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Marathon Training
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NINE WEEKS TO GO
NINE WEEKS TO RACE DAY
You have nine weeks to go until race day if your target marathon is run the last weekend in October. The pace is quickening. Training has passed time-consuming to become all-consuming. You are moving into the second half of the endurance phase of your training. Three weeks from now you sharpen. At this point you are still gradually increasing your weekly mileage, and are averaging 35–40 miles per week including the long run, perhaps more if you are an experienced marathoner.
This week you have one “quality” workout in your schedule, and otherwise will rest a bit after a tough week. We have spoken about training principals, the first of which is the application of progressive stress. In resting a bit, your body adapts to progressive stress. Adaptation is the second training principle. In each of these weekly training commentaries, which reflect the training programs of many highly-regarded writers including Jeff Galloway and Hal Higdon, I have spoken briefly about training principles. I have also introduced terminology from training workouts as well as concepts from physiology.
LAST WEEK
Last week was demanding, with mile repeats mid-week followed by a twenty-mile long run over the weekend. Fortunately, the track workout was over quickly, with around twenty-five minutes run at training pace. The total distance covered at training pace was 3 miles, an increase from the previous week’s 2-½ miles. Then, over the weekend, you took between 3:30 and 3:40 to cover 20 miles. Hope you took a nap after finishing!
THIS WEEK
This week we get back on the ladder, introducing one more variable in training: the concept of the “interval.” As always, warm up with a few strides. Run the following ladder:
- Run one lap (400 meters, +/- ¼-mile).
- Jog a lap to the starting line without stopping.
- Run two laps (800 meters, +/- ½-mile).
- Jog a lap to the starting line without stopping.
- Run three laps (1200 meters, +/- ¾-mile).
- Jog a lap to the starting line without stopping.
- Run four laps (1600 meters, +/- ½-mile).
- Jog a lap to the starting line without stopping.
- Run three laps (1200 meters, +/- ¾-mile).
- Jog a lap to the starting line without stopping.
- Run two laps (800 meters, +/- ½-mile).
- Jog a lap to the starting line without stopping.
- Run one lap (400 meters, +/- ¼-mile).
In this workout you cover four miles at training pace, again applying the principle of progressive stress, but applying it in a way that is easier on you mentally on the way down the ladder, where each successive rung is shorter in distance and duration. In the other track workouts, between the repeats you walked ½-lap, then jogged to the starting line, giving you about four minutes of rest. In this workout, you cut out the walking, jogging a lap between the rungs of the ladder, giving you about three minutes of rest. The rest period is the “interval.” You can make your workouts tougher as your fitness improves, increasing the training effect, not by running the repeats faster, but by shortening the interval between the repeats. Once again, this workout is over fairly quickly and contributes substantially to building endurance. You cover 5-½ total miles, four of which are at training pace. The workout is over in an hour.
NEXT WEEK
Next week, we’ll come back to “in-outs,” lengthening the “in” to 600 meters (1-½ laps), and the “out” to 1000 meters (2-½ laps). Do the totals of 1600 meters and 4 laps seem to you suspiciously like miles? And the weekend includes a long run. Better get plenty of sleep…
Archive of Marathon Training
TWELVE WEEKS TO GO
ELEVEN WEEKS TO GO
TEN WEEKS TO GO
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