The summer is here and this means marathon season. It
seems there are marathons every week this summer and there’s no shortage of beginner to experienced runners
and walkers tying their shoelaces and signing up.
Now that you’ve entered a marathon — whether it is a 8K, 10K, half or full marathon — training for this
running voyage is imperative. Building a solid fitness program for your marathon starts with core principles,
which the book Running:
The Complete Guide to Building Your Running Program by John Stanton, founder of the Running Room, sets
out.
Building the Base: Your Endurance
Base training is the largest and most important portion of every distance runner’s program,
constituting about 50% of the fitness program. For the beginner, it should be the sole concentration for the
first three weeks/months — depending on how much time you have leading up to your marathon. What base
training does is increase the efficiency of the circulatory system and the strength of the heart muscle by
gradually increasing endurance and speed.
This is accomplished by daily runs, which are relaxed, easy and comfortable, with longer runs once a week.
The duration of these sessions can go from 25 minutes for an easy run to 150 minutes or more for the long
sessions. The pace should be at a comfortable speed with four to eight accelerations during your daily run,
twice a week. The goal is not the intensity but to last the duration of the session, which include walk-run
combinations (see below).
Show Me the Muscles: Strength and Endurance Training
This part of your fitness training should be general conditioning in regards to whole-body strength
and takes up 35% of your training schedule. Strength is critical to every running event of all athletes from
experienced to beginner because the level of strength has a positive effect on both speed and endurance.
Strength, here, is accomplished at higher levels of intensity than what we started with in base training. It
is the same as the base training, but you have short bursts and hill training sessions, which strengthen the
key running muscles in your lower legs, allowing you to shift your weight further on your feet to use your
ankles.
Once a week you should begin to run hills, going uphill with 80 to 85% of effort and having an easy jog in
between to recover. In your program, start with four hills and build up to eight to 10 hills — remember the
goal is still to last the duration of the session. Once you reach this point in the program, you’ll be ready
for the fast stuff!
Catch Me if You Can: Developing your Speed
Now that you’ve built the foundation and have gained muscle and strength, you need to focus on
speed, which should be taking up 15% of your overall fitness program. Speed and power are critical for a
high-level performance in your marathon. This is a part of the program that should be done gradually and not
rushed into, or else injury or illness may occur. This is done for a short period of time before your race or
marathon.
According to Stanton’s book, the primary benefit of speed work is to teach the body how to run fast when the
muscles can’t get enough oxygen. You have to go beyond your capacity and these speed workouts take you beyond
a regular series of small extensions and simulate the demands of the race itself. You’ll be ready to race a
car by the time you’re finished!
To accomplish this, include in your fitness program more long runs, replace hills with speed work once a week
and gradually build the number of repetitions. Remember to rest between long runs, speed work and races.
Again, it depends on the amount of time before your marathon, but try to do a maximum of four weeks of speed
work.
All Fitness Program Must-Haves:
In almost all cases, whether you’re a beginner or an expert runner and marathon participant, start
first with walking and add running later. Always walk before you run — even if you start with a fast walk for
20 to 30 minutes and then intersperse some easy running into your walking. Then progress to 20 minutes of
running with a one-minute brisk walk at the start and a one-minute walk at the end.
Your program schedule should run at least three times per week and rest periods are necessary to eliminate
the possibility of injury. All running should be done at a conversation pace and all walking should be done
briskly; and of course, a proper warm-up and cool-down is required.
Once you do kick-butt at your marathon, give your body a chance to recover. According to the book
Running, if you have no soreness after you race, you can continue training, but do not race or do
any speed training during the recovery period. However, if you do have some mild muscle discomfort, reduce
your training for seven days. If walking is uncomfortable or you are unable to squat with ease, reduce your
training for 14 days and do no racing or speed work.
Finally, the guidelines the book suggests for racing are: 8Ks can be run weekly, 10Ks every two weeks, half
marathons once per month and marathons three times per year.
A Cooling Necessity
The summer is expected to be a hot and dry one and staying cool while you’re running, and before or
after, will be almost impossible. A product called BEX Runner, however, helps runners during their training
programs and even during their marathons and races. They’ve come out with the first-ever hand-held core
cooling device. It is a thin, lightweight cooling gel pack that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand
with the help of a soft adjustable strap.
After four hours in the freezer, the gel is good to go and will stay cool for up to a full hour in use. The
effects of using it will lead to longer workouts, tolerance for heavier workloads, a shorter recovery time
and an overall better exercise experience. It is durable, reusable and easy to clean. They sell for $49.99
and are available at BEXrunner.com.•
Photo courtesy
of stock.xchng
