The Recipe- The "Whats" and "Whys" of Marathon Training

As distance runners we do a lot of running. And that is the gift. We GET to do a lot of running. But if we want to get better at running, some things must change. Too many runners, including myself not so long ago, get caught up in the intermediate category when they are capable of so much more. This is largely due, in my opinion, to a lack of contrast in the type of running an athlete does.

For years I would hold myself to 6:15-6:20 per mile pace on every run and push it when I could or when I felt good. The result? About 10 marathons over two years where I couldn't break 2:42:00 for 26.2. It was a combination of working on my stride patterns and adding some missing elements to my training that has allowed me to continue my progression.

The gospel is this: save your energy for 3 specific workouts each week and the rest of the time run easy, probably easier than you think. So the question is... What are the 3 workouts? When should you do them? And why?

The three workouts are "Speed Development" (short distance intervals at maximal running speeds), "Sustained Speed Work" (commonly known as tempo workouts, fartleks, lactate threshold runs, etc.) and the, more commonly known, "Long Runs". At www.LASpeedProject.com we like to assign each of these workouts to a day of the week so we can guarantee that we consistently incorporate all of the elements into our training. The breakdown is "Track Tuesdays", "Tempo Thursdays" and "Weekend Long Runs". Once you incorporate this outline it allows you to put your head down and get the work done, day in and day out, without having to worry too much about it.

The "Whys":

I think it's important to know, from an energetic perspective, the basics of why we don't just run hard and fast 7 days per week. When we are doing the easy or "base" runs, our bodies are aerobic, meaning the intensity is low enough that we aren't operating the muscles in an oxygen deprived state. This allows for a greater volume of training to be done without taxing our adrenal system, the ever important "feel good" hormones (while simultaneously improving the body's fat burning ability). The hard workouts do just the opposite. During Sustained Speed (Tempo Thursday) workouts, we are operating in an oxygen deprived state, or anaerobically, which increases cortisol levels and drains adrenal hormones in the same way a lack of sleep and stress do. But for those of us trying to run marathons FAST, we are preparing the body to operate anaerobically for the entire race, so these anaerobic workouts are VERY important. They are actually the MOST IMPORTANT workout we do besides the long, hard run. Its during these runs that the body is introduced to fast speeds that can be sustained for progressively longer chunks of time. It is here that the body, and the mind, begin to find comfort in these fast paces. The deal is, if you drain the tanks too much, too often... You will likely discover something called Adrenal Burnout. And if you keep pushing... Overtraining Syndrome. Keep pushing still... Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. All of this equals a potential end to your endurance career and, at the very least, a massive reduction in your performance level. But don't let this scare you away from hard training. Most people don't do enough of it and only a small percentage of people do too much. Follow the outline here and if your body isn't responding well, take a little time off until you feel ready to push hard again. Under this outline, you will have only two workouts each week that have any sustained anaerobic intensity. The Speed Development (Track Tuesday) workouts have such a brief exposure to high intensity that they count as aerobic workouts.

note: Anaerobic workouts are sometimes called lactic acid tolerance workouts, or lactate threshold workouts, because the increased production of lactic acid is thought to be a muscle function inhibitor. Of course, it is a bit more complicated than that and there is debate on what is actually causing the fatiguing effect. Here is one of the latest hypothesis on the Lactate Shuttle System: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactate_shuttle


The Workouts:

Track Tuesdays are typically interval workouts between 100 meters and 200 meters, in order to reach maximum speeds to recruit maximum muscle fibers throughout the legs and to develop the motor skills of fast running, all without taxing the adrenal system due to the brief amount of time spent anaerobic and the full recovery between repeats. Exmp: 20 x 100 meters, 100 meter jog recoveries

Tempo Thursdays have the broadest range of possibility from an outline perspective. Workouts are usually directly related to how far off your target race is and what the target race pace is. I like to think of it as maximum effort at the prescribed interval distance. These workouts could be anything from an hour run with every 6th minute run fast, 5 minute recoveries, to a sustained race pace effort for an hour. Often we will do 1 minute hard, 1 minute easy for 60 minutes, or 2 minutes hard, 1 minute easy for 60 minutes. Most of these runs are run faster than marathon race pace and help us find new levels of speed and hopefully a level of comfort while sustaining such efforts.

Weekend Long Runs. Because we are trying to prepare the body to combine both long and hard running, we always have both elements in these runs. In preparation for marathoning we run anywhere from 20-30 miles in these runs and always have elements of speed built in. Nothing can prepare you mentally and physically for a marathon better than a 22 mile base run followed by six, 1 mile repeats at race pace directly after! Or three times 10k, progressing the pace with each split, followed by 4k all out! We rarely complete the workouts entirely, due to total muscle fatigue, but always try. These workouts are designed to simulate the challenges of racing the marathon. We are preparing to deal with fatigue, mentally and physically, and the ability to continue to perform in the late stages of a race.


One final ingredient in the recipe worth mentioning is progression. This is a progressive build in overall weekly running volume. Starting from wherever you are currently comfortable and building as high as possible in a four month program. We use 10% gain each week for three weeks, followed by a week with reduced volume. Each month is a new cycle that picks up from the highest volume week from the previous cycle. The rule of progression is Quality Before Quantity! If something has to give, reduce the volume, just be sure to hit the three key workouts as prescribed. In the inevitable week where you miss a key workout, don't try to make it up. Move on as if you never missed it. A couple missed workouts wont ruin your entire training cycle.

Stay healthy and rested as much as possible to allow you to really bring your game on the workout days. There is no such thing as too easy on the base days if you are truly pushing yourself in the workouts! Be patient and, over time, you will see serious improvement with this type of training. Believe me, I'm one of many living examples of it! Have fun and #findyourFAST

-Blue