For the first half of the 2006-07 season, I laid out several six week blocks that take me from Mid May through October. The focus will be on raising my LT pace and building endurance through 2-2.5 hr long runs. The first six week block is easy running, all at 75% of max (straight percentage - HR 140), or lower, with maybe just a bit of 145 HR running. The 2nd block I'll add two days of Hadd style LT runs at HR 150 (80% of max) each week. The 3rd block I bump the LT runs up to HR 155 (83% of max), and the 4th block I'll try for HR 160 (86% of max). For any 6 week block, if I find the higher HR runs too hard, I'll simply repeat another 6 weeks of LT runs at the previous HR. Weekly target mileage will be 40-50+ miles.

I plan on doing a Hadd test at the conclusion of each 6 week block, and I'll document my progress below as I go. In his article, Hadd specifies each leg of the test be 2400 meters (roughly 1.5 miles). But what he's really after is that each leg be around 8 minutes. Someone running 5-6 minute miles would need to run 2400 meters to get in that range. I get close to that time with only a mile (1609 meters).

Once November draws near, I'll decide whether to add another training block at HR 165 (89% of max - According to Hadd, my max attainable Marathon HR), or move into a couple months of specificly targeted speed work, or just try racing off of the conditioning I've acquired through the Hadd training to that point.

Typical Training Week Leading Up To Each Test
	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
05/15/06 thru 06/25/06 6 weeks	3-5 < HR 140	6-7 4 @ HR140-145	4-5 < HR 140	6-7 @ HR 140	7-8 5 @ HR140-145	4-5	1.5-2.5 hrs 10-16 @ HR 140	40-49
06/26/06 thru 08/06/06 6 weeks	3-5 @ HR130-135	8 5 @ HR150	3-5 @ HR130-135	10 (1.5 hrs) @HR135-140	8 5@HR150	3-5 @ HR130-135	2.0-2.5 hrs 13-16 @ HR135-140	50-57
08/07/06 thru 09/10/06 5 weeks	3-5 @ HR130-135	8 5 @ HR150	5 @ HR130-135	10 (1.5 hrs) @HR135-140	8 5@HR150	5 @ HR130-135	2.0-3.0 hrs 13-20 @ HR135-140	51-58
09/10/06 thru 10/15/06 5 weeks	3-5 @ HR125-130	8-10 5-7 @ HR150	5 @ HR125-130	12 (1.8 hrs) @HR135-140	9 24x220@5k pace w/220 jog	5 @ HR125-130	2.0-3.0 hrs 14-20 @ HR135-140	54-63
10/16/06 thru 11/19/06 5 weeks	3-5 @ HR125-130	11 8 @ HR150	5 @ HR125-130	12.5 (1.9 hrs) @HR135-140	8 5 @ HR155-160	5 @ HR125-130	2.0-3.5 hrs 14-23 @ HR135-140	55-69
11/20/06 thru 12/24/06 5 weeks	3-5 recovery	7 12x60s w/ 60s rec or 12x20s w/ 60s rec	7 easy	10-13 easy (1.5-2.0 hrs)	5-9 2-5 @ LT Pace	5 recovery	14-24 long 2.0-3.6 hrs	50-66

Hadd Test Results (1 Mile Splits / HRmax = 186)
Date	Weight	Temp	@HR130 (70%)	@HR140 (75%)	@HR150 (80%)	@HR160 (86%)	@HR170 (91%)	Overall Time / Pace
06/23/06	195 lbs	73°	9:53	9:00	8:11	7:53	7:12	42:09 / 8:25
08/04/06	196 lbs	73°	9:42	9:02	8:02	7:41	6:54	41:21 / 8:16
09/08/06	195 lbs	73°	9:27	8:37	8:12	7:24	7:07	40:47 / 8:09
10/13/06	198 lbs	64°	9:22	8:40	7:46	7:26	6:38	39:51 / 7:58
11/17/06	195 lbs	52°	9:21	8:55	7:58	7:27	6:47	40:28 / 8:06
12/22/06	193 lbs	65°	9:08	8:47	7:37	7:26	6:39	39:37 / 7:55

2006-2007 Season Race Results
Date	Distance	Time / Pace	Calculated 10k Equiv.	Comments
08/25/06	5k (X-Country)	24:40 / 7:56	51:26 / 8:16	Just an awful day. I never imagined I could run this far below expectations.
09/09/06	5k (X-Country)	22:59 / 7:23	47:55 / 7:42	Much, much better. But still hoping for much more.
11/03/06	5k (Road)	22:02 / 7:05	45:56 / 7:23	This is more like it! Only 12 seconds off my 5k PR, and still very early in the season.
11/18/06	5k (Road)	21:10 / 6:49	44:08 / 7:06	This dramatic improvement has me wondering about course accuracy.
12/03/06	1/2 Marathon	1:39:54 / 7:37	45:17 / 7:17	Solid Effort, only a couple minutes off the time projected by 21:10 5k
12/16/06	10k	44:58 / 7:14	44:58 / 7:14	Finish time very consistent with that predicted by 1/2 marathon.
01/20/07	10k	44:09 / 7:06	44:09 / 7:06	Yet another over 50 10k PR!
02/18/07	Marathon	3:41:48 / 8:28	48:13 / 7:46	Goal of <3:45:00 and qualifying for Boston 2008 achieved!

Observations 8/4/06 - Test week has become also a recovery week - 50-75% of normal mileage & no fast running other than test. 9/8/06 - I've stayed at HR 150 quite a bit longer than first planned. I did the 2nd and 3rd training blocks at HR 150, and plan on maintaining HR 150 while adding Hadd's 25x200 w/200 recovery type workout once a week for the 4rd block. Plans for the 5th block are to build one weekly HR 150 workout up to 60 minutes, and introduce 5 miles @ HR 155-160 for the other weekly LT workout, phasing out the 200/200 workout. This is more consistent with what Hadd lays out in his article. I've also changed the length of each block to 5 weeks rather than 6, as this fits better with my work schedule. 10/13/06 - Continuing to follow the plan outlined on 9/8/06. I've been looking for the best way to quantify the improvements from test to test. Although the split times are showing a definite and continuing improvement trend, there's considerable inconsistency from one test to the next at some HR levels, making it hard to measure the improvement. However, a consistent pattern is emerging in the overall time/pace for each test, which gives a clearer indication of overall improvement from one test to the next. Note that each test period so far has resulted in a 7 to 11 second per mile overall improvement from the previous test. 11/10/06 - All though I had no original plans to do a marathon this season, my long runs and Tempo workouts are going so well, I must admit I'm becoming tempted. If nothing bad happens before mid February (i.e. injury), I think I just might go for it. 11/17/06 - Well, it finally happened. Overall result *slower* than previous test. Weather was perfect, so not an issue. Perhaps I've maxed out current potential with this type of training for now... or maybe just an off day. Despite the regression on this test, I'm happy with the overall results of the past 6 month's training. I'll be racing more now, so may not be so consistent with the mileage, LT workouts, and long runs. Final stage is to see how the racing season goes. 12/22/06 - Moving away from traditional Hadd training now, but decided to do one more Hadd Test. Composite time is the best recorded, although only marginally better than 10/13 session. Will be doing more traditional repeat workouts now, like 5-6x1000m and 4-5x2000m at 5k pace. 02/18/07 - With the completion of my Boston Qualifying 3:41:48, I'll close this ongoing article. You can decide for yourself if you'd be happy with the results I've reported. I am, and I plan to continue the Hadd style of training.