Marathon training can take up to 12 weeks to complete. You need a buildup (base) training phase and then a specific marathon training phase. I go 200 kilometers (124 miles) a week or more when I get ready for a marathon. At the end of this heavy training, you will need a tapering period of two to three weeks. I do a minimum of 10 to 12 long runs in that period. Four to six of those will be around 40 kilometers (24.8 miles), the rest between 25 and 30 kilometers (15 to 18 miles).
I also include interval sessions on the track (two times a week); some hill runs (once a week); tempo runs (twice a week) and recovery runs. Four or three weeks before my marathon race, I normally race a half-marathon to test myself. When doing marathon training you need to take lots of rest, get sports massages, consume lots of liquids, eat lots of good food and focus more as the load of training is taxing on the body. -nytimes
MY COMMENT: Hendrick Ramaala is a self-coached S. African that won the NYC Marathon in 2004.
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query marathon training. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query marathon training. Sort by date Show all posts
Monday, July 13, 2009
Sunday, May 4, 2008
26 Tips for Marathon Training and Racing: #17- Tempo Training
Watch this impressive tempo workout by Ryan Hall prior to his Olympic Marathon Trials victory. Remember, Ryan is one of the best runners in the world, so don't try this by yourself!
Although interval training has been found to be a more effective VO2 booster, tempo training should not be abandoned completely. Mentally and physically, sustained race-pace runs give you the feel for racing like no other workout. Since your training is designed to help you run faster, it makes perfectly good sense to do a large block of your running at race pace or faster.
Along with long runs and interval training, tempo runs are the 3rd primary piece of the marathon training puzzle not to be overlooked. To start with, set aside one day per week, and after a 10-15 minute warm-up, get into your tempo (marathon pace) for 5 minutes, slow to a jog, and repeat.
Here is a sample weekly progression to help you introduce tempo training. As with intervals, you should be schedule an easy workout on the previous day. Remember, this is supposed to be done at marathon pace.
More advanced runners can continue to progress. For me, 60 minutes seems to be the upper limit for a good tempo run.
10 min jog.........5 min tempo, 5 min jog x 2..........10 min jog cool-down
10 min jog.........8 min tempo, 5 min jog x 2..........10 min jog cool-down
10 min jog........10 min tempo, 5 min jog x 2..........10 min jog cool-down
10 min jog........10 min tempo, 3 min jog, x 3..........10 min jog cool-down
10 min jog........15 min tempo, 5 min jog, x 2..........10 min jog cool-down
10 min jog........20 min tempo, 5 min jog, 10 min tempo,10 min jog cool-down
10 min jog....... 30 min tempo, 10 min jog cool down
Although interval training has been found to be a more effective VO2 booster, tempo training should not be abandoned completely. Mentally and physically, sustained race-pace runs give you the feel for racing like no other workout. Since your training is designed to help you run faster, it makes perfectly good sense to do a large block of your running at race pace or faster.
Along with long runs and interval training, tempo runs are the 3rd primary piece of the marathon training puzzle not to be overlooked. To start with, set aside one day per week, and after a 10-15 minute warm-up, get into your tempo (marathon pace) for 5 minutes, slow to a jog, and repeat.
Here is a sample weekly progression to help you introduce tempo training. As with intervals, you should be schedule an easy workout on the previous day. Remember, this is supposed to be done at marathon pace.
More advanced runners can continue to progress. For me, 60 minutes seems to be the upper limit for a good tempo run.
10 min jog.........5 min tempo, 5 min jog x 2..........10 min jog cool-down
10 min jog.........8 min tempo, 5 min jog x 2..........10 min jog cool-down
10 min jog........10 min tempo, 5 min jog x 2..........10 min jog cool-down
10 min jog........10 min tempo, 3 min jog, x 3..........10 min jog cool-down
10 min jog........15 min tempo, 5 min jog, x 2..........10 min jog cool-down
10 min jog........20 min tempo, 5 min jog, 10 min tempo,10 min jog cool-down
10 min jog....... 30 min tempo, 10 min jog cool down
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
26 Tips for Marathon Training and Racing: #20- Considering the Workout Plan!
It's time to get to the good stuff! While cross training is a good idea, the majority of your workout time from now on should be devoted to running and recovery. As the weeks go by and your fitness level continues to build, you should be following some kind of progression. Long runs get longer, and intervals (if you do them) get tougher.
There are any number of marathon training programs, some better than others. Here are some key points to remember.
1. BE FLEXIBLE! Vacations, work-related tasks, illness, and family obligations often interfere with running, so you have to be flexible. In any training program, the focus should be on 2 or 3 essential workouts per week. The BIG 3 are long runs, interval sessions, tempo runs and or races. When something comes up, use that as a recovery day and put off your key workout. More often than not, your best race will follow weeks of uninterrupted training. CONSISTENCY!
2. START EARLY! You cannot rush adaptation to training without risk of injury. The general rule is no more than a 10% increase in long runs or weekly miles per week.
3. SET A REALISTIC GOAL! Don't go into this with unrealistic expectations. Generally speaking, marathons fall into one of the following categories:
a. Serious racers: This group includes men who run under 3 hours or women who run under 3 hr 30 min (dependent upon age group- I consider myself pretty serious, but at 54 am finding a sub 3 rather difficult!)
b. Passionate runners: They may train just as hard, but don't have quite the natural ability to lead the pack. Between 3 and 4 hours.
c. Just let me finish: These are runners who for some reason have targeted the marathon as a life-long ambition. They train and hope they can just finish. (over 4 hours)
4. Individualize! Set up a running program around your life, not
the other way around. If time is at a premium, you can be successful at the
marathon running your BIG 3 quality sessions a week!
To help measure your ability to run a marathon, use this chart from marathonguide.com that predicts your time based on performance at a shorter distance.
(c) Dave Elger 2008 All rights reserved
There are any number of marathon training programs, some better than others. Here are some key points to remember.
1. BE FLEXIBLE! Vacations, work-related tasks, illness, and family obligations often interfere with running, so you have to be flexible. In any training program, the focus should be on 2 or 3 essential workouts per week. The BIG 3 are long runs, interval sessions, tempo runs and or races. When something comes up, use that as a recovery day and put off your key workout. More often than not, your best race will follow weeks of uninterrupted training. CONSISTENCY!
2. START EARLY! You cannot rush adaptation to training without risk of injury. The general rule is no more than a 10% increase in long runs or weekly miles per week.
3. SET A REALISTIC GOAL! Don't go into this with unrealistic expectations. Generally speaking, marathons fall into one of the following categories:
a. Serious racers: This group includes men who run under 3 hours or women who run under 3 hr 30 min (dependent upon age group- I consider myself pretty serious, but at 54 am finding a sub 3 rather difficult!)
b. Passionate runners: They may train just as hard, but don't have quite the natural ability to lead the pack. Between 3 and 4 hours.
c. Just let me finish: These are runners who for some reason have targeted the marathon as a life-long ambition. They train and hope they can just finish. (over 4 hours)
4. Individualize! Set up a running program around your life, not
the other way around. If time is at a premium, you can be successful at the
marathon running your BIG 3 quality sessions a week!
To help measure your ability to run a marathon, use this chart from marathonguide.com that predicts your time based on performance at a shorter distance.
(c) Dave Elger 2008 All rights reserved
Saturday, May 3, 2008
26 Tips for Marathon Training and Racing: #18- Interval Training
This is the most overlooked and under utilized type of training, yet has the potential to significantly improve your marathon performance. Whether you are a novice or advanced, I highly recommend that you spend one session per week in your marathon build-up phase to interval training.
Last May I posted this short article comparing intervals to tempo training. Compared to the tempo trained group, interval runners experienced a much larger increase in V02 Max. How does this translate to a better marathon?
Along with a rise in V02, your anaerobic threshold (that speed or heart rate at which you begin to produce lactic acid) also receives a boost. That means you can run comfortably at a slightly faster pace.
I also find long intervals (800 meters) the most effective way get my body accustomed to faster-paced racing. 800 meter repeats are more intense than tempo training, and as the number of repetitions build, so does my ability to race at a faster pace. This is the workout that I also use to work on running form. Staying relaxed and minimizing energy cost while running fast takes practice!
What I really like about intervals is the opportunity to vary the workout several different ways. You can increase the number, decrease the rest interval, lengthen the interval distance, or increase the speed. You can always introduce ladder workouts (200, 400, 600, 800) or pyramids (200, 400, 600, 800, 600, 400, 200).
Here is a sample 12 week progression for introducing interval training to your marathon build-up.
Week 12..... 6 x 400, rest 2 minute between reps.
Week 11..... 8 x 400, rest 2 minute between reps.
Week 10..... 6 x 400, rest 90 sec between reps.
Week 9...... 8 x 400, rest 90 sec between reps.
Week 8...... 4 x 800, rest 2 min between reps.
Week 7...... 6 x 800, rest 2 min between reps.
Week 6...... 8 x 400, 5 sec faster than week 1, rest 9 sec between reps
Week 5...... 6 x 800, rest 90 sec between reps
Week 4...... 10 x 400, rest 90 sec between reps (same pace as week
Week 3...... 8 x 800, rest 2 min between reps
Week 2...... 6 x 800, rest 2 min between reps
Week 1...... 4 x 800, rest 2 min between reps
race
You want to be fresh for this workout,so schedule an easy workout or take off the day before. I've found that you can easily do a long easy run the day following this workout.
If you've never heard of Yasso 800s, then read this! from runnersworld.com
(c) Dave Elger 2008 All rights reserved
Last May I posted this short article comparing intervals to tempo training. Compared to the tempo trained group, interval runners experienced a much larger increase in V02 Max. How does this translate to a better marathon?
Along with a rise in V02, your anaerobic threshold (that speed or heart rate at which you begin to produce lactic acid) also receives a boost. That means you can run comfortably at a slightly faster pace.
I also find long intervals (800 meters) the most effective way get my body accustomed to faster-paced racing. 800 meter repeats are more intense than tempo training, and as the number of repetitions build, so does my ability to race at a faster pace. This is the workout that I also use to work on running form. Staying relaxed and minimizing energy cost while running fast takes practice!
What I really like about intervals is the opportunity to vary the workout several different ways. You can increase the number, decrease the rest interval, lengthen the interval distance, or increase the speed. You can always introduce ladder workouts (200, 400, 600, 800) or pyramids (200, 400, 600, 800, 600, 400, 200).
Here is a sample 12 week progression for introducing interval training to your marathon build-up.
Week 12..... 6 x 400, rest 2 minute between reps.
Week 11..... 8 x 400, rest 2 minute between reps.
Week 10..... 6 x 400, rest 90 sec between reps.
Week 9...... 8 x 400, rest 90 sec between reps.
Week 8...... 4 x 800, rest 2 min between reps.
Week 7...... 6 x 800, rest 2 min between reps.
Week 6...... 8 x 400, 5 sec faster than week 1, rest 9 sec between reps
Week 5...... 6 x 800, rest 90 sec between reps
Week 4...... 10 x 400, rest 90 sec between reps (same pace as week
Week 3...... 8 x 800, rest 2 min between reps
Week 2...... 6 x 800, rest 2 min between reps
Week 1...... 4 x 800, rest 2 min between reps
race
You want to be fresh for this workout,so schedule an easy workout or take off the day before. I've found that you can easily do a long easy run the day following this workout.
If you've never heard of Yasso 800s, then read this! from runnersworld.com
(c) Dave Elger 2008 All rights reserved
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Run Less Run Faster
Run Less Run Faster may be the answer if you are not sure how to prepare for your next marathon.
Authors Bill Pierce, Scott Murr, and Ray Moss have come up with a marathon training plan that requires just 3 runs a week- with a catch. These are not junk miles. Be prepared to do one long run, one tempo run, and one interval workout.
The Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training (FIRST) has complied some compelling evidence that their program works, measuring improved physiological data and race times in several groups of runners that were put on the program over that last several years.
There is another catch- the FIRST training program is also called 3plus2, meaning you must also cross train 2 sessions each week.
The FIRST 3plus2 marathon training program makes perfect sense- as described in the book the 3 workouts "are designed to work together to improve endurance, lactate-threshold running pace, and leg speed. You run each workout at a higher intensity than you are probably used to, however you get at least one day off in between allowing ample recovery.
What I also like about the book are the tables that tell you what pace to run each workout based on your 5K times, plus 16-week training programs for each of the age-group Boston marathon qualifiying times.
If daily training is running you down, I'd take a serious look at Run Less Run Faster, especially if you are injury prone or over 50 and still have a burning desire to challenge yourself. As they say in the book, "train with a purpose."
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The Squamish Brick: An Ultra Running Experience
Present company excluded, these people are all capable of running very, very long distances.The Squamish Brick is a two-day event, consisting of consecutive long trail runs in Squamish, Canada, located about 55 miles south of Whistler. Sponsored by Club Fat Ass, the Brick is run on much of the same course as the upcoming ultra- STORMY 50 or 100 mile trail race.
While I've completed 40 something marathons, this was actually my introduction into the realm of ultra marathon training. The close knit ultra marathon community is comprised of a cast of characters the likes I have not met before. Some are what I call competitive. Others are not. The one unique ability they have in common is they can all run for a long time, and I mean a very long time.
Things I learned about ultra-marathoning this weekend.
Never, ever ask "how far do we have to go?" Inevitably, you'll get the answer, "not far", which as far as I know, by ultra definition could be any distance less than 10 miles.
Never ask which way. The answer I got was "it doesn't matter- we'll get out of here eventually."
Walk up the hills. Problem is, they walked so fast I had to jog to keep up.
Never stop your watch. An ultra runner never, ever stops their watch during a training run "...It's time on your feet that counts."
Conventional running gear is a rarity. You'll see a diverse selection of outerwear worn by the ultra marathon community, not all of it high tech, but certainly functional.
In contrast to most runners, ultra runners like to quantify their running in terms of hours, not miles. Carlos, for instance, has a 10 hour per week limit on his running. No more no less. So what if he does half of that on a Saturday, then another 4 or 5 hours on Sunday- that is a different week.
Blood on trail is not unusual . Many or most serious ultra runners have the scars to prove it.
Never take your car keys on an ultra run- not only did I lose mine, but we found another set of Toyota keys hung neatly in a tree waiting for the owner to claim (if anybody finds another Toyota key up there, it's mine!)
Ultra runners pick up every speck of garbage they spot along the trails. Not sure I've ever seen that before.
A bear sighting on trail is nothing to be alarmed about. You only have to run faster than one other person in the group.
Never underestimate ANYBODY training for an ultra. I consider myself a half-way decent runner, but had the feeling I was way out of my league in this group. Just because you've run a good road marathon time does not necessarily mean you can be a good ultra trail runner without lots of ultra, trail specific training.
Complaining or whining is not allowed in the ultra community, at least I never heard anybody else other than myself doing any.
I will use some of what I learned by training with this group, mainly that 2 hours of trail running is hardly a good warm-up for the typical ultra marathoner, and I probably should keep going for another hour or 2. The pace can be slow, and I can save hill work for another day. I will be more consious of picking up trash.
Now I can't wait to get back on the track for a session of good, hard intervals.
(c) Dave Elger 2008 All rights reserved.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Running to the Limit by Paul Tergat
Who is Paul Tergat? If you aren't a fan of distance running, you might not have a clue.
Paul Tergat was born in 1969 in Riwo, Kenya, and here is a partial list of what he has accomplished in the world of distance running:
5,000 meters- 12:49 (1997)
10,000 meters- 26:27 (1997- world record)
Half Marathon- 59:17 (1998- world record)
Marathon- 2 hr 04 min:55 (2003-world record)
World Cross Country Champion (1995-1999)
If you want to know what it takes to be the best, pick up a copy of Tergat's book Running to the Limit, written with Jurg Wirz, Meyer & Meyer Sport, 2005. Here are a few exerpts:
sample week leading up to Tergat's world record marathon run
Mon
AM 30 min then 10 x 1,000 meters in 2:45 90 sec rest
PM 1 hr
Tues
AM 1 hr 10 min
PM 1 hr
Wed
AM 1 hr 15 min
PM 1 hr
Thurs
AM 35 kilometers
PM recover
Fri
AM 1 hr 10 min
PM 1 hr
Sat
AM 1 hr 10 min
PM 1 hr
Sun
AM 30 min, 20 x 1 min fast, 1 min slow
PM 1 hr
He follows a standard marathon training program that includes one long run, one long interval, and one short interval session per week. He mentions that his typical morning runs are always between medium and fast paced, with the afternoon run at slow to medium. The long runs "are not slow at all." Prior to the Atlanta Olympics, Tergat claims to have been running up to 300 kilometers per week-that's 187 miles.
Tergat's long time coach, Dr. Gabriel Rosa, suggests that training at higher elevations is valuable, as is training on hills. "Somebody who always runs on the flat will after some time lose his strength."
Rosa also thinks quality is more important than quantity- Tergat's 300 kilometer weeks being an exception to that rule. Rosa likes what he calls, "progressive running", or starting slow and ending fast. Runners converting from the track to the marathon must be patient- it's a different biochemistry and running technique.
Tergat thinks it's important for any runner to follow a long term plan. "It is easier to follow a certain training program when you know exactly what you are training for."
What does Tergat do other than running? He illustrates a few simple drills to improve running form, joint range of motion, speed, and strength. He mentions stretching in his sample training logs but does not go into any specifics.
Paul Tergat was born in 1969 in Riwo, Kenya, and here is a partial list of what he has accomplished in the world of distance running:
5,000 meters- 12:49 (1997)
10,000 meters- 26:27 (1997- world record)
Half Marathon- 59:17 (1998- world record)
Marathon- 2 hr 04 min:55 (2003-world record)
World Cross Country Champion (1995-1999)
If you want to know what it takes to be the best, pick up a copy of Tergat's book Running to the Limit, written with Jurg Wirz, Meyer & Meyer Sport, 2005. Here are a few exerpts:
sample week leading up to Tergat's world record marathon run
Mon
AM 30 min then 10 x 1,000 meters in 2:45 90 sec rest
PM 1 hr
Tues
AM 1 hr 10 min
PM 1 hr
Wed
AM 1 hr 15 min
PM 1 hr
Thurs
AM 35 kilometers
PM recover
Fri
AM 1 hr 10 min
PM 1 hr
Sat
AM 1 hr 10 min
PM 1 hr
Sun
AM 30 min, 20 x 1 min fast, 1 min slow
PM 1 hr
He follows a standard marathon training program that includes one long run, one long interval, and one short interval session per week. He mentions that his typical morning runs are always between medium and fast paced, with the afternoon run at slow to medium. The long runs "are not slow at all." Prior to the Atlanta Olympics, Tergat claims to have been running up to 300 kilometers per week-that's 187 miles.
Tergat's long time coach, Dr. Gabriel Rosa, suggests that training at higher elevations is valuable, as is training on hills. "Somebody who always runs on the flat will after some time lose his strength."
Rosa also thinks quality is more important than quantity- Tergat's 300 kilometer weeks being an exception to that rule. Rosa likes what he calls, "progressive running", or starting slow and ending fast. Runners converting from the track to the marathon must be patient- it's a different biochemistry and running technique.
Tergat thinks it's important for any runner to follow a long term plan. "It is easier to follow a certain training program when you know exactly what you are training for."
What does Tergat do other than running? He illustrates a few simple drills to improve running form, joint range of motion, speed, and strength. He mentions stretching in his sample training logs but does not go into any specifics.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Marathon Build-up
I've never been a big fan of conventional marathon build-up programs. First of all, most of those programs are designed for beginners- and I am of the opinion that if you are starting from scratch you should be looking at a 1 year plan rather than one that lasts only 3 or 4 months.
If you are an experienced runner preparing for a marathon-here are my 2 cents on how to do it right.
6 months out- you should be already be working on doing long enough runs that you feel confident that you can FINISH a marathon. Weekly 15-17 mile runs. They can be slow.
3 months out- your weekly miles and long runs should be peaking. That's right- 3 months out. Maintain that workload for the next 4 weeks. Never run longer than 3 hours or 20 miles in training.
2 months out- you should be focus on improving your long run tempo, not your distance. You have to do some race specific workouts on a weekly basis - at least an hour, which can be part of your weekly long run or a separate trainng session. Another option is to attempt to run a long run at tempo every other week, alternating with an easier long distance run.
I believe the 4 week period between 6 and 2 weeks out from your scheduled marathon should be the most intense part of your training.
4 weeks out- the perfect time for a half marathon or race simulated time trial to test your fitness. Allow yourself 2 good rest days, simulating what you will be doing those last couple of days before your marathon. You should be able to complete your half marathon at or below your goal marathon pace. With more recovery you'll be surprised how easy that pace feels on race day.
2 weeks out- you can start cutting your miles while maintaining intensity. No more runs longer than 90 minutes.
1 week out- nothing longer than an hour- 40-45 minutes of race pace running.
3 days out- your last race pace run for no more than 40 min.
2 days out- light jogging.
Race day-the optimal race plan is one that is run at an even pace- by now you should have a good feel for what that is.
Marathon training is hard work if you expect to run to your potential- the formula includes long runs of 2 hours or more, weekly miles, intervals or tempo work, and recovery days. The trick is putting the components together in a way that works best or you.
(c) Dave Elger 2007 All rights reserved
If you are an experienced runner preparing for a marathon-here are my 2 cents on how to do it right.
6 months out- you should be already be working on doing long enough runs that you feel confident that you can FINISH a marathon. Weekly 15-17 mile runs. They can be slow.
3 months out- your weekly miles and long runs should be peaking. That's right- 3 months out. Maintain that workload for the next 4 weeks. Never run longer than 3 hours or 20 miles in training.
2 months out- you should be focus on improving your long run tempo, not your distance. You have to do some race specific workouts on a weekly basis - at least an hour, which can be part of your weekly long run or a separate trainng session. Another option is to attempt to run a long run at tempo every other week, alternating with an easier long distance run.
I believe the 4 week period between 6 and 2 weeks out from your scheduled marathon should be the most intense part of your training.
4 weeks out- the perfect time for a half marathon or race simulated time trial to test your fitness. Allow yourself 2 good rest days, simulating what you will be doing those last couple of days before your marathon. You should be able to complete your half marathon at or below your goal marathon pace. With more recovery you'll be surprised how easy that pace feels on race day.
2 weeks out- you can start cutting your miles while maintaining intensity. No more runs longer than 90 minutes.
1 week out- nothing longer than an hour- 40-45 minutes of race pace running.
3 days out- your last race pace run for no more than 40 min.
2 days out- light jogging.
Race day-the optimal race plan is one that is run at an even pace- by now you should have a good feel for what that is.
Marathon training is hard work if you expect to run to your potential- the formula includes long runs of 2 hours or more, weekly miles, intervals or tempo work, and recovery days. The trick is putting the components together in a way that works best or you.
(c) Dave Elger 2007 All rights reserved
Friday, October 19, 2007
Top American Marathon Coaches Give Their Views on Altitude Training
from runnersworld.com
Altitude is a topic we’ve been talking about for decades. What is your current thinking? Coach (Joe) Vigil says something near 7000 feet is ideal. Could you outline your philosophy of where altitude fits into the training of a marathoner?
Brad Hudson: I have two athletes at altitude and two athletes at sea level. I just want to emphasize that we believe strongly in altitude training. Some athletes do a little bit better at altitude than our others. The real reason that we’re using Eugene (Oregon) at sea level right now is because of the soft surfaces, and the last month of training, all my athletes are at sea level doing more specific work for the marathon. We believe strongly and altitude and we think Boulder is a great place for training…. It’s 5200 feet or 5300, and we actually think the stress and the time are a little bit slower than that. So I don’t necessarily believe in any sort of magic altitude…. It’s just how you use it in training and how you prepare specifically for a race. At the end of the day, the races are at sea l level, and so I think using sea level in our training takes a little bit of the mystery out of how we’re going to do in the race. We know where we’re going, especially close to the race.
Terrance Mahon: The mystery with altitude is that people get a little too complicated with it. I consider altitude as a stressor on an athlete’s typical training regimen, and I don’t see it actually as that much different than the stressor or, let’s say, weigh training or running up a hill or doing sprints. If you look at it like that, you’re obviously going to see that different athletes are going to adapt differently to different stresses on their body. For example, there are certain athletes who get quicker gains in the weight room than another athlete, and the same applies to altitude. So what we look at is altitude as a stressor component within our system, so it’s going to be different for different types of athletes. One, it’s going to vary from year to year, depending on how long an athlete has been at altitude …. I don’t think there’s a magic in terms if saying "hey, there’s an altitude of 7000 feet, and that’s the best altitude," because for a new athlete, maybe 4000 feet or 5000 feet is the stress that their body can handle at that time given all the other stresses that are going on in the training work load, be it volume, speed, intensity, density…. If we take someone like a Ryan Hall, who’s pretty much been at altitude, 6000 feet or higher, since he was a young boy, his adaptation to that stress as such isn’t as hard as the next person. What we’ve actually looked at this year Ryan is we’ve brought him up to 9000 feet because we found we weren’t getting as much of a stress at 8000 feet and we’re looking to add that tiny bit of stimulus to the system to improve his running economy.
Keith Hanson: Obviously, our group trains in the suburbs of Detroit and we like the training area because it is very soft surfaces. Eighty percent of our mileage is probably done on dirt, between trails and dirt roads. Certainly I agree with Terrence; it’s obvious that running at altitude is a stressor…. A Brian Sell, for example, counters that will running very high volume. Brian is a consistent 150-plus milers per week athlete when he’s training for a marathon. That’s the sort of thing that gives Brian confidence. Brian would be a good example, in my opinion, of somebody who would have difficulty at altitude because it would be somewhat suicidal of him to run his 150 to 160 miles per week at altitude …. It would actually be, in my opinion, a disadvantage with the mentality that Brian has and the strength that he gains from that mentality to put him at altitude.
Altitude is a topic we’ve been talking about for decades. What is your current thinking? Coach (Joe) Vigil says something near 7000 feet is ideal. Could you outline your philosophy of where altitude fits into the training of a marathoner?
Brad Hudson: I have two athletes at altitude and two athletes at sea level. I just want to emphasize that we believe strongly in altitude training. Some athletes do a little bit better at altitude than our others. The real reason that we’re using Eugene (Oregon) at sea level right now is because of the soft surfaces, and the last month of training, all my athletes are at sea level doing more specific work for the marathon. We believe strongly and altitude and we think Boulder is a great place for training…. It’s 5200 feet or 5300, and we actually think the stress and the time are a little bit slower than that. So I don’t necessarily believe in any sort of magic altitude…. It’s just how you use it in training and how you prepare specifically for a race. At the end of the day, the races are at sea l level, and so I think using sea level in our training takes a little bit of the mystery out of how we’re going to do in the race. We know where we’re going, especially close to the race.
Terrance Mahon: The mystery with altitude is that people get a little too complicated with it. I consider altitude as a stressor on an athlete’s typical training regimen, and I don’t see it actually as that much different than the stressor or, let’s say, weigh training or running up a hill or doing sprints. If you look at it like that, you’re obviously going to see that different athletes are going to adapt differently to different stresses on their body. For example, there are certain athletes who get quicker gains in the weight room than another athlete, and the same applies to altitude. So what we look at is altitude as a stressor component within our system, so it’s going to be different for different types of athletes. One, it’s going to vary from year to year, depending on how long an athlete has been at altitude …. I don’t think there’s a magic in terms if saying "hey, there’s an altitude of 7000 feet, and that’s the best altitude," because for a new athlete, maybe 4000 feet or 5000 feet is the stress that their body can handle at that time given all the other stresses that are going on in the training work load, be it volume, speed, intensity, density…. If we take someone like a Ryan Hall, who’s pretty much been at altitude, 6000 feet or higher, since he was a young boy, his adaptation to that stress as such isn’t as hard as the next person. What we’ve actually looked at this year Ryan is we’ve brought him up to 9000 feet because we found we weren’t getting as much of a stress at 8000 feet and we’re looking to add that tiny bit of stimulus to the system to improve his running economy.
Keith Hanson: Obviously, our group trains in the suburbs of Detroit and we like the training area because it is very soft surfaces. Eighty percent of our mileage is probably done on dirt, between trails and dirt roads. Certainly I agree with Terrence; it’s obvious that running at altitude is a stressor…. A Brian Sell, for example, counters that will running very high volume. Brian is a consistent 150-plus milers per week athlete when he’s training for a marathon. That’s the sort of thing that gives Brian confidence. Brian would be a good example, in my opinion, of somebody who would have difficulty at altitude because it would be somewhat suicidal of him to run his 150 to 160 miles per week at altitude …. It would actually be, in my opinion, a disadvantage with the mentality that Brian has and the strength that he gains from that mentality to put him at altitude.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Volume or Intensity?
Great article here by Joe Friel looking at the importance of inteval type training for competitive endurance athletes.
"In a German study, 17 experienced runners steadily increased their volumes from their normal 50 miles per week to 105 miles per week over a four-week period (1). All of these runs were done at about marathon pace or slower (2mmol/L lactate). One year later they allowed the researchers to tinker with their training again. This time they nearly doubled the amount of time they trained at high intensity, over a four-week period again. With increased intensity they improved on four measures of performance from 5 percent to 17 percent. Increased volume produced no significant improvements in the same metrics."
-ultrafit.com
Here is another viewpoint on the subject from peakperformanceonline written by Bruce Tulloh, European 5K champion in 1962. Bruce obviously is a huge fan of the low-mileage high intensity approach to training.
typical low mileage week of marathon training as described by Bruce Tulloh
Tues: warm-up, 8 x 800m on track (90 secs recovery jog) at 5k pace
Thurs: 10 mins warm-up, 2 x 20 mins at threshold pace;
Sat: 10 mins warm-up, 6 x 1 mile off road, (3 mins recovery) at 10k pace;
Sun: long run, 18 miles; 6 miles easy, 6 miles at marathon pace, 6 miles a bit faster.
Total mileage 41 approx.
Despite the evidence, if you like long, slow training, do not dispair! A study published in Medicine & Science in Sport and Exercise concluded the following:
"Our findings suggest that total training time spent at low intensities might be associated with improved performance during highly intense endurance events, especially if the event duration is ~35 min. Interventional studies (i.e., improving or reducing training time in zone 1) are needed to corroborate our findings and to elucidate the physiological mechanisms behind them."
Something tells me the true answer to the optimal training program lies somewhere in the middle.
"In a German study, 17 experienced runners steadily increased their volumes from their normal 50 miles per week to 105 miles per week over a four-week period (1). All of these runs were done at about marathon pace or slower (2mmol/L lactate). One year later they allowed the researchers to tinker with their training again. This time they nearly doubled the amount of time they trained at high intensity, over a four-week period again. With increased intensity they improved on four measures of performance from 5 percent to 17 percent. Increased volume produced no significant improvements in the same metrics."
-ultrafit.com
Here is another viewpoint on the subject from peakperformanceonline written by Bruce Tulloh, European 5K champion in 1962. Bruce obviously is a huge fan of the low-mileage high intensity approach to training.
typical low mileage week of marathon training as described by Bruce Tulloh
Tues: warm-up, 8 x 800m on track (90 secs recovery jog) at 5k pace
Thurs: 10 mins warm-up, 2 x 20 mins at threshold pace;
Sat: 10 mins warm-up, 6 x 1 mile off road, (3 mins recovery) at 10k pace;
Sun: long run, 18 miles; 6 miles easy, 6 miles at marathon pace, 6 miles a bit faster.
Total mileage 41 approx.
Despite the evidence, if you like long, slow training, do not dispair! A study published in Medicine & Science in Sport and Exercise concluded the following:
"Our findings suggest that total training time spent at low intensities might be associated with improved performance during highly intense endurance events, especially if the event duration is ~35 min. Interventional studies (i.e., improving or reducing training time in zone 1) are needed to corroborate our findings and to elucidate the physiological mechanisms behind them."
Something tells me the true answer to the optimal training program lies somewhere in the middle.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
26 Tips for Marathon Training and Racing: #2- Race Day!
The day you've worked so hard for has finally arrived! All the miles, sacrifices, and pain. Don't blow it now!
Pre Race
- Get up! You need to be out of bed 3 hours before the race starts. Eat a carbohydrate breakfast and drink at least 12 ounces of water or sports drink. Go to the bathroom! I usually drink 2 cups of coffee, but limit that to 1 on race day.
- Gear. Double check your race gear one more time to make sure you have everything you'll need. Take snacks and fluids to the start.
- Hydrate. Stop drinking about an hour before the start so you have plenty of time for bathroom trips. With about 10 minutes to go, drink 8-12 ounces of sports drink one more time.
Nutrition
- Your pace the first mile or 2 is crucial. You want to do everything possible to conserve precious muscle glycogen, because the faster you run, the faster you burn it. Hold back and check your 1 mile split. Slow down if your first mile is faster than your anticipated pace.
-Practice energy conservation. Tuck in behind other runners whenever possible. Focus on smooth, relaxed running. Make it feel easy.
-Drink at the aid stations. A few sips at every stop. I take sports drink or switch to water if I take a gel.
-Carbohydrates. You should try to take in 200-250 calories per hour. These days more often than not you have a choice of sports drinks or gels. While hundreds of thousands of long distance athletes use gels without complaint, distance running expert Owen Anderson is not convinced they are the best choice. "...dump a load of goo into your stomach along with a little liquid, it's hard to know what the actual CONCENTRATION of that carbohydrate will be. That concern is not an esoteric one: if the carbo concentration is too high (too much goo, not enough liquid), the carbohydrate will be absorbed slowly and may even pull fluid into your gut - lowering your blood volume and dehydrating you in the process. If the carbo levels are too low (too little goo, too much water), not enough carbs will get to your muscles, and you'll limp through the final miles of the marathon with sad, glycogen-depleted legs. The commercial sports drinks are formulated just right, I always say, so why not just use them ..."
If you use gel, remember they are very concentrated. Crank Sports, maker of e-Gel, recommends 14 oz of water between each one. You'll start the race with water in your system, but that will need to be replaced throughout the race. Each gel has roughly 100 calories, so if you take 1 gel per hour, you should maintain a drinking rate of 7 oz plain water every 30 minutes. You'll still be at least 100 calories short, so take some sports drink along the way to make up the difference. This is something you'll have to experiment with. I recently took about 6 gels during the Vancouver Marathon over 3 hours with no problem, and I know that I was not drinking 28 oz each hour. I've also carried gels on training runs and not had any problems.
If you go with a sports drink, 4 ounces has 30 calories, so you need to drink 28 ounces per hour to get your 200 calories, or 7 oz every 15 minutes.
Strategy
"The day of the marathon I watched in amazement as he cut all the tangents in Central Park while Smith ran down the middle of the road. The measurement difference between miles 23 to 25 was approximately 50 meters!(tangents vs. middle of the road). It is my opinion that Rod didn't run one step faster - just every step smarter."
–david katz, well-known expert on marathon course design and measurement recalling Rod Dixon's New York City Marathon victory in 1983.
Don't run more distance than you have to! I've been running shorter distances than my competitors for years. Take the shortest distance at every opportunity.
The perfect marathon is run with even splits. In other words, your goal is to run the second half in the same time you ran the first half. This is very difficult to do, especially for the novice. Hold back early or the last 6 miles will be a very painful experience.
Pre Race
- Get up! You need to be out of bed 3 hours before the race starts. Eat a carbohydrate breakfast and drink at least 12 ounces of water or sports drink. Go to the bathroom! I usually drink 2 cups of coffee, but limit that to 1 on race day.
- Gear. Double check your race gear one more time to make sure you have everything you'll need. Take snacks and fluids to the start.
- Hydrate. Stop drinking about an hour before the start so you have plenty of time for bathroom trips. With about 10 minutes to go, drink 8-12 ounces of sports drink one more time.
Nutrition
- Your pace the first mile or 2 is crucial. You want to do everything possible to conserve precious muscle glycogen, because the faster you run, the faster you burn it. Hold back and check your 1 mile split. Slow down if your first mile is faster than your anticipated pace.
-Practice energy conservation. Tuck in behind other runners whenever possible. Focus on smooth, relaxed running. Make it feel easy.
-Drink at the aid stations. A few sips at every stop. I take sports drink or switch to water if I take a gel.
-Carbohydrates. You should try to take in 200-250 calories per hour. These days more often than not you have a choice of sports drinks or gels. While hundreds of thousands of long distance athletes use gels without complaint, distance running expert Owen Anderson is not convinced they are the best choice. "...dump a load of goo into your stomach along with a little liquid, it's hard to know what the actual CONCENTRATION of that carbohydrate will be. That concern is not an esoteric one: if the carbo concentration is too high (too much goo, not enough liquid), the carbohydrate will be absorbed slowly and may even pull fluid into your gut - lowering your blood volume and dehydrating you in the process. If the carbo levels are too low (too little goo, too much water), not enough carbs will get to your muscles, and you'll limp through the final miles of the marathon with sad, glycogen-depleted legs. The commercial sports drinks are formulated just right, I always say, so why not just use them ..."
If you use gel, remember they are very concentrated. Crank Sports, maker of e-Gel, recommends 14 oz of water between each one. You'll start the race with water in your system, but that will need to be replaced throughout the race. Each gel has roughly 100 calories, so if you take 1 gel per hour, you should maintain a drinking rate of 7 oz plain water every 30 minutes. You'll still be at least 100 calories short, so take some sports drink along the way to make up the difference. This is something you'll have to experiment with. I recently took about 6 gels during the Vancouver Marathon over 3 hours with no problem, and I know that I was not drinking 28 oz each hour. I've also carried gels on training runs and not had any problems.
If you go with a sports drink, 4 ounces has 30 calories, so you need to drink 28 ounces per hour to get your 200 calories, or 7 oz every 15 minutes.
Strategy
"The day of the marathon I watched in amazement as he cut all the tangents in Central Park while Smith ran down the middle of the road. The measurement difference between miles 23 to 25 was approximately 50 meters!(tangents vs. middle of the road). It is my opinion that Rod didn't run one step faster - just every step smarter."
–david katz, well-known expert on marathon course design and measurement recalling Rod Dixon's New York City Marathon victory in 1983.
Don't run more distance than you have to! I've been running shorter distances than my competitors for years. Take the shortest distance at every opportunity.
The perfect marathon is run with even splits. In other words, your goal is to run the second half in the same time you ran the first half. This is very difficult to do, especially for the novice. Hold back early or the last 6 miles will be a very painful experience.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
100 Day Marathon Training Plan
A 2-hour easy run is simply not enough if you have to be out there for 3:30 on race day. So the walk/runs is an easy way around this. So these runners would break for mechanical reasons and not for endurance reasons.
-Marius Bakken describing his marathon training program. He advocates walking during the long training runs but not during the race.
It looks to me like he's got some pretty good ideas that make sense for the average runner- you can order his 100 Day Marathon Training Plan for $47.
-Marius Bakken describing his marathon training program. He advocates walking during the long training runs but not during the race.
It looks to me like he's got some pretty good ideas that make sense for the average runner- you can order his 100 Day Marathon Training Plan for $47.
Monday, May 12, 2008
26 Tips for Marathon Training and Racing: #13- Hills
Mt Fuji Climbing Race - Took me 4 hours to finish this half marathon!
Running hills should be a REQUIRED component of your training if the marathon you are training for has any significant change in elevation, up or down.
Run up a hill and you can immediately feel the difference compared to flats. Breathing becomes labored very quickly, and quads fatigue rapidly. Instead of moving your body mass horizontally, you've added a vertical component that dramatically increases energy expenditure and recruits additional muscle fibers.
There are any number of ways to add hills to your training. Because of added stress on the Achilles tendons, calf muscles, and knees, beginners should proceed with caution. While there are many different types of hill workouts, here are some that are commonly used:
Option 1: Design a 4-5 mile route that includes 2-4 significant hills.
Option 2: Find a hill that measures 300-400 meters and run repetitions up.
Option 3: Find a long hill several miles long (common in the mountains).
Option 4: Find a short, steep hill, and run repetitions up 10-15 seconds hard.
According to Amby Burfoot of Runners Runners World, Dr. Gabriel Rosa, coach of many champion Kenyan runners, uses a strenuous hill workout every 10 days. One favorite is a 13 mile run that rises over 4,000 feet. Pretty tough when your starting point is already at altitude!
How do you fit hills into your training routine? The regular interval day is such a critical piece of your training, I would not give that up to do hills. I prefer to add this workout as a substitute for the weekend 5K or tempo workout twice a month.
Here is hill workout that I like that not many other marathoners are practicing. On one of my scheduled easy or off days, I like doing hill repeats on that 300-400 meter hill with a bike! Stand on the pedals as long as you can to simulate running, but sit when you have to. I think you'll find 5-6 of those is plenty!
Many coaches typically introduce hills early in a marathon build-up, then abandon them after their athletes have built strength and move on to a speed focused phase. Why risk losing the benefits? Stick with them until your taper or switch exclusively to the bike.
(c) Dave Elger, All rights reserved 2008.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Why Miles are Important in Marathon Training
"Where you may get some advantage in high mileage--if you can stand it--is in the substrate, the metabolic level that relates to glycogen storage. With volume over 100 miles, you're depleting yourself on a chronic basis and forcing yourself to replenish your glycogen stores day after day."
"If you can push the depletion level of the body in races from 60-90 minutes to two hours by training, you can maintain a higher intensity, which translates to a better running speed. That is where volume mileage has the advantage over high intensity training." -Al Claremont
William J. Fink of Ball State University suspects Claremont's assumption may be correct, but also suggests that volume training may result in a neuromuscular training effect, a more efficient recruitment of all available muscle fibers, which allows the work load to be parceled out over the distance more effectively: "When a runner doubles his training mileage, we often see no change in his maximum oxygen uptake (max VO2), his ability to deliver oxygen to the muscles. So we are forced to look to other areas to determine why volume training results in better performance." (Note: Bill Fink was head of the Biochemistry room in the Human Performance Lab at Ball State- I spent 2 years in there doing whatever I could "not to screw something up." He definitely knew his stuff, especially with a Ph D in Theology!)
"If you're talking about the reasons high mileage results in fast times, I'm not sure we know what we're looking for yet. Most scientists probably have not zeroed in on the real causes." -Jack Wilmore
article by Hal Higdon for ultRunr.com
MY COMMENT: 100 mile weeks are common among world class marathoners. I did it in college and for a short period after I graduated. I clearly remember feeling pretty beat up by Wednesday, however just one easy day was all I needed to bounce back and feel great. How fast you run those miles is also a consideration. 100 mile weeks will leave you feeling very strong after a taper, however to sacrifice quality for the sake of a reaching a mileage goal is not the best idea for running a fast marathon. You need to find a way to inject some quality in those weekly miles in the form of intervals or sustained tempo runs. Finding an ideal mix of distance and quality is the dilema all serious marathon runners must face.
"If you can push the depletion level of the body in races from 60-90 minutes to two hours by training, you can maintain a higher intensity, which translates to a better running speed. That is where volume mileage has the advantage over high intensity training." -Al Claremont
William J. Fink of Ball State University suspects Claremont's assumption may be correct, but also suggests that volume training may result in a neuromuscular training effect, a more efficient recruitment of all available muscle fibers, which allows the work load to be parceled out over the distance more effectively: "When a runner doubles his training mileage, we often see no change in his maximum oxygen uptake (max VO2), his ability to deliver oxygen to the muscles. So we are forced to look to other areas to determine why volume training results in better performance." (Note: Bill Fink was head of the Biochemistry room in the Human Performance Lab at Ball State- I spent 2 years in there doing whatever I could "not to screw something up." He definitely knew his stuff, especially with a Ph D in Theology!)
"If you're talking about the reasons high mileage results in fast times, I'm not sure we know what we're looking for yet. Most scientists probably have not zeroed in on the real causes." -Jack Wilmore
article by Hal Higdon for ultRunr.com
MY COMMENT: 100 mile weeks are common among world class marathoners. I did it in college and for a short period after I graduated. I clearly remember feeling pretty beat up by Wednesday, however just one easy day was all I needed to bounce back and feel great. How fast you run those miles is also a consideration. 100 mile weeks will leave you feeling very strong after a taper, however to sacrifice quality for the sake of a reaching a mileage goal is not the best idea for running a fast marathon. You need to find a way to inject some quality in those weekly miles in the form of intervals or sustained tempo runs. Finding an ideal mix of distance and quality is the dilema all serious marathon runners must face.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Marathon Training- The Long Run
“The long run is what puts the tiger in the cat.” - Bill Squires
There is no getting around the fact that long runs are crucial to a successful marathon training program.
1. Unless you are very experienced, long runs do not have to be fast. They are about building "resistance to fatigue", not speed.
2. You don't just start at 20 miles without following some sort of progressive build-up phase. Most would be marathoners are safe by adding 1-2 miles per week to your longest run, up to an absolute minimum of 15 miles. Everybody has an opinion on how far your long runs should be, and I am no exception. Depending on your speed, I recommend stopping most long runs at 2-2.5 hours, not to exceed 3, even if your projected time is 4 hours or slower. If you use distance as your measuring stick, I don’t recommend running beyond 20 miles in training. Based on personal experience, I think 18 miles is long enough, especially for beginners, provided you do enough of them. Running too far in training requires longer recovery, and trust me, if you can run 18 miles every weekend for a month, you can do 26.2 following a proper taper.
3. Surface. I believe that if you do most of your long runs off-road you recover faster. Ideally this would be on firm grass or trails that allow you to run at a respectable pace. I've found that many trails, especially those that are hilly, rocky, or at altitude, are run at a pace that is just too slow. If you can only cover 10 miles in 2 hours and hope to break 3 on race day, you might be better off back on the roads. The ideal situation would be to run on a smooth dirt or firm trail most of the time, then as your race draws closer mixing in a couple of your long runs back on the road.
4. How long? Unless you come from an ultra marathon background, I favor 18 miles as the long run upper limit for most runners because, as I mentioned earlier, recovery is so much faster than following a run 20 miles and beyond. Efficient, light weight runners are capable of going longer and may choose to do so because they can recover faster.
5. How many? Here is where my opinion varies from most marathon progression programs, that typically allow 2 weeks between your longest runs. I like to build up to 18 miles, and then maintain that distance for 4 consecutive weeks. Ideally, your first 18 miler comes 7 weeks out from your race and your last one 4 weeks out. Here is my 16 week progression for weekly long runs beginning with 8 miles:
Sample Progression of Long Runs
Week 16:....8 miles
Week 15:... 9 miles
Week 14:...10 miles
Week 13:...11 miles
Week 12:...12 miles
Week 11:...13 miles
Week 10:...14 miles
Week 9:....15 miles
Week 8:....16 miles
Week 7:....18 miles
Week 6:....18 miles
Week 5:....18 miles
Week 4:....18 miles
Week 3:....12-13 miles (race simulation)
Week 2:....12 miles
Week 1:....10 miles
race
I also like the 18 mile distance because the 9 minute per mile runners can still finish under the 3 hour limit (2 hr 42 min at 9 min pace).
Note the race simulation with 3 weeks remaining. Here is where you test your capability for maintaining marathon pace or faster for about half the distance. This won't prepare you for what's in store the last 6 miles, but can be a big confidence booster none the less. If you can schedule a half marathon race here, do it.
6. BE FLEXIBLE! There are many variations to long run build-ups. For example, Jeff Galloway recommends building up to distances of 26 miles and even longer, allowing a full 2 weeks in between. Hal Higdon uses 20 miles, as do most other programs, allowing 2 weeks in between. I like to stop at 18 so I can bounce back for another mid week quality workout before repeating the long one the following weekend.
7. The long run is more than just putting in the distance. Here is where you experiment with shoes; clothing, hydration and what form of calories work best for you (gels, liquid, or something else). Once you get beyond 15 miles, I would break out the shoes I plan to wear on race day for a test run or two, just to make sure nothing unexpected happens after 2 hours in them.
8. WEIGH YOURSELF BEFORE AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER ALL LONG RUNS! This is overlooked by the majority of marathoners, but avoiding dehydration is absolutely essential in preventing "the wall." You must try to drink enough to minimize large drops in body weight during long runs (4% or more). If you weigh 150, an acceptable loss would be 3 pounds (2%). Lose more than 6 pounds (4%) by 20 miles and you may have a long 6 miles ahead.
9. BUY A GPS OR MEASURE! Back in the day before GPSs, I used to estimate miles run based on time and how fast I thought I was running. More often than not I was off by 1 or maybe 2 miles on long runs, usually going shorter than I thought. Unless you measure or have a GPS, your 18 miler may actually be 16!
NOTE: Back when I was 43 years old, I ran 2hr 39 min at the 1997 Disney World Marathon placing 7th overall. My long runs were only 17 miles, but I had 3-4 weeks in a row where I did 2 of those every week- Sunday and Tuesday. Even though I had not run farther than 17 miles in a workout, I was very strong those last 6 miles!
(c) Dave Elger, 2009 All rights reserved
There is no getting around the fact that long runs are crucial to a successful marathon training program.
1. Unless you are very experienced, long runs do not have to be fast. They are about building "resistance to fatigue", not speed.
2. You don't just start at 20 miles without following some sort of progressive build-up phase. Most would be marathoners are safe by adding 1-2 miles per week to your longest run, up to an absolute minimum of 15 miles. Everybody has an opinion on how far your long runs should be, and I am no exception. Depending on your speed, I recommend stopping most long runs at 2-2.5 hours, not to exceed 3, even if your projected time is 4 hours or slower. If you use distance as your measuring stick, I don’t recommend running beyond 20 miles in training. Based on personal experience, I think 18 miles is long enough, especially for beginners, provided you do enough of them. Running too far in training requires longer recovery, and trust me, if you can run 18 miles every weekend for a month, you can do 26.2 following a proper taper.
3. Surface. I believe that if you do most of your long runs off-road you recover faster. Ideally this would be on firm grass or trails that allow you to run at a respectable pace. I've found that many trails, especially those that are hilly, rocky, or at altitude, are run at a pace that is just too slow. If you can only cover 10 miles in 2 hours and hope to break 3 on race day, you might be better off back on the roads. The ideal situation would be to run on a smooth dirt or firm trail most of the time, then as your race draws closer mixing in a couple of your long runs back on the road.
4. How long? Unless you come from an ultra marathon background, I favor 18 miles as the long run upper limit for most runners because, as I mentioned earlier, recovery is so much faster than following a run 20 miles and beyond. Efficient, light weight runners are capable of going longer and may choose to do so because they can recover faster.
5. How many? Here is where my opinion varies from most marathon progression programs, that typically allow 2 weeks between your longest runs. I like to build up to 18 miles, and then maintain that distance for 4 consecutive weeks. Ideally, your first 18 miler comes 7 weeks out from your race and your last one 4 weeks out. Here is my 16 week progression for weekly long runs beginning with 8 miles:
Sample Progression of Long Runs
Week 16:....8 miles
Week 15:... 9 miles
Week 14:...10 miles
Week 13:...11 miles
Week 12:...12 miles
Week 11:...13 miles
Week 10:...14 miles
Week 9:....15 miles
Week 8:....16 miles
Week 7:....18 miles
Week 6:....18 miles
Week 5:....18 miles
Week 4:....18 miles
Week 3:....12-13 miles (race simulation)
Week 2:....12 miles
Week 1:....10 miles
race
I also like the 18 mile distance because the 9 minute per mile runners can still finish under the 3 hour limit (2 hr 42 min at 9 min pace).
Note the race simulation with 3 weeks remaining. Here is where you test your capability for maintaining marathon pace or faster for about half the distance. This won't prepare you for what's in store the last 6 miles, but can be a big confidence booster none the less. If you can schedule a half marathon race here, do it.
6. BE FLEXIBLE! There are many variations to long run build-ups. For example, Jeff Galloway recommends building up to distances of 26 miles and even longer, allowing a full 2 weeks in between. Hal Higdon uses 20 miles, as do most other programs, allowing 2 weeks in between. I like to stop at 18 so I can bounce back for another mid week quality workout before repeating the long one the following weekend.
7. The long run is more than just putting in the distance. Here is where you experiment with shoes; clothing, hydration and what form of calories work best for you (gels, liquid, or something else). Once you get beyond 15 miles, I would break out the shoes I plan to wear on race day for a test run or two, just to make sure nothing unexpected happens after 2 hours in them.
8. WEIGH YOURSELF BEFORE AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER ALL LONG RUNS! This is overlooked by the majority of marathoners, but avoiding dehydration is absolutely essential in preventing "the wall." You must try to drink enough to minimize large drops in body weight during long runs (4% or more). If you weigh 150, an acceptable loss would be 3 pounds (2%). Lose more than 6 pounds (4%) by 20 miles and you may have a long 6 miles ahead.
9. BUY A GPS OR MEASURE! Back in the day before GPSs, I used to estimate miles run based on time and how fast I thought I was running. More often than not I was off by 1 or maybe 2 miles on long runs, usually going shorter than I thought. Unless you measure or have a GPS, your 18 miler may actually be 16!
NOTE: Back when I was 43 years old, I ran 2hr 39 min at the 1997 Disney World Marathon placing 7th overall. My long runs were only 17 miles, but I had 3-4 weeks in a row where I did 2 of those every week- Sunday and Tuesday. Even though I had not run farther than 17 miles in a workout, I was very strong those last 6 miles!
(c) Dave Elger, 2009 All rights reserved
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Marathon Legends- Tom Fleming
Somewhere in the world someone is training when you are not. When you race him, he will win." -Tom Fleming's Boston Marathon Training Motto
Unless you were around in the Bill Rodgers era, chances are you don't recognize the name, but Tom Fleming was one consistently tough marathoner.
New York Marathon Champion, 1973,1975
Boston Marathon Runner-up, 1973, 1974
Boston Marathon 3rd place- 1975
Boston Marathon 4th place- 1979
Boston Top 10 finishes- 6
Fukuoka World Marathon Championship- 4th place- 1977
Cleveland, Toronto, Los Angeles, Jersey Shore (3), Washington DC marathon Champion
See Tom's profile here
Fleming was a believer in the need to put in a huge volume of miles in order to compete in the marathon at a world class level. "You have to do 140 miles a week to get into the 2:12 bracket." from Hal Higdon's book, Marathon
Unless you were around in the Bill Rodgers era, chances are you don't recognize the name, but Tom Fleming was one consistently tough marathoner.
New York Marathon Champion, 1973,1975
Boston Marathon Runner-up, 1973, 1974
Boston Marathon 3rd place- 1975
Boston Marathon 4th place- 1979
Boston Top 10 finishes- 6
Fukuoka World Marathon Championship- 4th place- 1977
Cleveland, Toronto, Los Angeles, Jersey Shore (3), Washington DC marathon Champion
See Tom's profile here
Fleming was a believer in the need to put in a huge volume of miles in order to compete in the marathon at a world class level. "You have to do 140 miles a week to get into the 2:12 bracket." from Hal Higdon's book, Marathon
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Top 10 Marathon Tips
I recently took a peek at a marathon training website that gave the following Top 10 marathon tips.
1. Keep hydrated:
2. Check your shoes:
3. Eat your big pasta meal two days before the race:
4. Relax the day before:
5. Pace yourself correctly:
6. If the weather is bad – adjust your finish time:
7. Be careful with power gels and energy replacement products:
8. Mentally divide the race into sections:
9. Try walking:
10. Walk around after the marathon:
Here are 10 that I came up with:
1. Taper. I like to cut mileage but maintain or even increase intensity in the week prior to a marathon. Short but quick runs or mini-interval sessions work best. This will maintain blood volume without muscle breakdown
2. Run something very hard or very long 3 weeks before your race. This is a very effective strategy. Three weeks is ample time to recover and come back even stronger. I recommend a half marathon race or your longest run here. You'll be amazed!
3. Avoid the temptation to run long the week before the marathon. It won't do anything to help you and will likely hurt you.
4. Acclimatize. Recall recent years when Chicago and Boston were run in unseasonably warm tempertatures and thousands were caught unprepared. If there is a chance temperatures will be warmer than you are training in, put on some extra layers- enough to make you sweat. Acclimatization takes 7-10 days.
5. Dress appropriately for the weather. What you wear on race day is a crucial decision. Typically temperatures are cooler at the start, than proceed to increase as the race progresses. Four hour marathoners could be looking a significant difference in temperatures from start to finish. You can also underdress and run the risk of hypothermia if temperatures stay cool, the wind picks up, or it rains.
6. Calories. Consuming calories is extremely important during a run exceeding 90 minutes. The average marathoner should target 200 calories per hour.
7. Hydration. Drinking is important to keep up with your losses during a marathon, however, during the week prior it makes little sense to hydrate, urinate, hydrate, urinate, hyrdate, and urinate. It's not like your body has the ability to store excess water a week in advance. Drink an adequate amount of fluid the day before and the morning of your event, but make sure you stop drinking about 2 hours before your start time or you'll looking for some privacy during the race.
8. Run even pace. Good advice here. Your goal should be to run the second half of the marathon within a couple of minutes of the first half.
9. Run the shortest distance. Cut the corners and turns as closely as possible. You might be able to save up to a minute on some marathon courses.
10. Run behind somebody into the wind. This can be a huge energy saver on a windy day.
Bonus: TAKE PRECUATIONS NOT TO GET SICK! Prior to and during the Tour de France, cyclists go to extremes to minimize risk of catching colds or flu. Don't touch door knobs, handrails, and other commonly touched objects without washing hands after. Avoid contact with people who are sick. I like to make sure I get my Lifepak Nano 2 x a day.
1. Keep hydrated:
2. Check your shoes:
3. Eat your big pasta meal two days before the race:
4. Relax the day before:
5. Pace yourself correctly:
6. If the weather is bad – adjust your finish time:
7. Be careful with power gels and energy replacement products:
8. Mentally divide the race into sections:
9. Try walking:
10. Walk around after the marathon:
Here are 10 that I came up with:
1. Taper. I like to cut mileage but maintain or even increase intensity in the week prior to a marathon. Short but quick runs or mini-interval sessions work best. This will maintain blood volume without muscle breakdown
2. Run something very hard or very long 3 weeks before your race. This is a very effective strategy. Three weeks is ample time to recover and come back even stronger. I recommend a half marathon race or your longest run here. You'll be amazed!
3. Avoid the temptation to run long the week before the marathon. It won't do anything to help you and will likely hurt you.
4. Acclimatize. Recall recent years when Chicago and Boston were run in unseasonably warm tempertatures and thousands were caught unprepared. If there is a chance temperatures will be warmer than you are training in, put on some extra layers- enough to make you sweat. Acclimatization takes 7-10 days.
5. Dress appropriately for the weather. What you wear on race day is a crucial decision. Typically temperatures are cooler at the start, than proceed to increase as the race progresses. Four hour marathoners could be looking a significant difference in temperatures from start to finish. You can also underdress and run the risk of hypothermia if temperatures stay cool, the wind picks up, or it rains.
6. Calories. Consuming calories is extremely important during a run exceeding 90 minutes. The average marathoner should target 200 calories per hour.
7. Hydration. Drinking is important to keep up with your losses during a marathon, however, during the week prior it makes little sense to hydrate, urinate, hydrate, urinate, hyrdate, and urinate. It's not like your body has the ability to store excess water a week in advance. Drink an adequate amount of fluid the day before and the morning of your event, but make sure you stop drinking about 2 hours before your start time or you'll looking for some privacy during the race.
8. Run even pace. Good advice here. Your goal should be to run the second half of the marathon within a couple of minutes of the first half.
9. Run the shortest distance. Cut the corners and turns as closely as possible. You might be able to save up to a minute on some marathon courses.
10. Run behind somebody into the wind. This can be a huge energy saver on a windy day.
Bonus: TAKE PRECUATIONS NOT TO GET SICK! Prior to and during the Tour de France, cyclists go to extremes to minimize risk of catching colds or flu. Don't touch door knobs, handrails, and other commonly touched objects without washing hands after. Avoid contact with people who are sick. I like to make sure I get my Lifepak Nano 2 x a day.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Ryan Hall Can't Break 30 Min for 10K
Last weekend Ryan Hall finished 15th in the Healthy Kidney 10K, running a dismal 30:15 seconds. According to Hall, he "just hasn't done the 10K work. My training is very specific to the marathon." From this, my guess is Hall does lots of tempo work at 4:50 pace (2:04:50 for the marathon, under 30 min for 10k), and maybe even Yasso type long intervals. Since he only runs 6 days a week, his weekly mileage is not excessive.
Is he in trouble? Based on past performance, probably not. While a medal in London is doubtful, he shouldn't be embarrassed. Hall has been very consistent for several years now, grinding out one good marathon finish after another, more often than not preceded by sub par races. Would he be a better marathoner if somehow he could run some fast times at shorter races? That is the question many are asking.
Hall has said he talked to lots of people when he decided to go it alone and self-coach, but I wonder if Frank Shorter was one of them. If I were in Hall's shoes, Shorter is the first I would have approached, a guy who before injuries finally took hold, seemed to always be at the top of his game, NO MATTER WHAT THE DISTANCE! While Shorter is best remembered as a marathoner, he was also ranked in the top 5 in the world four times at 10,000 meters, and once was even ranked 10th in the 5000.
Here Shorter describes his favorite 2 high intensity interval workouts, four x 3/4 mile, or 10 x 400s run very hard. Here he describes his intervals at "5K pace".
Interesting that Shorter describes 75-90% of his training as "conversational pace"- not anywhere near marathon speed. It wasn't all Long Slow Distance (LSD) training, however. In his book, Olympic Gold, Shorter wrote that when he's fit he'll run the second half of his weekly 20 miler at marathon pace.
I find an interesting contrast between Hall, who says he hasn't run any workouts at 10K pace, and Shorter, who believed his 5K pace interval sessions "were the critical ingredient in my training recipe". And when Shorter ripped off 10 x 400 in just over 60 seconds at sea level, I don't exactly consider that 5K pace training. He ran hard!
Shorter ran in the 70s and 80s, and unlike Hall, he never broke 2:10. But Shorter has 2 Olympic medals, not to mention a 5th place in the Olympic 10,000 meters. He could run both distances well, and even turned in many good 3 mile times, something that Hall the marathoner has yet to master, or apparently chooses not to.
Hall has proven time and time again he has the strength to run a good marathon but if he wants to take the next step and seriously go after a medal in London, I believe he has to show some speed at shorter distances. Shorter's PR in the 10,000 was 27:45, run in 1975, the year before winning the silver in Montreal. Hall ran an impressive 13:22 for 5K while still in college and 28:07 for 10,000 in 2007.
I'd seriously consider Hall a threat to win a medal in London if he ever figures out a way to get back to running those times while maintaining his current long distance strength, just as Frank Shorter was able to do. For now, it doesn't appear that is going to happen.
Is he in trouble? Based on past performance, probably not. While a medal in London is doubtful, he shouldn't be embarrassed. Hall has been very consistent for several years now, grinding out one good marathon finish after another, more often than not preceded by sub par races. Would he be a better marathoner if somehow he could run some fast times at shorter races? That is the question many are asking.
Hall has said he talked to lots of people when he decided to go it alone and self-coach, but I wonder if Frank Shorter was one of them. If I were in Hall's shoes, Shorter is the first I would have approached, a guy who before injuries finally took hold, seemed to always be at the top of his game, NO MATTER WHAT THE DISTANCE! While Shorter is best remembered as a marathoner, he was also ranked in the top 5 in the world four times at 10,000 meters, and once was even ranked 10th in the 5000.
Here Shorter describes his favorite 2 high intensity interval workouts, four x 3/4 mile, or 10 x 400s run very hard. Here he describes his intervals at "5K pace".
Interesting that Shorter describes 75-90% of his training as "conversational pace"- not anywhere near marathon speed. It wasn't all Long Slow Distance (LSD) training, however. In his book, Olympic Gold, Shorter wrote that when he's fit he'll run the second half of his weekly 20 miler at marathon pace.
I find an interesting contrast between Hall, who says he hasn't run any workouts at 10K pace, and Shorter, who believed his 5K pace interval sessions "were the critical ingredient in my training recipe". And when Shorter ripped off 10 x 400 in just over 60 seconds at sea level, I don't exactly consider that 5K pace training. He ran hard!
Shorter ran in the 70s and 80s, and unlike Hall, he never broke 2:10. But Shorter has 2 Olympic medals, not to mention a 5th place in the Olympic 10,000 meters. He could run both distances well, and even turned in many good 3 mile times, something that Hall the marathoner has yet to master, or apparently chooses not to.
Hall has proven time and time again he has the strength to run a good marathon but if he wants to take the next step and seriously go after a medal in London, I believe he has to show some speed at shorter distances. Shorter's PR in the 10,000 was 27:45, run in 1975, the year before winning the silver in Montreal. Hall ran an impressive 13:22 for 5K while still in college and 28:07 for 10,000 in 2007.
I'd seriously consider Hall a threat to win a medal in London if he ever figures out a way to get back to running those times while maintaining his current long distance strength, just as Frank Shorter was able to do. For now, it doesn't appear that is going to happen.
Friday, May 16, 2008
26 Tips for Marathon Training and Racing: #9-Acclimatization-
photo by Jose M. Osorio
Don't let this happen to you!
In April of 2004, the Boston Marathon was run in temperatures that reached well into the 80s. Emerging from an entire winter of hard training, most of the 16,743 finishers were not prepared for such brutal conditions. More than 1,100 runners were treated for heat-related problems that day, and thankfully nobody died.
One man in the 2007 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon was not so fortunate. Conditions at that race, held in early October, became so oppressive the normally well-stocked aid stations ran out of water, forcing race director Carey Pinkowski to halt the race after 4 hours. More than 300 were removed from the course by ambulance, and nearly 11,000 did not finish. One of those was Chad Schieber, a 35 year old police officer from Midland, Michigan, who died from apparent heat-related complications.
The lesson is clear. Never underestimate the importance of preparing for heat. You can be in the best shape of your life but it makes little difference even on a moderately warm day unless you've acclimatized your body.
Heat acclimatization is accomplished through repeated running is hot or humid conditions. Over the course of about 2 weeks of hot weather training, your body adapts by dissipating heat much more efficiently, with the effects remaining about a week after you stop.
The ideal temperature for marathons is mid-40s. As your race approaches, if there is any remote chance of temperatures rising out of the 50s, you would be wise to over dress for all training runs starting 3 weeks beforehand. If it's cool outside, wear 2-3 layers. If it warms up during the day, if possible wait before you start your workout. Plan to drink extra water, and don't forget to weigh yourself before and after your longer runs.
Believe me, acclimatization works. I recall wearing sweats in preparing for my NAIA marathon race back in 1975 and 76, knowing the Arkansas heat and humidity was going to be tough. In 2002, I ran 2hr 59min in the Singapore Marathon, where the temperature at 6:30 am was reported at 85 degrees. At the time I was living in Okinawa, fully aware that even those temperatures were not going to be hot enough without additional clothing.
It may be uncomfortable for a few weeks, but you'll be thankful on race day.
(c) Dave Elger 2008 All rights reserved
Thursday, May 22, 2008
26 Tips for Marathon Training and Racing: #7- The 4 Week Push
For lack of a better description, I am calling it the 4 Week Push. "It" is a key period of time starting 6 weeks before your scheduled marathon ending 2 weeks before.
We all know that unless you are a professional runner or retired, marathon training never goes as well as we'd like. Work, family obligations, and vacations often interfere, and while missing one or two workouts may not be a big deal over 10-12 weeks, I think it might over 4 weeks.
If possible, I highly encourage runners to take this 4 week stretch before your marathon very seriously. This is the time to put aside other distractions and give your workouts a higher priority. Don't schedule any trips, unless of course it frees up your time. Focus on those 3 key workouts- the long run, the interval, and the tempo. Get your rest, eat right, and give those workouts your best effort.
When I turned 40, I stumbled onto this by accident. While I had been doing my 16-17 mile runs on the weekend, I upped a second 10-12 miler to 16-17, so did 2 of those 48 hours apart over a 4 week span leading up to my marathons. It worked beautifully, as I was able to break 2 hr 40 minutes in 5 different races, never running further than 18 miles in a workout.
Too often I've seen runners put in weeks of training, only to sabotage their work by losing their edge in the last month. Don't let it happen.
(c) Dave Elger 2008 All rights reserved
We all know that unless you are a professional runner or retired, marathon training never goes as well as we'd like. Work, family obligations, and vacations often interfere, and while missing one or two workouts may not be a big deal over 10-12 weeks, I think it might over 4 weeks.
If possible, I highly encourage runners to take this 4 week stretch before your marathon very seriously. This is the time to put aside other distractions and give your workouts a higher priority. Don't schedule any trips, unless of course it frees up your time. Focus on those 3 key workouts- the long run, the interval, and the tempo. Get your rest, eat right, and give those workouts your best effort.
When I turned 40, I stumbled onto this by accident. While I had been doing my 16-17 mile runs on the weekend, I upped a second 10-12 miler to 16-17, so did 2 of those 48 hours apart over a 4 week span leading up to my marathons. It worked beautifully, as I was able to break 2 hr 40 minutes in 5 different races, never running further than 18 miles in a workout.
Too often I've seen runners put in weeks of training, only to sabotage their work by losing their edge in the last month. Don't let it happen.
(c) Dave Elger 2008 All rights reserved
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