It definitely takes a mindset to agree to go slower. I wasn't completely sold on it when I first read Hansons because I was thinking you really want me to run a 11:00 min/mile. I will say that the deeper you get into the Hansons plan and you're in week 15/16 you start to look forward to the easy days (and sometimes they don't end up being that easy
).
Beyond Hansons, take some time to read the Seiler paper I referenced in my custom training post. It was refreshing to read that the basis of most elite plans is similar to what I'm trying to attempt (80/20 split of easy hard within a week). It was also interesting to break down Luke Humphrey's plan from the back of the Hansons book into time rather than pace and distance (because these can be deceiving based on fitness level). What time frame do you see repeated over and over and over? About 90 minutes. I don't think this is a coincidence, it's because the body shifts into a different mode at 90 minutes and the workout's cost/benefits start to become different. This philosophy will be the basis of my Chicago training plan to attempt to maximize by abilities without taking me over the edge.
What are your recent 5K and 10K PRs? The ability to do a workout at several 800s at 3:05 suggests you are significantly faster than I am.
Were all of the repeats close to 3:05, or were you tailing in the latter repeats?
Do you feel as if you could have done one or two more intervals after the set of 800s at 3:05? I generally use this as a guide to whether it was too hard of a workout. I always leave the workout feeling like I could have done more.
Also, what kind of resting interval were you doing between 800s?
Lastly, how long do you have residual fatigue from the speed workout? If it lasted any longer than 24-36 hours, its another sign that it might have been too tough.
Your 800 workout would suggest to me that the only thing lacking in your running profile is your endurance pacing (if there is indeed a disconnect between your 5K/10K PRs and your half/full PRs). In addition, Hansons argues that for marathon training you don't necessarily have to do the speed workouts at 5K, and you could even do it slower at 10K pacing instead.
One thing that has helped me deal with weather is to try to race by effort instead of by pace. During training, I push to maintain the prescribed pace no matter the conditions. I try and memorize what it feels like in all conditions to do each type of workout. When it comes to race day, I start my garmin, and then switch to watch mode. I get the occasional splits, but it allows my body to match the effort I gave in training rather than worrying about a specific pace. If the weather is good, my effort will equal a faster pace. If the weather is bad, my effort will equal a slower pace, but ensure I'll have an easier time avoiding hitting the wall. Try it with a few halfs before a full to get comfortable with letting go and switching to effort. It's worked for me, but doesn't necessarily work for everyone.
