We are finally emerging out of the stubborn grip of Michigan winter, and the sun is bringing people outside by the dozens. Runners, walkers, dog joggers, cyclists, bird watchers, gardeners, construction barrels (sigh)–all can be seen buzzing around with sun-fed joy. The change in seasons is one of the reasons I love Michigan so much.
It has been some time since I last wrote a blog about my marathon training. For those of you who were waiting in suspense, my apologies.
Here is a quick summary of the roller coaster of the past six months:
- The River Bank Run last fall was a disappointment and a success at the same time. I was so grateful to race again, but I pushed myself too fast too early and my calf muscles were cramping by mile 6. I painfully pushed on to finish the race in an ungraceful fashion. It was a success because it revealed what weaknesses I still had to work on to be prepared for the Bayshore Marathon in May. But I spent a month recovering from the effort.
- As I started back into running, I developed a stress fracture-type pain in my foot. Fearing the worst, I shut down my running for 4 weeks and focused on strength training, biking, and other non-impact cardio exercise.
- Just as I was getting back from the foot pain, I got a nasty cold that limited my running for another two weeks.
- I was able to get back into some consistent running in March with limited hopes for being ready for the marathon. I figured I would give it a month and see where I could get with my training.
My “Experiment”
I am grateful to report that my training has been going great since March and I have run some solid long runs the past four weeks. The success of this “experiment” so far can be attributed to help I have received from colleagues for manual therapy treatments, discipline in my sleep and diet, and diversifying my workouts. I call this training plan my “experiment” because I am not following an orthodox marathon training plan anymore. Many marathon plans recommend training volumes of at least 50-60 miles per week. My plan will plateau at around 30 miles per week. However, I am supplementing with a lot of other cardio exercise, aiming for quality miles vs quantity, and focusing on optimal recovery with disciplined diet and sleep. I am also relying on some of the aerobic base I built for the River Bank Run. I do not recommend crunching a marathon training plan of 4 months into 2 months, but I can highlight the profound impact that practicing proper diet and good sleep hygiene can have on any successful race plan. Training does not take place just on the road—it also takes place between the runs.
The Running Seasons
We can pull some wisdom out of this natural change in seasons. Just like seasons of weather, every sport has seasons. The lengths of each season can vary but typically all sports (should) have an off-season, a pre-season or conditioning season, and a competitive season. This includes—drumroll—running! Though many may view running as a year-round activity, preparing for a race should have a progression of seasons, and each season may last a few weeks to a few months depending on the season and type of race(s).
The Preseason – Building the Base
Traditionally for running there is a long “preseason” of building an aerobic base over several months. The preseason focuses on long, slow miles and may include other aerobic activities like biking. It may include strength training to help build base of muscle strength as well. This phase in a training plan is critical: speed cannot be sharpened without having an aerobic base. It would be like trying to accelerate a sports car on gasoline fumes. Injury risk also increases with skipping or shortening the conditioning preseason.
Hill Running
As a runner cements a solid aerobic base, strength-building runs are incorporated more often. This usually takes the form of hill training. Any high school cross country runner will be able to tell you which hilly route they would have to do as the summer ended and the fall race season began. Hills place a different demand on the leg muscles and heart than flat-surface running and are an important part of progressing to speed workouts.
Speed Training
As a runner enters the competitive season, speed workouts may start getting worked into the training plan. For a cross country or track runner with a relatively long competitive season, races can serve as speed workouts, along with a few speed workouts sprinkled into the week. For a marathoner, racing a shorter race like a 10K a few weeks before the marathon can serve as a good speed workout, along with tempo (race-pace) runs 1-2 times per week. At this phase in training, the total mileage of a week may plateau or drop, with more focus being placed on harder workouts vs long, slow miles.
Competitive Season
The length of the competitive season is unique for each runner and each athlete. For an athlete with a season like football or cross country, the competitive season can be very long and divided into seasons within itself. For instance, there is “regular” season and “playoff” season. For a marathoner, the competitive season is often only one race. For those with a longer season, the regular season of competition should be treated like an extension of the conditioning phase, with a focus on building up sport-specific skills and stamina and testing in competition. The real competitive season, however, revolves around the biggest games or races, like in football playoffs or in conference races. Regardless of the length of the regular season, it is often advised that the 1-2 weeks leading up to the biggest competition of the season be treated as a taper.
The Taper
In a taper, a runner does much fewer miles and workouts, and practices in another sport are focused more on strategy and skill vs conditioning. The reason is that it takes about 2 weeks for any benefits from a workout to sink into the body, which means a speed workout done one week before a marathon doesn’t necessarily make the body faster. At the same time, continuing high-intensity workouts leading up to a competition increases an athlete’s injury risk. The taper also gives the body a chance to recover to 100% before the competition/race.
Off Season
After the competitive season, there should be an off-season. It is critical in reducing injury risk. I typically recommend 1-2 months of an off-season, where an athlete does not participate in the sport they just finished or participates in a much, much smaller capacity. This allows time for an athlete to rest the body and participate in other activities to diversify skills. For a runner this means taking a break from running and doing other activities like swimming, rollerblading, or even paddleboarding. The important part is that it is different from running and is done in a non-competitive fashion. Unfortunately in today’s athletic programs with sport specialization, the off-season is very short or nonexistent. Because of this, more young athletes are presenting with injuries that interrupt their season, and they don’t get a chance to diversify their physical skills. The off-season protects against burn-out and can help an athlete stay excited about their sport. The off-season is like fitting rest days into a marathon training plan—they can be difficult to schedule but are as important as the workouts themselves. A workout has little impact if an athlete cannot recover from the workout. Train well, rest well!
My Finish
For my training, I have another 2 weeks of hard training, then a 2-week taper. I am trying to focus on the “train well, rest well” mantra and trying to focus on running in race-type conditions. This includes running near the time of the race (8am), wearing the gear I plan to wear, eating the things I will eat before and during the race, and running on the type of terrain I will race on. Hopefully, all these little things will add up and I will have a successful “experiment.”
To read and watch Patrick’s full marathon training blogs, visit his first post here.