I prepared this article for our running club many years ago, I thought you may find it helpful.
Marathon** Training & Racing **
After finishing 22 marathons ranging in time from sub 2:40to over 4 hours with most the them in the 2:40’s, I’ve learned that running26.2 miles isn’t the smartest idea and it’s going to hurt, and hurt a lot. Over the years, I’ve learned to appreciateand respect the distance.
Framework
To prepare for running a marathon,my training typically average 50-60 miles per week for about 4 months prior torace day, peaking 3 weeks before the race in the mid 60’s. I find that this is a good weekly distancethat my body can handle without getting injured. During this 4 month period I build up my longrun to 20-22 miles and usually get in three runs of at least 20 miles. My last long run is 21 days before therace.
The Secret Sauce
While I don’t believe there is anyone secret to running a successful marathon, I do believe success hinges on glycogenpreservation, lactate threshold, and race planning.
v On average, runners burn 100 calories permile. This energy comes from a combinationof glycogen and fat. While fat istypically abundant, glycogen is limited. On average, humans store enough glycogen to race 16-20 milesbefore bonking or “hitting the wall”. This brings us to my first lesson point which is “teach your body to store more glycogen”. Simply running 20-22 easy miles at an easypace (about 70-75% effort) is not likely to increase your glycogen storagebaseline because the slower pace allows your body to use fat for fuel. For this reason, I incorporate threshold ormarathon pace running throughout my long runs. This faster pace forces my body to shift away from using fat for energy andforces it to use more glycogen. Generally speaking, the faster you run the more glycogen you burn. Additionally, I don’t focus oncarbo-loading the night before or eating gels during my long trainingruns. I want to push my body to thebrink of running out of glycogen during these runs, so my body can adapt byincreasing glycogen storage capacity. ****
v In conjunction with teaching the body to storemore glycogen, 2 of my 6 weekly runs are focused on improving lactate thresholdbringing us to my second lesson point which is *“train your body to clear lactic acid”. * Mostrunners do not focus on improving their lactate threshold because tempo orthreshold runs aren’t fun. My thresholdruns usually consist of 2 sets of 3 miles (6 miles total) at a pace about 30seconds faster than marathon pace. Thepurpose is to build strength, teach my body to work hard when tired, improve myability to resist lactic acid accumulation, and delay muscle fatigue. While speed-work is important, intervalsessions are typically excluded from my training program. Instead I mix in 4-6 striders of 20-30seconds during 1-2 of my weekly easy runs. I feel this is enough to fire the fast twitchmuscle fibers without straining my body. My logic is that at no point during a marathon am I trying to run a 70second quarter mile; instead, my goal it to simply run the last 10K as fast asmy first 10k.
v My final lesson point is “train your mind to ignore your body”. Everyone feels good at the beginning of amarathon. Consequently, most runnersdestroy months of hard work by starting out like a jackass. To avoid this common problem, I stage my racein 4 zones:
o Zone1: First 10k
o Zone2: Half-marathon
o Zone3: Mile 20
o Zone4: Last 10k
I feel breaking the race into 4unique zones allows me to concentrate and implement my race plan. My primary goal for zone 1 is to start nofaster than my projected goal pace. I’mok starting slower, but never faster. These early miles are crucial in finding the right rhythm, not wastingenergy, and warming up my muscles slowly. As a speaker once said at the Boston Marathon “if you don’t feel likeyou’re going too slow, you’re probably going too fast”. Once the initial 10k is finished, zone 2 isabout patience and consistency. It’salso a time when I eat 2 gels (mile 9 & mile 13). It is imperative during this time to ignoreyour body telling you to run faster. Duringthis zone, you have plenty of glycogen and little muscle fatigue. It is easy to get caught up thinking that youcan run so much faster, especially running through crowds of cheeringspectators. Keep your cool and enjoythese miles, because the last 13 miles will not be as kind. After the halfway point, miles 14-20 or zone3 is a transitional time. During thesemiles, you start to feel some muscle fatigue (especially in the lateteens). This is a zone where the racereally begins, and these miles will feel harder. There’s still a lot of race remaining, it’simportant to stick to your race plan, remain patient and focus on hitting yourmile splits. Also, you’ll most likelypass other runners who started too fast, so remember to run the tangents asmuch as possible which may involve running through the middle of otherrunners. Finally, mile 20 and thebeginning of zone 4! At this stage ofthe race, either you have something in the tank or not. If you assessed your fitness probably andstuck to your race plan, there’s no reason to leave anything on thecourse. I approach these miles like I’mrunning a 10k race. At this stage duringthe race, I am completely focused on passing anyone ahead of me. These miles are the most enjoyable of therace for me because I’m no longer holding anything back. I’ve basically done a 20 mile warm-up, to runa 10k race.
Training Pace for Easy Runs
Historically, most of my trainingruns were between 6:45 – 7:00 minutes per mile. Today, I focus more on heart rate and keep my heart rate about 75% ofmax. Coincidently, this is typicallyaround 7:00 per mile, but on hot days is slower. This allows my body to recover for my thresholdruns. Regardless of your ability, Irecommend keeping your easy runs easy or about 70-75% effort.
Gel Strategy
To delay and possibly prevent theonset of glycogen deprivation, I consume about 4-5 gels during themarathon. Our bodies can digest 200-300calories per hour, so taking a gel about every 25-30 minutes will put sugarinto the bloodstream quickly and more importantly preserve glycogen. In the last several marathons, I’ve eaten agel (or Honey Stinger) at mile 5, 9, 13, 17, & 21. While it may seem excessive, I haven’t bonkedwhile employing this strategy.
Final Thoughts
While many runners have visions ofrunning greatness, the most important thing aside from the proper training isproperly assessing your fitness, developing a race plan, and sticking to theplan. Just because you see someone youtypically beat in races bouncing along ahead of you doesn’t mean you need to runwith him. Most likely that guy willprobably come back in the late miles.
