a “conversational” effort).

The great news is newbies improve fast, so you’re likely going to see some jumps in your easy pace as you keep running consistently!

Trail Running Dad is right on the money here. In terms of easy running and most recoveries, there really is no such thing as “too slow.” And, the targets for your intervals should absolutely be based on upcoming goals. There are a couple special situations where I will call for a “recovery” that is at a more moderate effort (these are called floats) to train the ability to process/burn lactate, but that’s for very specific training stimulus. In general, you should recover as slow as you need to in order to hit the target for the next interval. As you improve fitness, you can reduce the recovery time.

Thoughts on learning pacing for relative novices?

Dave-

Sorry, I meant to append the response with something along the lines of “that’s my take based on my experience, but I’d be real curious to hear what Caleb thinks of your intervals”. Good question for him to tackle.

That’s very helpful, thank you! I’d say my current race goals are tricky because it’s triathlon season and all of my training has been to improve the run times. I suppose my 5k goal in a sprint tri is sub-7:00’/mile, but maybe I can do 6:45s?? Hard to say. Just aiming to go fast at the end of a tri!

I’m on board with Pete here – in the same “sub-sub-sub-elite” category, and my paces can cover a little over 3:00/mile. First mile of my warm-up is usually 9:00+, and faster pace intervals dip below 6:00/mile. I feel much better on my runs after a really easy first mile or two.

One thing that wasn’t totally explicit here, but mentioned in better detail on Caleb’s blog, is that the elite runner mentioned here is generally only doing 8:00 miles for his first mile or two as warm-up. After that his easy run pace is around 6:30.