Jeff Galloway recently came into the Maine Running Company for the evening to share some of his experience. This is a continuation of my write-up based on the notes that I took during the event. All of the articles will be linked to down at the end of the article as they appear on the website.
The Magic Mile
“You’ve gotta remember, I’ve only been running for 50 years.”
The Magic Mile is Jeff’s way of getting a handle over what is a realistic goal and to know what your current potential is for any given race distance. He has now collected over 15,000 Magic Mile times and the resulting marathon times that were run afterwards, giving him a very good idea of what the different times can mean. It also allowed him to sort his training groups based on their latest mile time so that people would always be training with others that are in approximately the same shape.
The Magic Mile should be run at least 3 times during a season, preferably 4 or 5 times. It should be run 3 weeks in a row, with the first mile time trial being just a little bit faster than your current training pace, the second mile time trial a week later should be at a good effort, and the third mile time trial a week after that should be all out. The entire workout only consists of a good warm up, the mile time trial, and a cool down.
Once you have your fast mile time, you can determine what your race paces are likely to be at different distances and at what pace you should be running on your long runs. Bear in mind that the number that you get assumes proper training and ideal conditions, so you will need to make adjustments related to weather or crowds.
For a 5k, add 33 seconds to your Magic Mile time for your per mile pace. For a marathon race pace, add 30%. For your long run training pace, add 30% to your Magic Mile time and then add 2 minutes plus 30 seconds for every 5°F over 60°.
So as an example, if your Magic Mile time was 10:00 minutes, you could expect to finish a 5k in 32:47 (~10:33/mile). For a marathon, you can expect to run in 5:40 (~13:00/mile). For your long runs during training, you would want to be running at 15:00 minute pace, or even slower if it is hot out.
If you don’t want to do the math yourself, Jeff has a Magic Mile pace calculator that you can use right on his website.
You should use your calculated marathon pace to determine your long run pace for all of your long runs, even if you are training for a half marathon or shorter distance.
There are a few reasons that you don’t want to run too fast.
- Increased risk of injury
- Increased fatigue and an inability to recover properly
- Burn-Out
Jeff has been running the Magic Mile to figure out his training pace for a long time and has had no overuse injuries in the last 30 years, despite averaging a run 6.5 days per week over that entire span.
I did (and still do) the magic mile test. I wonder how close it syncs up to pace on the McMillan calculator. THAT would be interesting to find out!!
100% agree with that! 🙂 I have been slow training for 8 weeks now and have increased my endurance -- I can go at low pace for 14 miles now -- and my 5K time by 30 seconds!
OK, not as fast as you or Erin but still pretty good for my old bones -- and considering that I have only started running races this year… LOL
I haven’t given the “magic mile” a try yet though… But I am still working on healing my metabolism so I guess I need to be patient.
I will be taking a stress test with a Cardiologist next week and I hope to learn more about what is going on with my HR.
Will you be running the Portland Trails this weekend?
No Portland Trails race for me. I’ll be at a fitness seminar and I’ll be stopping on my way back to watch Erin run her half marathon.
I commend the job on my “magic mile” in your newsletter, but have one correction.
The Magic Mile tells you what is possible if
*weather is ideal (60F or below, no wind, etc.)
*no crowds on the course
*you’ve done all of the training in my schedule
Once the magic mile has been converted to current potential, corrections can be made for “non ideal” conditions.
There is a “predictor” function on http://www.jeffgalloway.com which will compute the times for you.
Best of running enjoyment,
Jeff Galloway
Thanks for the clarification, Jeff. I’ve updated the article to include the link to your pace calculator and include the disclaimer about ideal conditions and training.
I have been running a 5K schedule from the 5/10K book and understand everything pretty well except for what should be run in conjuncion with the MM TT on a given day. I have seen references to only warming up, running the TT and warming down. I have also seen references to running slowly for a certain distance, then the TT, then slowly again. I am just a little confused with what to run together with the TT. My schedule calls for a total of 4 miles on the TT days. So, what would be a good way for me to approach this specific day? My MM time is currently 7:51 if run on its own, without any running before, except for warming up. My 5k actual time is just under 27 minutes. Oh, I am running the 28:59 5K schedule from the book.
Thanks guys!!
Andre,
I’m pleased to answer your question.
Usually the MM is run in the middle of the mileage for that day. Use the first mile as a slow warmup. Over the next half mile, do some acceleration gliders to pick up the pace. These are noted in the book and are demonstrated in our running schools and reteats.
Then do the MM. Afterward, just run easily for the rest of the distance.
Jeff,
Thanks so much for your response. I did exactly that tonight, and it seemed to be the right thing to do. Funny part is that I only read your post after I ran tonight !!
Thanks for a great book and a great program!! I have to tell you that you are amazingly within 2 minutes from my last actual half marathon time (1991) if I use your predictors from my current MM ability. Also, right on time for my current actual 5K ability. I have not really run since 1991 and am amazed at how your training is getting me right back to where I left off!