Run Run Away » marathon running » 1st 26.2 – Opinions on Training
1st 26.2 – Opinions on Training
Question:
| I will be running my 1st Marathon on October 23. I have been a dedicated | runner for the past 9 years – I am now 33. Prior to Marathon training, I | was running 30 miles/week (6 days x 5 miles). My average training mile | was about 8 minutes. | | Over the past 2 months, I have progressed to the following schedule | which I will basically maintain until a week before the race: | | 6 – 10 – 6 – 12 – 6 – REST – 18 | | My average mile is now about 8:40 – even for the shorter runs. | Are you always running with the same speed? | This schedule is not that easy for me – it does tire me out a bit, but hell, | it is my 1st Marathon training. Is it not natural to be a bit tired, am | I overtraining? I don’t believe that you are overtrained since your speed is not too fast. Unfortunatelly I don’t can judge it since you don’t write how fast you run the single trainings. Watch your heart rate. Some minutes after wakeup in the morning you should control your heart rate still in bed. If heart rate differs 8-10 from normal heart rate you should do a slower training this day. | I got this schedule from a reputable runner’s store. I | have no significant health problems. | | Your educated opinions are very much appreciated – both pro and con. | Keep to your schedule three weeks and then relax one week with 70% of your normal training and start again with it. Vary your speed. Run shorter units in your planned running speed for the marathon. The other days jog slower. Do some short units faster than your marathon running speed (but altogether not more than 5 % of your weekly extent). Alternate the effort. Never do a fast run right after a day with a fast run. Your schedule seems ok to me. I might do a 20 miles jog instead of an 18 miles jog. – Dipl.-Inf. Rainer Koschke – – Universitaet Stuttgart – Institut fuer Informatik – – Abteilung Programmiersprachen und Uebersetzer – Tel: +49-711-7816206 Adresse: Institut fuer Informatik Breitwiesenstr. 20-22 D-70565 Stuttgart (Germany)
Response:
hi ben: my advice is to do a 22-24 miles long run at least 2 weeks before race to get the "feel" in your legs. Reduce the week day runs to get your ratio of long run/tempo run of about 50:50. For example; if your long run will be 24 miles, run no more than 24 miles during the week. Rest before and "after" the long run to give your legs time off. You will be amazed as i am that you feel stronger during and after your long runs. My experience is also my weakness in 4 marathons when i would crash about 23-24 mile mark. This is contributed to the lack of long training runs and lack of rest during the week (i follow your training pattern of putting lots of mile). Also, I think taking pain reliever( NUprin, advil, …) will help my problem with cramps in my hampstring and calf. Hope you do well in the race. This is the beginning of many more, so, make all efforts to relax and enjoy it so that you want to do it again. Michael Le "TRI"space cadet – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I will be running my 1st Marathon on October 23. I have been a dedicated runner for the past 9 years – I am now 33. Prior to Marathon training, I was running 30 miles/week (6 days x 5 miles). My average training mile was about 8 minutes. Over the past 2 months, I have progressed to the following schedule which I will basically maintain until a week before the race: 6 – 10 – 6 – 12 – 6 – REST – 18 My average mile is now about 8:40 – even for the shorter runs. This schedule is not that easy for me – it does tire me out a bit, but hell, it is my 1st Marathon training. Is it not natural to be a bit tired, am I overtraining? I got this schedule from a reputable runner’s store. I have no significant health problems. Your educated opinions are very much appreciated – both pro and con. Thanks, Ben
Response:
6 – 10 – 6 – 12 – 6 – REST – 18 This is a vast improvement over running the same pace and distance every day. However, it is way too much mileage. It’s better to
I bike, swim, or race-walk in place of easy runs, and have done several marathons and ultras on 13-15 miles/week training. #include "disclaimer.h" |____|
Keep in mind that Matt is famous in this group for his belief in low mileage, and that he does a lot of cross-training. He demonstrates impressive endurance, but not a lot of speed in (to him) sprint events like marathons. I think your schedule is not too bad, though I would do some kind of speedwork (fartlek, intervals, whatever turns you on) in place of either the 10- or 12-mile run every week. That assumes that you built up to this mileage level gradually, so that all your bodily bits and pieces are strong enough to support it; if not, better back off some, but keep the long run in there and make the other days shorter. -John White-
Response:
: : This schedule is not that easy for me – it does tire me out a bit, but hell, : it is my 1st Marathon training. Is it not natural to be a bit tired, am : I overtraining? I got this schedule from a reputable runner’s store. I : have no significant health problems. : Your educated opinions are very much appreciated – both pro and con. Ben, I am not sure about an educated opinion but will give you a couple of thoughts. Overall it seems like a pretty good schedule, although without knowing what the build up was like and how long you have been at that level makes it more difficult to give advice. "Ideally" you should probably have a bit more overall distance and build up to arround a 20 miler for the long run. If you have had a long term schedule then periodization would have been appropriate (eg base, strength, speed, taper). Given the relative closeness of the event and your feeling of tiredness the most critcal period will be the taper. Don’t worry about building the miles for the last couple of weeks before the event. Make sure that you get a good break (halve your distances) and are fresh for the day. Your last long run should be 2-3 weeks before the event. To give more detailed advice for the final few weeks, I would need to know more about your goals, pb’s and the nature of the course. In general it seems like a reasonable schedule. Good luck on the day. Paul Shields Author "runcoach.zip" FTP oak.oakland.edu:/pub/msdos/database/runcoach.zip
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I will be running my 1st Marathon on October 23. I have been a dedicated runner for the past 9 years – I am now 33. Prior to Marathon training, I was running 30 miles/week (6 days x 5 miles). My average training mile was about 8 minutes. Over the past 2 months, I have progressed to the following schedule which I will basically maintain until a week before the race: 6 – 10 – 6 – 12 – 6 – REST – 18 My average mile is now about 8:40 – even for the shorter runs. This schedule is not that easy for me – it does tire me out a bit, but hell, it is my 1st Marathon training. Is it not natural to be a bit tired, am I overtraining? I got this schedule from a reputable runner’s store. I have no significant health problems. Your educated opinions are very much appreciated – both pro and con.
I find the schedule acceptable, but certain to leave you tired, and especially if followed without variation (e.g. a reduced week every 3rd or so). I would ask WHERE DO YOU LIVE, AT WHAT ALTITUDE WHAT MARATHON ARE YOU PREPPING FOR It does sound like you are a bit "overtraining right now, for you." I would take an extra day off in that week sequence–the 6 mile day between the 10 and the 12, and also reduce the 12 miler to 10 for a bit (2-3 weeks). I COMPLETELY DISAGREE WITH "MVM" COMMENTS ABOUT TOO MUCH MILEAGE, ETC; it is just too much for your readiness right now. You should not be slowing down so much from your prior levels. Are you taking any vitamin supplements? Are you still eating a highly varied diet….including red meat? Have you entered any shorter, e.g. 5k-10k races recently? These are very good components to marathon preparation. I would be willing to further discuss your preparation for this…and future marathons with you more directly and off- line. I can be reached at: free time coach of the Buffalo Chips Running Club (800 members or so) and veteran of 108 marathons and still counting upwards! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Thanks, Ben
Response:
6 – 10 – 6 – 12 – 6 – REST – 18
This is a vast improvement over running the same pace and distance every day. However, it is way too much mileage. It’s better to undertrain and run slow than to overtrain and not run at all. Galloway’s system works for me. Do one long run per week (instead of 3), increasing one mile per week up to 12, then run long every 2 weeks, increasing by 2 miles each time up to around 20-22. Your last long run should be 3 weeks before the marathon. The rest of your training should be 30-45 minutes a day at an easy pace, except for one day a week at race pace, and one day of intervals, doing several 1/4 to 1/2 mile repeats at race pace or faster. I bike, swim, or race-walk in place of easy runs, and have done several marathons and ultras on 13-15 miles/week training. #include "disclaimer.h" |____|