Last week I engaged in an interesting conversation with a colleague on the subject of 'specificity of training' particularly when it comes to running a marathon. The specificity law simply stated is, that the best way to train for something is to do that thing. Specifically ;), the question was, is it or is it not a good idea to run long runs (15-20 miles) at one's projected marathon pace during training. On the surface it seems like a good idea, but digging down a bit it seems less so. When one trains for a marathon, you need to train a variety of 'systems'. You want to recruit fast twitch muscles for improved form, efficiency and hill running, you want to train efficient use of fuel bu running long and easy, you want to excercise your vo2 max threshhold and your lactate threshhold. RUnning at marathon pace does none of the above. For most people marathon pace is in the no man's land of physiology and while all sorts of systems come into play during a marathon, it is difficult to train for or address directly by running at marathon pace. So we want to train 'specifically' to train specific systems to use in the marathon itself. However, it also strikes me that runnning a bit at marathon pace is a good idea simply to become physically accustomed to the way the pace feels, kind of like tuning an instrument to a certain pitch, so when it comes time to play the pitch, you know what it feels like.....it's just not necessarily a good idea to play ONLY that pitch for a long time while practicing...hmmm, I'll have to work on the anaology.

Last week I was talking to a fellow runner at the track about his workouts. Now this is a smart and fast runner. When I asked about his training he said he was running the same way every day. 6 miles in the morning, 6 in the evening. He's running ALL his miles 'comfortably hard' but not so hard that he can't do the next workout.

According to everything (I better do some research on this!) I have read he is violating at least three well grounded theories of training having to do with heart rate, training different systems, and the value of the all-at-once long run...so when I asked him about this he said, "Yup, that's what I am doing. Those guys don't know everything". Now I am withholding judgement and am interested to see what happens in the long run, but it sure opens up the discussion!

It's been many a week since I last posted here. It was tough to really get a regular pattern going during March, but in April things seem to have turned the corner. The weather is better, weight dropping, miles coming easier. For 4 weeks I have been adding tempo work to my week and now intervals on the track. I look forward to a 10k test later this month. An interesting note is that lately thinking has changed (?) about lactate buildup in muscles. Lactate was thought to be the agent (a 'waste' product during intense aerobic activity) that caused muscles to become acid, causing aburning sensation and/or fatigue. It is now thought that without lactate we would tire more quickly and that it actually helps keep a more 'neutral' chemical composition in the muscle....next thing you know it'll be all steak and milkshakes for us!

Food for thought!