Great Topic for Discussion! Building that Aerobic Base

I got a message from Cynthia (hi Cynthia!) and wanted to respond. Here's part of her message:

"Glad to hear you are doing well. I wonder what you think about the training philosophy posted at ... hadds-approach-to-distance-running... This approach - developing a strong aerobic foundation first via long easy distance... Another post on that site (Miles make champions) argues that as training has changed to shorter higher intensity work, less and less people (in the US at least) are becoming competitive at races and are not qualifying for Boston at the rates they used to. My husband ... has progressed very well despite not pushing himself very often. Do you have any experience or thoughts on this?"

I haven't checked out the site yet, Cynthia, but I will! In my own personal experience I do believe I was a better all around runner when I ran more miles at a general aerobic pace or slightly slower (i.e.: easy pace). Recovery pace makes me run too slow, which is good for recovery days but not so optimal on other easy run days. My easy run pace is faster than my recovery pace, and likewise my general aerobic pace is faster than my easy pace, but definitely NOT near my lactate threshold pace. Does that make sense?

I also run better and feel less broken when I stick to the following "hard" workouts every other week, basically I alternate the following each week so I never do the same thing two weeks in a row:
- hill repeats run at a strong pace, but not race pace, with full recoveries between (an example is 6 x 1:30 - 1:45 long), jog back down the hill and then walk the recovery for 3:00 or so, not more than 5:00).
- technique drills like skipping, high skipping, marching, high knees, butt kicks
- tempo runs, can be done in one long shot (i.e.: 40:00) or broken into pieces (i.e.: 2 x 20:00 with 3:00 jog between)
- fartelk, for example I will run 30 minutes of 2-3 minutes hard with 1-2 minutes easy.

I run a long run EVERY week (usually a minimum of 90:00 and will be up to 2:30-2:45 during marathon training).

I follow the "hard" workout with a recovery day, where I run as slow as my body dictates (even stopping to walk if I want to), but never fast. The rest of my days are "easy" pace, or sometimes faster at general aerobic pace (where I finish pleasantly tired).

This fall I will probably precede my long run with a "hard" workout. I've wanted to try that for a while and feel strong enough to do it now, maybe twice a month.

About Boston: I ran 4 qualifying times on a plan that peaked at no more than 58 miles per week and included a long run, a tempo run and a speed session each week, in addition to easy/recovery runs. So essentially two hard sessions and a long run each week. BQ times for women are relatively easy to get on less mileage and higher intensity training... but I think getting FASTER than BQ times (specifically a woman trying to attain the men's BQ times, or even a sub-3) requires higher volume overall.

So in my case, in order to run faster LONGER, I think I need to run more miles. But as I get older I have to be careful of too much intensity.

So I hope that answers your question. :) I do believe that as I get older, my body will get more out of running at easier or general aerobic paces with some "harder" paces mixed in every now and then. I also believe that recovery, rest, sleep & flexibility are really helpful for me. The technique drills and core exercises make me use muscles that I often neglect with running alone.

I love running and with the combination above, I think I'll be strong enough to run well into my Senior years (God willing).