Dear Coach: Is my training too intense and painful? I do my daily runs and long marathon training runs of 12 to 18 miles at an 8:00-8:30 per mile pace. I do track intervals running 400 meters in 90 seconds or 800 meters in three minutes. Past marathons have been run between 3:45 and 4:10. I run 5K races in about 20 minutes. James

Dear James: There is a complete disconnect between your 5K race time and your marathon. If you can run a 20 minute 5K, you should be able to run a marathon under 3:30 or faster. I suspect the problem is that you are doing your daily runs and long runs much too fast and not allowing sufficient time for your body to recover. This is the reason why I recommend that runners consider training with a heart monitor. The trick to racing faster is to make sure that your easy days are truly recovery days. This will enable you to have higher quality speed workouts. The monitor will help by giving you feedback when you are running too hard on a recovery day. By the way, you need to slow down on your 800s by running them at 5K race pace (3:10- 3:15).

Dear Coach: I have a bet with my girl friend that I can break 50:00 minutes at the St. Patrick's Day 10K. I run four days a week, three to four miles during the week and 8 miles on Saturday. Last year I ran St. Patrick's Day in about 53 minutes. Can you offer me some training tips to help me win my bet? Anne

Dear Ann: It sounds like you have never done any kind of speed work. I suggest you begin to run aerobic intervals once a week, as follows. Warm up for a mile running very easy, then for the next three miles alternate running hard for fifteen seconds at a 10K race effort (do not sprint) and then jog easy for 45 seconds. After five to six weeks of aerobic intervals, your joints and ligaments will be ready for anaerobic threshold (AT) work by running three one-mile intervals at eighty to eighty- five percent effort on your heart monitor. As a substitute, you can run nonstop for twenty minutes at eighty to eighty-five percent .The pace should be a few seconds slower than your current 10K race pace. If you do six to eight weeks of AT work, you should notice a significant drop in your mile time. This will translate into a faster 10K. Good luck.

Dear Coach: I am a 56 year-old runner who seems to have reached a plateau where my racing times have stabilized despite doing speed work once a week with younger runners. I average 25- 30 miles per week, including the quality workout. Will training with a heart monitor help me? Nicholas

Dear Nicholas: As a 54 year-old runner, I understand all too well the issues you are facing. My suggestion is to stop speed work for a while and try to increase your mileage very slowly, doing all your easy runs at sixty to seventy percent effort but not being afraid to take off an extra day when your body is screaming for a rest. In conversations with older runners, I learn that the successful ones train on fewer days but run longer on the days that they train. After building up slowly to 40-45 miles, then start Phase II anaerobic threshold training for six to eight weeks and reduce your mileage to 30 to 35 miles per week. Then right before racing season, start Phase III training (400s, 800s, and 1200s) for six to eight weeks while dropping your mileage to 20 to 25 per week.

Dear Coach: I am 43 years old and training for a half- marathon. I average 10Ks in 48 minutes. I run ten hard on Saturday, ten easy on Sunday, cross train on Mondays and Fridays, and run four to six miles on Tuesday through Thursday. I never feel like I am getting better. Jane

Dear Jane: You need to incorporate some speed work into your training. You also need to take a day off once a week from any kind of work, running, biking or swimming. Also, you need to change your weekend routine. Try the following: On Saturday, run six to seven miles and include three one-mile repeats at anaerobic threshold (AT) pace (eighty to eighty-five percent effort) making sure you do a warm up and cool down. On Sunday, lengthen your long run to 12 to 13 miles but do it at sixty to seventy percent effort (a purely conversational pace). During one of your daily runs, incorporate a twenty-minute AT run in the middle of it. After six to eight weeks of AT workouts, you should notice an increase in speed. As an added benefit, the variety in workouts should renew your enthusiasm.

Coach Kirt West is a private coach for motivated adult runners. Questions can be sent to kirtwest@erols.com.