Track Work to improve Marathon Time
Question: Mary: I have run 4 marathons with a PB of 3:57 I need a 3:40 to BQ. I have never done any speed work in training and I am cosidering joining a track team at a local running club to try and improve my time. Do you have any suggestions? Do you think this is worthwhile? Do you have any other ideas in which I can improve my time? Can you recommend a good, preferably flat, marathon that may help me achieve my goal? I am from LI NY and I have run Hartford, NJ, Steamtown and Philadelphia and I have my eyes on Delaware for the Spring. I really appreciate all the advice you can give me. Laurie
Answer: I think joining a local running club & doing some track workouts is a great way to improve your marathon time! A good track workout for marathon preparation is repeat miles. Run the mile 30 seconds faster than your marathon goal pace and take an easy recovery lap. You should start with 2 or 3 repeats and build up to 5 or so. Your running club may have a variety of different track workout options. The effort on the track should be hard, but not "all out." Remember, track workouts aren't races, and you don't want to overdo it and risk injury.
Another favorite workout of mine that helps build speed was a hard training run in which I would incorporate 4 sets of 5 minutes hard / 2 minutes easy during the middle of the run. Any faster paced running you do will help improve your racing times....
I am from the West Coast and so unfortunately I don't have much advise on fast east coast courses. On the west coast I can recommend a few fast courses: California International Marathon in Sacramento in December, Tucson Marathon in December, St. George Marathon in Utah in October.
I hope this helps and that you qualify for Boston!
Happy Holidays,
Mary