Marathon Training – Tips from a Pro

Marathoners usually fall into three categories: competitive athletes, recreational runners moving up in distance, and others wishing to cross an item off the bucket list. No matter what the motivation, proper preparation is the key to ensuring a positive experience at the 42.2K distance.

The mystique associated with the marathon is clearly evident around the globe, as the number of entries has substantially increased in recent years. According to Running USA’s annual marathon report, participation in U.S. marathons is at an all-time high – there were a total of 507,000 finishers in 2010, up 8.6 per cent over 2009. While this increase in participation is an encouraging statistic, I have also noticed a trend forming where runners with very little experience are jumping up to the marathon distance much too quickly. I recommend trying a number of shorter races first and then gradually move up to the marathon distance. I would not advise attempting a marathon as your first race.

Training demands for the Marathon

In order to have your best marathon experience possible, there are three key factors to consider:

1) Overall Mileage – The more total mileage you are able to run during marathon training, without breaking down from injuries, the better your chance of achieving a successful race. If you really want to maximize performance, aim to run in the range of 80 to 130K per week during the final 12 weeks leading into the marathon. In addition, you should have at least six weeks of easy running completed as a base before entering the final 12-week phase.

2) Long Runs – when training for the marathon, your long run ranks as the number one priority for the week. I like to schedule my training week from Sunday to Saturday, with the long run kick-starting every week. By doing this, if you had to miss your long run due to an illness or minor injury, you know you have the entire week ahead to fit it in somewhere. Doing regular long runs in the range of 25-35K will help your body adapt to the pounding as well as the overall time duration you will be faced with in the marathon. If you can, attempt to do these runs at approximately 30 seconds per kilometre slower than your goal marathon pace. Another idea to consider with your long runs is to incorporate segments of marathon-pace running. The best way to try this is by completing the majority of your long run at an easy pace and then running the final 3-5K at your goal marathon pace. This forces your body to run at race pace when it is already fatigued.

3) Workouts – Making marathon pace feel easy is another objective of any training program. Include these different types of workouts in your training program:

Lactate Threshold – these workouts, often referred to as “tempo” or “threshold” runs are usually run in the form of a sustained effort ranging anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes in duration. Some coaches like to give variations of the traditional tempo run by prescribing tempo intervals which simply break up the tempo run into two or three smaller segments with just a short rest in between reps; for example, 3 x 10 min with 1 min rest could replace a 30 min tempo run. Lactate threshold is loosely defined as the pace you could maintain for one hour.

V02 Max – these interval workouts are effective in helping improve one’s maximal oxygen uptake (see also ‘Max Out,’ p. TK). These workouts will be the highest intensity of any workouts during your marathon training, but the volume of these workouts will be the lowest, usually around 4-7K. Do these sessions at your current 5K race pace, with equal rest (i.e. 5x1000m at 5K effort, recovering with a jog that lasts as long as the rep).

Marathon Pace (MP) runs – Run at your goal marathon pace for a set distance or, alternatively a specific amount of time. In addition, you should practice your race day fuelling routine when doing these runs. For most runners, having two or three MP runs of 15-20K in your schedule will be all you need.

Andrew Smith’s Training Week

Sunday: Long run 25-35K (you can incorporate some MP running into the long runs, but only every other week)

Monday: Easy recovery run (can be split into two easy runs if you like doing doubles)

Tuesday: Hard workout (threshold run or V02 Max)

Wednesday: Easy recovery run (or two easy runs).  8-10 x 100m strides after run

Thursday: Medium long run 18-22K

Friday: Hard workout (marathon pace workout or long MP run)

Saturday: Short easy run or rest day

Brace For the Worst, Prepare for the Best

Worst – World Championships, Berlin, August 2009, 2:24:48:

Anyone who has run enough marathons knows that there will inevitably be a bad one in the mix at some point. Unfortunately, mine came in Berlin at the 2009 world championships. I finished well back in the field in 2:24. I had entered the race with a best time of 2:16, making it a huge disappointment for me, especially since I had been having a strong 2009 season, running PB’s for the 10K, half-marathon, and marathon. Looking back at my poor result in Berlin, I have pinpointed a few possible reasons for the disaster.

First, my 13-week training block did not start well. I got sick and had a minor nagging injury that kept my mileage down for the first two weeks. Second, the weather conditions on race day were much tougher than we had previously anticipated. It was hot and humid, and I think it was simply a case that I was sweating out a lot more fluid and electrolytes than I was consuming. I had practiced my race fuelling all summer, and I was pretty confident with my plan, but I think my sweat rate was far greater than my fluid consumption. At 30K, both of my hamstrings began to involuntarily seize up and go into spasms. This made it very difficult for me to run properly, and I was forced to dramatically decrease my stride length just to prevent the spasms from occurring. Another mistake I made was possibly starting out too aggressively. My first 5K was much faster than it should have been, and I think especially with the hot weather I would have been much better off if I had started out slower and then tried to catch guys throughout the race. The lesson here: drink lots and start off easy.

Best – Houston Marathon, January 2009, 2:16:14:

This race was easily my best performance for a number of reasons. First, I ran my personal best of 2:16:14, which was close to four minutes faster than my previous best. Second, I ran a well-executed race and stayed mentally tough throughout. I went through the halfway point at exactly the time I had wanted to – 1:06:45, at which point the two guys I had been running with separated from me (one guy picked up the pace, and the other fell back). From that point on, I was running on my own the rest of the way. Although my second-half split was only 1:09:29 -2:44 slower than my first half – I was proud of how I was able to hang on, running all alone. I was also able to fend off an issue in my lower right leg, where there was some kind of spasm happening during the final 7-8K. I was a little worried at first, but I managed to maintain my composure, making a few adjustments in my running mechanics that helped me get to the finish line. 

Andrew Smith is an elite marathoner with Athletics Toronto. He has a PB of 2:16:14.