I was recently watching The Spirit of the Marathon and started thinking about how most runners approach the marathon. I firmly believe that the Marathon is the toughest foot race known to man. It requires such a delicate balance of speed and endurance. In an ultramarathon you can relax a little and preserve yourself for the latter stages of the race. But in a Marathon you are running an uncomfortable pace the entire time.
I believe that many runners are entering the Marathon to early in their running career. In a society that can't handle being told they have to wait we are seeing an increase in people entering the Marathon on 15-20 miles week and simply completing the race not racing it. I believe that running is a journey of self realizations, I can't point to any one place where I learned how to structure a training program or how to race but I have picked up something new every single training cycle.
In order to prepare for a Marathon correctly I believe that it takes 2 years of training. This is for unseasoned runners. The first stop should be a 4-6 month training program for a local 5k. The reason I say start here is it is a great way to learn about speed. A lot of runner just slog out the miles every day. They do not do structured workouts. After a decent base period you should be able to handle 2 workouts a week using either speed or hills or a combination of both to improve leg turnover. This period of time should be extremely exciting as you will see your biggest improvements during this time. You may drop 1-3 minutes off a 5k in a matter of months. I am personally a high mileage advocate, I strive off of 80+ miles per week but I understand others are not willing to commit the same time as I do and few new runners can handle that kind of mileage injury free. I believe a good 5k program should consist of 4-5 days of training and mileage between 30 and peak at 55 miles per week. Again for a newer runner.
After this progression move into an easy unstructured period to give your mind a mental break. This break can last 2-4 weeks. Its hard to gauge but its when you start longing for miles and find yourself looking online for races. Now curb your enthusiasm don't sign up for on immediately. Plan a race 4 months out and pick a local 10k that you're excited about. Again I think you will see giant improvements. 40-65 miles should be the mileage range with 5 days of running and hills and speed. You should have seen some pretty major dietary and physical changes they will likely peak and now you will be working largely on your VO2 max and running efficiency.
Naturally the next step is to step up to the half marathon. This race is a different beast. A half marathon requires a large amount of speed and leg turnover and also requires the endurance to handle 90-120 minutes of 75-85% of your max HR. The speed intervals you do will likely turn into race pace fartleks and mile repeats. This training cycle again should be 4 months in length, and range from 45-70 miles. Long runs will become an integral part of your training, I recommend peaking at 16 miles for a long run. I think this is the first test of if you like distance running. If you enjoy the training then progress to the marathon if you don't then stay where you're at.
The marathon require a lot more volume in my opinion to be ready. 50-80 mile per week (peak mileage) is required to "race" the marathon. The long run becomes the most important run of the week and progress up to 22-24 miles, with 2 20 milers as well. I like to break up these runs by using a progression. 3 mile warm up then progress from race pace + 2 min down to race pace over 14 miles and then 4 miles easy. Some pretty dramatic VO2 max changes should occur during this training as well as some running efficiency improvements.
I by no means am saying you cannot walk out the door and run a marathon but if you would like to RACE a marathon it takes time. This method also reduces the risk of injury. Running is like any other sport it just takes time to learn about yourself and about the sport. By the way I recommend as much as a 1/3 reduction in mileage for females. 80 miles per week is very high for a female athlete and would likely be approaching the elite levels past 80 miles.
I am curious about your recommendation for a 1/3 reduction in mileage for female athletes. What is rational/basis for this suggestion? I would argue that a reduction in mileage is more warranted based on the time you spend on your feet instead of gender. Most women run at a slower pace than men, somewhat justifying your statement; but, using my logic, slower male runners should also reduce mileage.
ReplyDeleteInteresting article Brandon!
Leigh,
ReplyDeleteYou are correct that on average women run do run slower than men. The average marathon finish time for a male is mid 4 hours while females is close to 5 hours. This alone would constitute a 10% reduction. But the incident of stress fractures among female runners seems much higher than in male. Particularly those females that attempt to run high mileage and weight less than 105 lbs. The amount of females that can enter the 70-80 MPW arena is much less than the male population. It's not a sexist thing and not terribly based on science its just a personal experience thing. Maybe I need to gather some test subjects. Then again those that are willing are probably in that small population already.