The workouts are divided into the following eight categories: long runs, medium-long runs, marathon-pace runs, general aerobic runs, lactate-threshold runs, recovery runs,
O2max intervals, and speed training. Each of these categories is explained in depth in chapter 7, and the physiology behind the training is explained in chapter 1.
For high-mileage weekly training, sometimes splitting your runs on easy days is a good idea. Rather than making you more tired, this can speed recovery because each run will increase blood flow to your muscles yet take little out of you.
Doing Doubles
As discussed in chapter 7, sometimes marathoners benefit from running twice a day. This is obviously the case for anyone cranking out 100-mile (161 km) weeks. In these schedules, for example, recovery days of 10 to 12 miles (16 to 19 km) are often broken into two short runs. Rather than making you more tired, splitting your volume like this on easy days will speed your recovery because each run will increase blood flow to your muscles yet take so little out of you.
As we mention at the beginning of this chapter, we know that not everyone will be able to follow these schedules exactly as they appear. That applies on the days that call for a recovery run in the morning and a lactate-threshold workout in the evening. If your schedule makes it more likely that you’ll do a high-quality tempo run in the morning rather than the evening, then simply flip the workouts prescribed for these days.
When 105 Miles per Week Just Isn’t Enough
The hardy few among you might want to do more volume than what’s prescribed in the schedules. If you’re in this group, be sure to follow the spirit of the schedules when adding miles – that is, your volume should build gradually during mesocycle 1, peak at the end of mesocycle 2, come down slightly during mesocycle 3, and fall dramatically during mesocycle 4.
Where should you add miles to the schedules? Try adding a bit of volume to the general aerobic runs and medium-long runs if you sense that doing so doesn’t detract from your week’s most important sessions. (Remember, volume is a means to a goal, not a primary goal in itself. At your volume level, the risk of injury increases rapidly if additional distance is added haphazardly.) You could also add miles to your warm-ups and cool-downs on
O2max and lactate-threshold workout days. If you’re going to do more doubles than the schedules stipulate, refer to the section on two-a-day runs in chapter 7.
Racing Strategies
We discussed marathon race strategy at length in chapter 6. If you follow one of the schedules in this chapter, you will be more thoroughly prepared for your marathon than most of the other runners in the race. Few others in the field will have done the combination of volume and targeted quality that you have.
Despite your commitment and eagerness, though, you’ll need to not get carried away in the early miles, even if your goal pace in the first half feels quite easy. The temptation to try to capitalize on that good feeling will be strong. Perhaps more than any other readers of this book, you will need to be disciplined in the early miles to stick to your goal pace so that you can use your fitness in the second half of the race and run even splits. Although your outstanding preparation makes you less likely than most to blow up late in the race from a too-hasty start, there’s still no point in squandering months of hard work with an overly ambitious early pace.
At the same time, it’s likely that among readers of this book you’ll be attempting to race the marathon at the greatest differential from your normal training pace. For that reason, in the days before your marathon, your goal pace might seem especially daunting. Draw confidence from your long runs, tempo runs, and marathon-pace runs that you can sustain your ambitious goal pace for 26.2 miles (42.2 km). Also, focus on your goal-pace splits to increase your chances of running the first half of the race intelligently and thereby vastly increasing your chances of being able to hold goal pace past 20 miles (32 km) all the way to the finish line.
After the Marathon
The final schedule in this chapter is a 5-week recovery schedule for after the marathon. This is the fifth mesocycle; it completes the training program and leaves you ready to prepare for future challenges.
The recovery schedule is purposely conservative. You have little to gain by rushing back into training, and your risk of injury is exceptionally high at this point, owing to the reduced resiliency of your muscles and connective tissue after the marathon.
The schedule starts with 2 days off from running, which is the bare minimum of time away from running you should allow yourself. If you still have acute soreness or tightness so severe that it will alter your form, or if you just don’t feel like running, certainly feel free to take more than 2 days off. If ever there was a time to lose your marathoner’s mind-set, the week after your goal race is it. Even most of the top runners in the world take days off after a marathon. They know that the nearly negligible benefits of a short run at this time are far outweighed by the risks. Not running now will also increase your chances of being inspired to resume hard training when your body allows it.
Of course, some people don’t consider themselves real runners unless they run pretty much every day of their lives. Plod through a few miles if you must, but be aware that you’re prolonging your recovery.
What better aids recovery during this time is light cross-training, such as swimming or cycling. These activities increase blood flow through your muscles without subjecting them to pounding. Walking will also achieve this in the week after the marathon.
One way to ensure that you don’t run too hard too soon after your marathon is to use a heart rate monitor. As discussed in chapter 3, a heart rate monitor can help prevent you from going too fast on recovery days. During the first few weeks after the marathon, keep your heart rate below 76 percent of your maximal heart rate or 70 percent of your heart rate reserve. Running at this intensity will help your body overcome the stress of the marathon as quickly as possible.
During this 5-week recovery schedule, the number of days of running per week increases from 3 to 6. At the end of the 5 weeks, you should be fully recovered from the marathon and, with a little luck, injury free and mentally fresh.
Mesocycle 1 – Endurance
Mesocycle 2 – Lactate Threshold + Endurance
Mesocycle 3 – Race Preparation