Putting my training in the hands of Esined....

Ok, so in an unorthodox move, I have officially committed to running 3x a week, with 1.5-2M swims on one day, and other recovery XT the 5th workout day. Will try and get at least one yoga day in there somewhere and a step-mill workout. (so, I guess that is 6 days a week). I hope to get to Hopkinton in the best shape possible, if not the best running shape.

There is a forumite in RWOL, Esined (I do know his real name, but want to keep the paparazzi guessing), who runs sub-3 marathons on 3x a week, with tough cross-training and lifting. Without going into details, I have gleaned enough about him through thread on the website, and he has been kind enough to answer my questions.

Thing is, what he does makes sense to me. It is not a FIRST-type training with super-fast or precise paces, but more Pfitiz-ish in the running portion of the training. This week I did my first of his suggested 'speed' workout.

10M with the 3 x 15 minutes at MP minus 20 seconds
w/u 2M
3 x 15 minutes at 8:12 pace, with 5 minute 'recovery' at 9:30 pace. The recovery pace might technically be too fast, but it felt good at the time.
The last 15 minute set I pushed to 20 minutes mainly b/c the looming boredom of a 1/5M warm down.

This was a GREAT workout! The 10M went by quickly, and my legs felt tested, but not tired.

Below are the questions I sent him:
Questions:
1) next week, should I add more time to the sets (3 x 20) OR
2) add more speed to each set (MP minus 30 seconds) OR
3) add more of an incline to this workout. (this is what I think might be best for Boston, but wanted to get your opinion)

All in all this was a good confidence booster. For me, the endurance is my goal this training cycle, not additional speed, so I hope to continue the good week of running.

TTFN!