Marathon Training

Training for a Marathon you discover how to go the distance through a balance of stress and rest. Running bestows a special satisfaction and sense of achievement. Discover how simple and small changes can ultimately have a huge impact on your health, fitness and quality of life. As you progress though the training, you become fitter, have more energy and feel more balanced. Running is both social and personal, providing you clarity of thinking and calmness. Training is not a test but rather a magical journey that will empower you mentally, physically and provide a, I can do it, attitude.

The Half Marathon is a challenging, yet enjoyable distance. The training is somewhat less than a full marathon but still requires time and commitment – but the celebration of the finish line is well worth the effort. The training is great for burning fat awakening you mentally and physically.

The Marathon and Half Marathon are serious distances, you must take your training seriously – so stick to the program. More is not necessarily better.

I will provide you plenty of practical advice in the areas of running form, motivation, nutrition, avoiding aches and pains and lots more. I will supply the plan, the motivation and inspiration it’s up to you to supply the perspiration.

Be gentle enough to keep you highly motivated and injury free, but progressive to provide continual improvement in strength and speed. You can do it!

Building the Base

My 42.2 km Marathon and Half Marathon programs become progressively more difficult each week. Successful adaptation comes as a result of intelligent progressive overload. This progressive overload combined with rest days improves your muscular skeletal and cardiovascular systems as you become a marathoner. The hard days challenge you, the easy days provide you rest and allows for regeneration. Hard days are the hill runs, tempo runs, and speed and long run days. The balance of the schedule is either an off day or recovery run day. Recovery runs are completed with a relaxed recovery pace. The long run is run about a 1 – 1 ½ per mile slower than your planned marathon goal pace. Scheduling in rest days is every bit as important as the tougher stuff.

Specificity, the principle that permits the adaptations your body makes is based on the nature of the exercise you do. My program specifically trains you for running endurance, strength and speed.

Periodization is a build up in total mileage and in the long run distance, followed by a cutback week. Following this easy week, we build up the long run and the total distance. These periods of build up in mileage followed by a recovery week, rejuvenate you and prepare you for the next build up.

The Long Run

The long run adapts the runner’s endurance fitness to exercising for an extended period of time. The major advantages of the long run is prolonged running burns a lot of calories, improves your endurance in the working muscles, and strengthens the connective tissue such as, the ligaments, tendons and cartilage. The most common error in distance running is running the long run too fast. By inserting, running for 10 minutes and walking for 1 minute combinations, during the long run, you run longer, at a faster pace and improve your recovery. Call them intervals, sets, or wind sprints, with them you are able to greatly extend the distance of your long run. Combining additional stress, through an increase of about 10% per week to the long run will result in a great improvement in your endurance capabilities. This gentle and yet progressive approach will prepare you for the marathon distance and minimize your injury risk. As you build up your long run and total weekly mileage you will become stronger fitter and more confident. The half marathon peaks at a long run of 20K and the marathon at 32K.

Breathing and Running Form

Run tall and run relaxed will improve your running form. A relaxed, upright posture is the best running position. Your head, shoulders and hips up over your feet make it easier to move the whole body improving your breathing. With shoulders back, body relaxed imagine a string attached to the centre of your chest leading you up a hill pulling you up the hill. Shift your hips forwards to keep your alignment and posture correct. Strong abdominal muscles maintain form - the very reason for those sit ups. Lead with your knees to keep your alignment correct and prevent over striding. Concentrate on the correct push off from the ankle with short fast steps, more of a shuffle.

Rather than breathing from your chest area, focus on belly breathing. Master your breathing techniques will make you faster and efficient. As you pace increases there is a tendency to over breath, you feel as if you’re gasping. Focus on exhaling rather than inhaling – the in breath will happen on its own involuntary. Breath in a manner that feels comfortable to you.

Run- Walk combinations of 10: 1 Work

Stress and rest is the foundation of all training programs. Stress makes us stronger. Rest provides recovery and a rebuilding improvement phase. A 1-minute brisk walk after 10 minutes of running provides a phase of active rest. Active rest keeps the runner moving forward. This active rest helps flush lactic acid out of system. As we approach our anaerobic threshold (85% of our maximum heart rate) our body starts producing lactic acid. This leaves us heavy- legged with a queasy stomach. Walk/run combinations will help dissipate this lactic acid build up. Walk/run distributes the workload to various muscles, potentially helping to delay fatigue. Sports medicine professionals all encourage stretching. Stretching yields supple muscles with improved range of motion. A fast, brisk walk break provides a gentle and specific stretch to the leg muscles. Walk breaks prevent a slow down in the long run, keeps the pace consistent and minimize injuries. Walk -run combinations both on the long run day and on race day.

Hill Training

Hills add resistance and strength to your training. Runners have used hills for decades as a way to increase endurance, strength and speed.

Find a hill about 400 metres in length, with an incline of 8-10 percent. Prior to starting the hill session, include a warm up with of easy running and light stretching.

Maintain a consistent effort rather than pace on the hill. Shortening your stride, as the hill gets steeper. Keep your chest up and out, with your breathing relaxed. Your arm movements, in rhythm with that of your leg turn over rate. Keep your eyes focused on the top of the hill, just as they would be focused in front of you on a flat stretch.

Hill sessions build lower leg strength and improve your running form. Think about maintaining effort not pace. You will learn the art of pacing from the hills. You build strength and character both useful on race day. Think of you hills, as speed work in disguise.

Hill training improves your running technique and makes you mentally tougher for race day.

Tips for Getting the Right Shoes

Motion control, Cushioning and Stability Running Shoes

Motion control shoes, for runners whose feet roll in, with low arches, knees move towards each other in a bending position. Foot strikes on the outside of the heel and rolls inward excessively. This runner needs a firm midsole and a sturdy heel counter.

Cushioning shoes are for runners whose feet roll to the outside, arches are high or rigid, and knees stay neutral or move outwards through foot strike. They wear their shoes on the outside of the sole. This runner should wear a cushioning shoe with a flexible forefoot and no motion control features.

Stability shoes are for runners with a normal sized arch, lands on the outside of the heel and then moderately rolls inward. They have a semi- flexible arch and their knees roll in slightly when bent. Require extra cushioning and some degree of stability no excessive pronation.

The fit of your shoe is most important it should fit snugly particularly in the heel cup if you want to avoid ankle and knee problems. You should be able to wiggle your toes at the front of the shoe. Drop by your local Running Room and visit with one of our experts.

Threshold or Tempo Sessions

During tempo sessions are run at a steady pace, just hovering over your lactate threshold. About 85% of your maximum heart rate if you are wearing a monitor. If you are not wearing a monitor, it is the point at which speaking would become difficult. Do not be discouraged by these hard effort runs. Take a short break to get your breathing under control. These sessions increase your lactate tolerance, your capacity to exercise with high levels of lactate in your blood. These sessions also improve your ability to run faster with the same energy. Tempo training uses carbohydrates for energy rather than fat, we burn more calories with the higher intensity. You improve your ability to run under stress, build confidence and running economy. Tempo runs are an essential part of your running program. Try them with a buddy or in a group environment for some added fun.

Speed Training

High intensity, speed training runs are best done as intervals. Speed training is high quality running requiring 85% - 95% percent effort of your maximum heart rate. Speed training is a high quality session, not high – quantity, so intervals should be no longer than 7 – 12 minutes. Start with a two minute interval and build slowly. Your heart rate should recover to about 120 beats per minute after 1 – 2 minutes of rest before starting the next interval. Include a warm up and cool down for each session of easy running and stretching. Hold the speed sessions until you have strengthened your legs on the hill repeats. Keep the speed session to once a week, any more will fatigue your legs and compromise your long run. Disciplined training in these sessions prevents injury. Speed improves your coordination and the ability to run faster, beyond your current comfort level.

The Runner's Side Stitch

Runners often experienced a side stitch while running. The pain usually occurs just under the ribs. The common problem may be related to food allergies, particularly milk, gas, or eating just prior to running. Other causes can be running a longer distance, or running at a higher intensity than usual. The diaphragm is usually the source of the problem. The diaphragm is a muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdomen. It moves up and down as the runner inhales and exhales. It is subject to a cramp or stitch when it moves more and faster during exercise.

The liver has a larger right lobe and it is commonly thought that this may be the reason that the diaphragm moves more on the right and that generally the pain is on the right side of the abdomen just under the rib cage.

Keep your breathing relaxed and rhythmic and work on your core strength.

Pace Training

Pacing is a critical aspect of successful running, because the goal is to maintain the desired pace for the entire race or workout – to finish each interval in the same amount of time. If you burn out and slowed the pace during past intervals, you probably started too fast: if you speed up throughout the workout, you probably started too slowly. Pacing really takes practice. Speed training uses short intervals distances because the pace is hard enough that it can only be maintained for a short period of time about 3 – 6 minutes. Keep you pacing simple by using your target for the 10K. Be sure your goals are realistic. Work on improving pacing and improving speed with no more than 6 minutes of high intensity running with an easy recovery run between the sessions. Maintain control of your form, leg turnover rate and breathing. Listen to your body and increase the intensity that’s right for your current level of fitness.

Overtraining

Running by its very nature produces this fast endorphin-filled sense of "I feel good juices". Running makes you feel aglow, invigorated and ready to run. If we are not careful we easily suffer from overtraining. It may be that type "A" personality hidden within all of us that strives for perfection and the achievement of our best.

Some signs of overtraining:

• Tired and fatigued throughout the day
• Headaches
• Muscle aches and pains
• Sudden weight loss
• Lost appetite
• Trouble concentrating
• Low sex drive
• A cold or flu
• Clumsiness
• Trouble relaxing

Simple solution to overtraining is a day or two of rest.

Race Day Tips

Here are some race day tips:

• bag for your race gear
• Training shoes
• Technical shorts to keep you dry and chafe -free
• Cool max Shirt for comfort, wind and sun protection
• Cool max cap
• Cool max double layer socks
• Body Glide prevents chafing insides of legs, under the arms, on woman’s bra line
• Liquid bandage to cover any blister
• Water bottle drink before, during and post race
• Race number and a timing chip. The number is for photo identification the chip is for your official time
• A smile for the finish line!
• Things can happen that you do not expect and are out of your control. Deal with it. Stay relaxed and in control of your best performance..

Tapering

• Tapering is the fine art of rest. The more you rest the final week the better you will run on race day. Do all runs relaxed and easy. These runs are done to loosen up your legs with a couple of easy accelerations to remind you of how it feels to run fast. Use the anxiety of race day positively. You have passed your test during the miles of training, race day is graduation day.
• Positive self- talk works.
• I am in control of my own thinking, my own focus, and my own life.
• I control my own thoughts and emotions and direct the whole pattern of my performance, health and life.
• I am fully capable of achieving the goals I set for myself today. They are within my control
• I strong, I am fit, I can do it.. I see myself crossing the finish line with a smile.

You are a marathon runner! You know that any time you set a goal train and work hard towards a goal, and dream of it you will eventually achieve it in reality. You know that the confidence you now have will help in accomplishing any challenge you set for yourself. Listen to your body and do what is right for you, your lifestyle and your aspirations. You can do it!