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Hansons Method

shotgunmcos

Its been a topic in logs, on the sub 3 support thread and I've had some PMs about the plan, the method, the book etc..

I know there will be people using the Hansons method again or for the first time for DCM and/or a HM en route to DCM. I thought it might be useful to have a thread dedicated to the Hansons Method. I read the book several times and used the plan for success, as did many others here, not least one of our Novice Mentors, Huzzah! Regardless of what plan you are using we would all be more or less doing similar sessions on a similar schedule. I'll happily support with newbie questions and I invite other Hansons advocates to pitch in too

I had more questions than answers about the method even after reading the book and constantly referred back to it and logs here. Its a tough plan based on cumulative fatigue and 3 sessions of substance and 6 runs per week (both Beginner and Advanced plans)

I have linked to resources below for logs that have used the method with success. It can be time consuming to go through big logs so I have linked to the start of the plan in each case.

DCM plans probably don't kick off until mid June for an 18 week approach or mid August if you are slaloming in from an 800m plan Murph_D style. However the method is tough and you need to be ready for it. Ideally you will get a base fitness together as the "Sessions of substance" begin in earnest week 2.

These were links I bookmarked to refer back to real life experiences of the sessions I had in front of me during the plan.

Huzzah! Half Marathon Beginner plan to Wexford HM in a PB!
Huzzah! Marathon Beginner Plan for Berlin - Debut marathon with a negative split!!
Murph D Advanced Half Marathon Plan to Charleville HM in a PB!
Diablo Verde Advanced Marathon Plan for Valencia, sub3 and negative split!
Ferris B meticulous execution of the Advanced Marathon Plan - By the Book!
shotgunmcos Advanced Plan for Limerick, sub3 and negative split!

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jaggiebunnet

My plan has not gone to plan at all, between vacation and all the kids activities restarting I kind of lost the mileage at the middle part of it, tried my best to stick with the SOS as best I could and did for around 75% of it but didn't get enough miles in. Resulting in me adjusting and just trying to use the plan as best I could to ensure I get around on the day - no pb time will be happening as I don't think I am near what I was aiming for. It's a pity, still think it is a great plan but I just didn't have the time to commit to it fully in the end.

Murph_D

Singer wrote: »

Jaysus, you get away with nothing around here. I also went across the city twice on a Dublin bike the other day!

Well, we all do post and/or log all of our runs publicly! (Most of us anyway).

Itziger

Very pleasantly surprised by the 6x1 mile session yesterday. The body really noticed the difference between 3.35 pace and 3.58 pace!! Not too surprising I guess. Track was soaking and I had a lovely pair of bleeding nips afterwards. If today's run is wet again I could be in trouble.......

Thursday and Sunday this week will tell me if I'm back on track I think.

Murph_D

Itziger wrote: »

Very pleasantly surprised by the 6x1 mile session yesterday. The body really noticed the difference between 3.35 pace and 3.58 pace!! Not too surprising I guess. Track was soaking and I had a lovely pair of bleeding nips afterwards. If today's run is wet again I could be in trouble.......

Thursday and Sunday this week will tell me if I'm back on track I think.

Nice work. What was the injury?

Itziger

Murph_D wrote: »

Nice work. What was the injury?

Knee cap pain. Came on during an easy Sunday run and I just knew it was going to need rest and time. Tried a mini-comeback six days later. No go.

All in all I lost about 12 days and 4 sessions. I'm still a little nervous but yesterday's run felt much better. Fingers crossed. Don't know if it has derailed the attempt at a PB but I'll keep this place updated!

Good luck to all the Dublin crowd. Only a couple of SoS's left now.

healy1835

Itziger wrote: »

Very pleasantly surprised by the 6x1 mile session yesterday. The body really noticed the difference between 3.35 pace and 3.58 pace!! Not too surprising I guess. Track was soaking and I had a lovely pair of bleeding nips afterwards. If today's run is wet again I could be in trouble.......

Thursday and Sunday this week will tell me if I'm back on track I think.

Apologies if you've mentioned this Donal, but what Marathon are you training for?

Itziger

healy1835 wrote: »

Apologies if you've mentioned this Donal, but what Marathon are you training for?

Valencia Dec 1st. I'm sure I've mentioned it; I'm like a broken record!

But it's hard to remember everyone's plans.

Itziger

Wow, today's 8 mile @ MP felt bloody tough. Maybe that Tuesday session left more of a mark than I thought...... About the only positive is that I brought the avg pace down from an early 4,12 to 4,09 eventually.

Hard to know as well how much the 12 lost days have influenced this.

Itziger

So, today was the first of the three 26km runs. Did a total of 30 simply cos I was meeting my running partner 2k from my place and also cos I can't go from the gun these days

So lucky to have found Fred a few months ago. He's faster than me but doesn't do much long stuff. The Sunday runs should be beneficial to both of us, in fact he did a 79 min Half a couple of weeks ago off little quality training. He's hoping to go sub 78 next Spring. We were chatting away during this and though I found a couple of the middle kms a bit tough, we finished strong.

Fingers crossed, it looks like I'm back.

Kissy Lips

Still tipping away, ticking boxes.

I don't know about you lads but I am absolutely knackered. Hard to think at this point that the short taper will solve that but I'm sure it will some how.

After the last 10 mile this Thursday what pace will you do your easy running?

Murph_D

Kissy Lips wrote: »

Still tipping away, ticking boxes.

I don't know about you lads but I am absolutely knackered. Hard to think at this point that the short taper will solve that but I'm sure it will some how.

After the last 10 mile this Thursday what pace will you do your easy running?

1-2 mins per mile slower than MP is the easy range, no need to change anything now. Obviously if you’re feeling tired, favour the slower end.

MrMacPhisto

Kissy Lips wrote: »

Still tipping away, ticking boxes.

I don't know about you lads but I am absolutely knackered. Hard to think at this point that the short taper will solve that but I'm sure it will some how.

After the last 10 mile this Thursday what pace will you do your easy running?

Hi kissy lips,

From my experience of following the plan a couple of times, you will probably not feel fresh until you toe the line on race day so don't be too concerned about this.

I also felt very tired by the stage you are at. I chose to reduce the final 10mile Tempo workout to 6.25 miles or 10k. My decision was based on the risk v reward of pushing my body closer to the redline with 10 days to go. It worked out for me.

As murph said, listen to the body, if you are tired then go at the slower end of the suggested easy pace.

Best of luck on race day, the hard work is done and hopefully you will feel the benefits from 20mile mark onwards with a strong finish

Itziger

Hey folks, quick Tuesday Strength Question here.

The pace for these (today is 4x1.5 miles) is about 5 or 6 secs per km faster than race pace, Correct?

Murph_D

Itziger wrote: »

Hey folks, quick Tuesday Strength Question here.

The pace for these (today is 4x1.5 miles) is about 5 or 6 secs per km faster than race pace, Correct?

Strength = 10s per mi (6s per km) faster than MP, so yes, the 6 part of that is correct.

Singer

...annnnnnnd done! Well, at least my version of the plan

I did the final 10@MP on the DCM course itself, jogging over to Manor St. and then doing 10 miles to Kilmainham or so. I didn't get to Rialto as the traffic was horrible and didn't want to stop so went back to town via Thomas St. instead. The route took in some of the worst drags and climbs, and even with street traffic, crossing roads, etc. I was comfortably under or around MP and felt good at the end.

The final strength session on Tuesday also went well, I had a relatively bad week the week before so it was definitely nice to get a couple of good sessions at the end. I will probably continue to go slightly off-plan in the final week by throwing in a small number of MP miles.

If anybody wants to purchase my "Kind of Hanson peaking at 80 miles and a few parkruns thrown in" 12 week plan, do let me know. It's on special for the next 9 days, how the marathon goes will dictate the price after

walkin round town

Last of the sessions done. MP felt pretty comfortable throughout even with the wind and torrential downpours. Still haven't decided on a goal time and race strategy. Time enough I suppose. Now to get rid of my head cold with hot whiskey and eh chocolate

Kissy Lips

Picked up a niggle in my foot over the last week. Id say something in there is on its way out.

Last two SOS went well though. I reckon the foot will ease up in the taper.

Soaking in epsom salts now. Really feel like taking tomorrow off then doing the rest of the easy sessions. Feels good to not have to do 16 on Sunday.

bryangiggsy

Good to see everyone chipping away at the plan . Have had a good 4-5 weeks since my 128 in Ratoath . Have hit the majority of the 3hr paces in the SOS sessions . Did my final tempo today on the outer track at Alsaa ... held 651 pace for the 10 miles with an average HR of 157 . Am 45 yrs old and 6 2 and about 170lbs . Have some slight tendonitis at base of knee and a niggle in quad and going to try get rubbed out tomorrow
My gut feeling is to go with the 3hr pacers and see how the HR is while running at that pace . My thoughts are if the HR gets too high too quick then readjust the plan .
Opinions from all welcome ? Cheers

rooneyjm

Amsterdam 3.01.49. 4 min pb. Just faded the last 5 miles. Can’t blame the plan my left hammer has been at me for the last few weeks, got some treatment but it started pulling at 21.
I’ve gone from 3.23
to 3.10.40
To 3.05.30
To 3.01.49 using Hanson. Followed the plan fairly to the letter. Did all the MP sessions @ a tad below MP (2-3sec). Did all the speed and strength sessions, some strength sessions were a little faster than 6.40.
Hopefully one more push will get me under the 3. Good luck to all, c u next yr.

Itziger

rooneyjm wrote: »

Amsterdam 3.01.49. 4 min pb. Just faded the last 5 miles. Can’t blame the plan my left hammer has been at me for the last few weeks, got some treatment but it started pulling at 21.
I’ve gone from 3.23
to 3.10.40
To 3.05.30
To 3.01.49 using Hanson. Followed the plan fairly to the letter. Did all the MP sessions @ a tad below MP (2-3sec). Did all the speed and strength sessions, some strength sessions were a little faster than 6.40.
Hopefully one more push will get me under the 3. Good luck to all, c u next yr.

That's good progress. With another training block under your belt you should make the sub 3. Well done and good recovery.

FBOT01

rooneyjm wrote: »

Amsterdam 3.01.49. 4 min pb. Just faded the last 5 miles. Can’t blame the plan my left hammer has been at me for the last few weeks, got some treatment but it started pulling at 21.
I’ve gone from 3.23
to 3.10.40
To 3.05.30
To 3.01.49 using Hanson. Followed the plan fairly to the letter. Did all the MP sessions @ a tad below MP (2-3sec). Did all the speed and strength sessions, some strength sessions were a little faster than 6.40.
Hopefully one more push will get me under the 3. Good luck to all, c u next yr.

Well done. 4mins PB is great to bank. Excellent reward for the training block. If you are writing a report maybe drop it or a link to it in here so we can have a read.

One question for you when you are finished rehydrating. When you say that you faded in the last 5miles and reference the hammer issue, do you mean that you eased off to protect the hammer and cement the PB rather than push on and risk the hammer giving up the ghost?

Recover well!!!

bryangiggsy

rooneyjm wrote: »

Amsterdam 3.01.49. 4 min pb. Just faded the last 5 miles. Can’t blame the plan my left hammer has been at me for the last few weeks, got some treatment but it started pulling at 21.
I’ve gone from 3.23
to 3.10.40
To 3.05.30
To 3.01.49 using Hanson. Followed the plan fairly to the letter. Did all the MP sessions @ a tad below MP (2-3sec). Did all the speed and strength sessions, some strength sessions were a little faster than 6.40.
Hopefully one more push will get me under the 3. Good luck to all, c u next yr.

3.01.49 is still a cracking time and I’d be delighted with that myself so much respect to you . Regarding the race itself since you now have had 24 hrs to reflect would you have done anything differently... anything pop into your head or if you were doing it again would you go with the same race strategy re pacing fueling , carb loading etc ? Well done again

rooneyjm

FBOT01 wrote: »

Well done. 4mins PB is great to bank. Excellent reward for the training block. If you are writing a report maybe drop it or a link to it in here so we can have a read.

One question for you when you are finished rehydrating. When you say that you faded in the last 5miles and reference the hammer issue, do you mean that you eased off to protect the hammer and cement the PB rather than push on and risk the hammer giving up the ghost?

Recover well!!!

Before I left I said 2.59 or bust but it didn’t play out that way.

I remember slowing slightly at a fueling stop and when I went to step on the gas again it wasn’t there. I knew I had about 30 sec in the bank so kept at it in the hope I got a second wind. Then we hit a fly under and the little hill coming out of it sucked the last bit of MP out of me. At that stage I was in management mode, without the lure of a pb I could have stopped. Crossed the line and my right groin was killing me, took me an age to get to the Metro.

rooneyjm

bryangiggsy wrote: »

3.01.49 is still a cracking time and I’d be delighted with that myself so much respect to you . Regarding the race itself since you now have had 24 hrs to reflect would you have done anything differently... anything pop into your head or if you were doing it again would you go with the same race strategy re pacing fueling , carb loading etc ? Well done again

My plan as always was to run it even, a couple of my 5k splits were 4.10, maybe a little bit fast. Went through half way at 1.29.30.
Fueling- Didn’t bring anything with me on the course, just what was being handed out. (Iso, water, gels in small tubes which I didn’t like so only took one). Took one gel before the start as I hate carrying them. (During training I didn’t take water or gels on any runs). The cups are a pain as most of it ends down your front, it would have been nice to get a bottle at some stage if u have support on the course.

Pre Race Week- Ate well without overeating. Well hydrated, I take some of those salt tablets in water for a few days before. Had 2 early nights(10.30) which I would recommend. I’ve lost a bit of weight for this, down to 73kg, could prob do with one or two more( wife would have a fit).

Lots of small things. I think the consistent training is the most important for improvement.

walkin round town

So less than a week to go. What are people's targets? Have you decided on a strategy?

I'm still undecided. I'll probably line up behind the 3.10 Pacers for most of first half. If I'm still feeling good I'll probably try push on a little bit after half way. I'd be happy with somewhere between 3.05-3.10. if it all goes belly up I'll be happy with just finishing.

By the way how is the taper going? I've had to cut 3 of my last runs short for various reasons. Not ideal but it is what it is. Legs starting to feel fresh due to this.

Kissy Lips

Ready for it now. Covered 99% of the training plan. Hit all SOS except one in the first week they were introduced. Taper is going OK. Starting to freshen up. Had the strangest run yesterday where I zoned out for about 3 miles and had to struggle to remember where I ran. A good sign the legs are fresh(er) since I forgot I was even running.

Pacing wise, I will sit behind the 3 hour pacers 100 metres or more back. Look to run an almost even fractionally negative split. From experience I think that works best for me.

PB is 3:04:08

Plan A: 2:59:59
Plan B: < 3:04:08 (PB)
Plan C: < 3:05:00 (should be good for age for Boston even after adjustments).
Plan

< 3:10:00

Above all, get to the start line fresh and enjoy it!

shotgunmcos

Best of luck to all the hansons guys n gals on Sunday. Cant wait to read about your experiences. Hope ye have a fab day. Hold it steady and at 22m tunnel vision, fortune favours the brave!

Singer

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Best of luck to all the hansons guys n gals on Sunday. Cant wait to read about your experiences. Hope ye have a fab day. Hold it steady and at 22m tunnel vision, fortune favours the brave!

Thanks shotgunmcos for setting up this thread, it was very useful!

Hopefully my "Hanson inspired" plan will be good enough for a decent run tomorrow

walkin round town

Good luck everyone. Here's to some good running.

jaggiebunnet

All the best to everyone, wasn't able to follow the plan as well as I would have liked but hopefully I will still get around tomorrow. Be interesting to see feedback on all those that did the plan 100% and whether they pb'd.