Sub 4 hr fitness class
Hi,
I just signed up for the sub 4 hour marathon fitness class. When and how do I find out what my goal pace times are for slow, steady, fast, etc? Do you have anything that describes fitness class features and functions? Couldn't find anything in the knowledge base.
Thanks,
Candee
Support Staff 2 Posted by Jake Cacciapaglia on 24 Nov, 2010 05:02 PM
For a description of fitness classes follow the link below. You will find a link to the initial blog post when they were launched and a demo video.
http://support.runkeeper.com/discussions/announcements/15-fitnesscl...
Let us know if you have additional questions. We are here to help!
-Jake
3 Posted by Candice Roberts on 24 Nov, 2010 11:15 PM
Actually, unless I'm missing something, I still don't know the answer to my specific question about when or how I find out the target pace for each run.
4 Posted by Candice Roberts on 27 Nov, 2010 09:29 PM
Jake,
Thanks. The video provides a good overview but doesn't answer my specific question. How and when do I find out my goal pace for the different types of runs; slow, steady, fast, etc.? Is there a way to print the full training schedule on one page? Does the goal pace change during the training?
Thanks,
Candee
Sent from my iPad
5 Posted by Henkos on 28 Nov, 2010 09:25 PM
Hi Candee,
On the iPhone, you need to select the type of training in the Start page of Runkeeper.
Under Coaching, select the tab 'FitnessClasses' and select your training.
Now the schedule is displayed on your iPhone, in which you can select the correct training day.
When running, the iPhone Runkeeper App will tell you (through your earphones) which speed/pace to run. This may vary every so many minutes, depending the kind of training (like interval).
Having said all of this, the iPhone Runkeeper app will ONLY tell you to go fast or slow or steady. It does NOT tell you what the actually speed/pace is.....
If you want to look up what speed/pace this represents (slow, steady, fast), then go the the Runkeeper website. Go to your Fitness Class. Select each of the blue bars in your training calendar and these will tell you in the comments what the pace in miles is. Not all of the blue boxes have this info, but some do have it.
Yes, I know, it is not the ideal thing for a paid service..! Also, the pace is mentioned in miles only, not in KM. So, it definitely needs improvement but I'm afraid we are both early adaptors :)
6 Posted by Henkos on 28 Nov, 2010 09:44 PM
PS: I checked the calendar (blue boxes) myself:
Marathon Time Goal Sub 4 Hour:
Slow: Not specified
Steady: 9:20 to 9:40 pace per mile
Fast: 8:40 to 8:50 pace per mile (but is faster (8:10) on some other days)
The pace for the marathon day is not even mentioned, but you need to run a pace of 9:10 to finish just below the 4 hours on the 26.2 miles. So, your pace on the marathon day is faster then your steady pace at training....
Conclusion: The FitnessClass really NEEDS to tell us (on the iPhone during running) what the pace should be (in min/mile or min/km) instead of just slow, steady, fast. Otherwise, the FitnessClass is not easy to use and keeps you in the dark.
7 Posted by Candice Roberts on 28 Nov, 2010 10:06 PM
Henk,
Thank you so much for the information! Have you taken a fitness class before? Did you achieve your goal?
Candee
Sent from my iPad
8 Posted by Henkos on 28 Nov, 2010 10:15 PM
Hi Candee,
Just finished the ING NYC Marathon of 3 weeks ago. I want to improve my time (<4 hours) and purchased the 'Marathon Time Goal Sub 4 Hour' Fitness Class. But as you already spotted, it is not (yet) the most ideal 'tool' to train with.
PS: Assuming you are training for the marathon, I really would recommend the New York City marathon. It's an awesome and unforgettable experience. I even put a kind of documentary together. Not easy to film and run at the same time. :)
Check out the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J27so3nP5Ek
9 Posted by Candice Roberts on 29 Nov, 2010 12:20 AM
Henk,
Congrats on finishing the NYC marathon. I just ran my 10th marathon on Nov. 6th here in Indianapolis and, for the first time, qualified for boston. It was still over 4 hours because of my age:-). Now my running buddy needs to qualify so we need to train for a sub4 hr. I've never run NY and will take a look at your video. What a great way to memorialize the event!
Candee
Sent from my iPad
Support Staff 10 Posted by Jake Cacciapaglia on 29 Nov, 2010 12:39 AM
@Candee sounds like @Henk has answered your question for the most part, thanks @Henk. The content for sub 4 hour marathon class is presented as provided by the trainer. In this case the trainer does specify target pace for steady and fast in the workout description on the web (as Henk mentioned above), but there is no specified target pace for each interval. Each person taking the class may have a slightly different target pace, thus it is not specified exactly, but we will keep your feedback and suggestions in mind. Any additional details about exactly what you would want to see would be helpful as we continue to improve the FintessClass experience.
11 Posted by coachgaudette on 29 Nov, 2010 01:32 PM
Hello everyone,
Sorry for the confusion in regards to the training paces for this training schedule. This is the first schedule I have written for RunKeeper and I'm still getting the bugs out on how exactly everything would be displayed to you in terms of pace and execution of each run.
To answer the questions:
Slow: 9:40 to 10:10 pace per mile. In general, the rule with running is that you can never run to slow on your easy days, but you can always go too fast. So, 9:40 per mile should be your upper limit, but feel free to run as easy as you need to recover.
Steady: Steady: 9:20 to 9:40 pace per mile. The reason we don't need to run faster than marathon pace on these days is that (1) you're running faster than marathon pace 2 other times during the week; and (2) the long runs have faster paced sections and rely on accumulated fatigue to simulate marathon conditions. If I can provide a link, please read more here: http://premiercoachingonline.com/2010/07/marathon-fueling-how-not-t...
Fast: This gets tricky since we have threshold efforts, marathon paced runs, and 10k paced runs mixed into the training. However, each day should have a description of the pace you need to run for each interval on workouts.
Also, I have been told that week 13 (day 91) is incorrect on the training plan. I can't see exactly what is wrong, but there should be a 20 miler that day, not a 3.1 mile run. I think the folks at RunKeeper are in the process of fixing.
I hope this helps everyone. Best of luck in your training!
Coach Jeff
12 Posted by Candice Roberts on 29 Nov, 2010 03:37 PM
Barb,
Info directly from the coach! Darn, there is one 20 miler ...but not 3:). I'm goingnto convert the schedule to word or excel upon my return. Then we can see it in total and get a better picture.
Have a nice day. By the way, it was almost too hot to run here today!
Candee
Sent from my iPad
13 Posted by coachgaudette on 29 Nov, 2010 03:43 PM
I'll try to add the excel file here. I hope this ok
Happy training!
14 Posted by Candice Roberts on 29 Nov, 2010 03:58 PM
Jeff,
Thank you so much!! All of the info you've provided is perfect and I especially appreciate the excel file. My next marathon is April 3rd and I'm looking forward to using your program for training.
Best,
Candee
Sent from my iPad
15 Posted by Henkos on 29 Nov, 2010 06:25 PM
@support/@JakeCacci,
Could you please update the FitnessClass (Marathon Sub 4 Hour) on Runkeeper, in line with the spreadsheet (above) as provided by the trainer (Jeff).
The FitnessClass needs to be updated with respect to the Schedule, Comments (pace info, etc) and Distances.
The product as it is sold today is incorrect. Can it be fixed asap, please?
Thanks in advance.
16 Posted by Mike on 30 Nov, 2010 05:24 PM
week 13 (day 91) has been updated to 20 miles.
thanks for pointing this out.
Mike
17 Posted by Henkos on 30 Nov, 2010 05:54 PM
@Mike:
Almost correct ;)
a) Day 6 is missing: 4 Miles slow
b) Day 7, pace is missing in the comments. Comment should be: "Steady pace is 9:20 to 9:40 pace. This long run starts to build the volume you'll need for the marathon. "
Also, I would appreciate if you also add (in the comments) the pace in KM and not only in Miles.
Thanks.
18 Posted by Henkos on 01 Dec, 2010 05:54 PM
@Mike/@Support:
Can you please add Day-6 as this is already the day after tomorrow!
Thanks in advance.
Support Staff 19 Posted by Jake Cacciapaglia on 03 Dec, 2010 03:40 AM
@Henkos should be all set, the session for Day-6 has been added.
Jake Cacciapaglia closed this discussion on 10 Jan, 2011 03:16 PM.
Candice Roberts re-opened this discussion on 04 Apr, 2011 05:39 PM
20 Posted by Candice Roberts on 04 Apr, 2011 05:39 PM
Jeff,
I'm a long time and enthusiastic runkeeper user who took advantage of the sub 4 hour marathon fitness class you provided. I just wanted to share with you how much my running buddy and I enjoyed and benefited from this program. While I qualified for Boston last November at the Monumental Marathon, my running buddy still needed to qualify. We ran the ORRRC marathon in Xenia, Ohio yesterday. I PR'd by nine minutes finishing with a 4:05 and my running ran a BQ and PR'd with a 4:02. Your training approach helped us improve our speed and endurance and, especially, helped her avoid injury and the effects of overtraining. We are believers and are now discussing when we're going to take on our next goal...really finishing in less than 4 hours. We knew it was an aggressive goal for both of us for this marathon but we now believe we can actually break the 4 hour barrier. And, I feel great today!
Thanks so much,
Candee
21 Posted by coachgaudette on 04 Apr, 2011 06:46 PM
Hi Candee,
Thanks for reporting back. That is so awesome to hear and I am very happy that you and your training partner had such great success with the FitnessClass.
The best part about training is that it all builds upon itself. If you take the sub 4 hour class again, or the sub 3:50, you'll be more prepared for the workouts this go around and have even better success. Aerobic progression and adaptation never stops, so the sky is the limit.
Keep up the hard work and congrats again!
Jeff