Marathon Training

Summer/Fall 2006

Marathon Training for Fall 2006

NOTE: The advice here is intended for all, but those involved in DCRRC's Marathon Training Program should follow the specific advice of their Coaches in that Program!

The autumn offers a great variety of opportunities for D.C.-area marathoners, experienced or first-time. Many of you already are registered for the Marine Corps Marathon. Congratulations! For the rest of us, it's now a choice among other offerings. But as I have often said, Marine Corps is a tougher course than it looks, and if you are gunning for a PR, you may be better off in one of these other races, such as Chicago or, my favorite, Philadelphia.

Even if you are not running a marathon this fall, the following program, with a few adjustments, will get you ready for 10Ks, the Army 10-Miler, and other key fall races.

If you want to invest in a book or two on the subject, I recommend Daniels' Running Formula by Jack Daniels, Ph.D. and Marathon : The Ultimate Training and Racing Guide by Hal Higdon. Of the two, Higdon is less technical and more accessible, but Daniels provides more detail on differentiating between types of workouts and identifying your appropriate paces for workouts. As for websites, try www.mcmillanrunning.com

With that introduction, here are general guidelines for building a successful 4-month marathon training program. I will assume a "start date" of June 1, and a marathon sometime in October. Remember the need for a full 3-week taper at the end of the program. If you don't do that, you risk losing the benefit of all you have worked for in the previous months.

I. Long Runs : Obviously, these are the most important building block of any marathon program. Yet, their importance does not obviate the need for a strategic approach. Long runs are important because of the unique stress they provide. If that stress is overdone, through too-frequent or too-long runs, especially close to the race, it will break down the runner and be counter-productive.

The key questions are: How fast? and How long? The two are inter-related.

Pace: Ideally, you want to reach a point where you do your "basic" long runs at a pace 45 to 60 seconds per mile slower than your marathon goal pace. You need not start out this fast the first objective is to "ramp-up" to a 2-hour run relatively early in the program, then focus more on quality as the program progresses. As discussed below, much of this "quality" will come from incorporating tempo-pace and marathon-pace segments into a few of your weekly long runs.

Less competitive runners, for whom finishing is the primary goal (a rough cut-off here is about 4 hours), may find it useful to build up distance at a pace closer to what you will actually run in the marathon perhaps within 30 seconds per mile. But if your goal is to break out of the "just-finishing" pack, then follow the guidelines here for competitive runners!

Important : Pay attention below to advice on working marathon-pace and tempo-pace segments into long runs. Sample workouts will also be included in the weekly workout schedule on this page.

Adjust for Conditions: Remember as you approach your pace to take into account the conditions on the day of your training run. If it is 75-80 degrees and humid, you have to calculate what your marathon pace would be in such conditions, and adjust accordingly. This could be a difference of as much as 30 seconds per mile. In such conditions, you need to be conservative. (Also, nearly-constant hydration is essential. Carry a water bottle, even if you think it is a pain to do so. That way, you drink not only at water stops, but between them as well).

Length: This is a difficult subject, with many different opinions. The soundest programs I have studied, my own experience, and the stories I have heard from many of you confirm that less is more. In other words, multiple 20-mile runs, or runs exceeding 20 miles (even up to 26 and beyond!) are neither necessary nor productive. Remember, you get race endurance not just from your long runs, but also from the balance of mileage in the remainder of your workouts.

The "standard" long run should be around 2 hours in length. Maybe a bit less, maybe a bit more. Generally, long runs should not exceed 33 percent of weekly mileage (25 percent for higher-mileage runners). During the complete training cycle, a few longer runs are needed: the lesser of 20 miles or 2 hours and 30 minutes. Pick days that are not too hot for these. Those who expect to be out on the course for 4 hours or more might try a maximum run of 3 hours but only once or twice, and not any closer than 5 weeks to the race. (The same holds true for all marathoners most of us run long runs too close to the race itself, when other workouts will be more productive. See below.

As noted, there are different theories, and some prescribe long runs of 22 or even 24 miles. Each individual is different, and while some might thrive on this, a greater percentage would probably find this counter-productive. Based on the objectives of a long run, which are to train at levels of physiological that are dependent not on the distance run, but on the time run, it makes more sense to define most of your long runs by time on your feet, not miles on your. Save the ?mileage counts? for when you are more fit and the weather gives you a break ? in September.

Another good idea is to alternate long runs. Virtually every week should include an easy run of 10-12 miles. Every other week, this run can be extended out to 2 hours, 2:10 , eventually to 2:30 . This way, you recover from the longer runs, and leave room in your schedule for other workouts.

Bottom line: About 13-15 long runs averaging 1:45 to 2 hours in length, with a maximum of 2.5 hours or 20 miles. This is about 8-10 long runs at a steady pace, and another 4-5 long runs with tempo-pace and marathon-pace segments.

II. Marathon Pace Runs : Second in importance to long runs, and often overlooked, are marathon pace workouts. Also known as ?steady-state? runs. These are long runs at the pace (adjusted for heat, if need be) you want to run your marathon. Races are a great place to do this workout. You might try a 10K, a 10-Miler, and/or a Half-Marathon at marathon pace to build up your tolerance for these workouts.

Ideally, you should complete one marathon pace runs covering the lesser of 2 hours or 15 miles, with another covering the lesser of 1:40 or 12 miles. You can also throw in some marathon-pace running in a long run, running the rest of that run at an easier pace than normal so you do not overdo things. In this schedule, these workouts come in August and September.

III . Tempo Runs/Cruise Intervals : By now, everybody who attends Wednesday nights should know what these are! "Tempo pace," also known as lactate-threshold pace, is your pace for a flat 10-Mile or 15K race under good conditions.

"Tempo runs" usually cover 20-30 minutes of continuous running at this pace. Over 20 minutes, you might consider breaking into two parts, with a 1-2 minute rest. Again, these can be done as part of your weekly long run, or as a separate workout. But I think fitting them into the long run is preferable.

"Cruise intervals" are shorter periods of tempo-pace running from 3 to 12 minutes in length, with brief recoveries (30-60 seconds after a 3-minute "cruise," 1-2 minutes after 12.) We will do some of these on the track in the last half of the training cycle, in August and September. You can supplement the faster-paced interval training we are doing in June and July on Wednesday nights with cruise interval workouts on the weekends.

IV. Interval and Repeat Training : I will not say too much about this here, because much is written elsewhere. As most of you know, we do "interval" training at 5K pace, with total intervals of 3-4 miles maximum. "Repeat" workouts are mile race pace or slightly faster, with full recovery, but covering 1.5 to 2 miles maximum in any one session.

V. Rest and Recovery : A critical part of any training regimen. By simple arithmetic, a majority of your training days will be easy runs, light cross-training, or rest. Make them count! Make sure they are easy days, and be consistent with sleep and diet so that you are really recovering on these days.

To build in planned rest and recovery, try the following: divide your training schedule into cycles consisting of three10-day mini-cycles, a total of 30 days. Make one of these mini-cycles "hard," one "moderate," and one "easy." The easy cycle should have at most one hard workout (long run, hard interval session, hard tempo session), and one moderate session. Everything else should be easy. In your moderate and hard mini-cycles, take days off where needed, although getting in short slow runs on easy days can build mileage and help recovery from hard workouts.

VI. Putting It Together : A good 4-month (17-18 week) training program will consist of:

Weekend Workouts :

A. 8 "steady" long runs at easy pace averaging 1:45 to 2 hours in length, at 45-60 seconds slower than marathon pace. Include 2 to 3 at the lesser of 2:30 or 20 miles.

B. 3-4 marathon-pace runs. (Remember, can be "folded into" long runs or preparatory races).

C. 3 long run/tempo pace "hybrid" workouts.

Wednesday Workouts :

A. 5-6 Interval Sessions.

B. 3-4 Cruise Interval Sessions.

C. 3 Tempo Pace runs

D. 2 Repeat sessions.

Races

5-6 preparatory races at various distances, anywhere from 3000M on the track to the Half-Marathon, 25K, or even 20-Miler.

That is about 35 key workouts or races ---- just about two per week, or less than 33 percent of your total training days. (See what I mean about the importance of rest!) More experienced marathoners may reach for more, and that's fine. But keep this in mind: you are training under less than ideal conditions in the Washington summer. Don't' let an overly-aggressive summer training schedule and the Washington heat suck the air out of you by September.

Coach Ed