Run Your Best Marathon. Really.
A put-all-your eggs-in-one-basket program that works if you let it
By Kevin Beck
As featured in the July August 1999 issue of Running Times Magazine
High mileage—whatever that means to you—is important, but its distribution is just as vital. If you can tolerate 90- and 100-mile weeks, go for it. I’d advise scaling back every third week or so to give yourself a break. It probably isn’t useful to do anything long or intense within seven to 10 days of the marathon, though I’ll sometimes do eight or 10 miles at marathon pace 10 to 14 days before the race. This is the time to focus on stretching, hydration, adequate carbohydrate intake and catching up on sleep. I always cut my mileage and intensity drastically in the last two weeks before the race; most fast running I do at this point is at marathon pace.
All Good Things Must End
This program is geared to anyone who’s willing to put all his eggs in the marathon basket. I’ve seen too many people for whom this style of training works not to be convinced it’s valid. But as noted earlier, there are no guarantees in the marathon. Also, the type of workouts suggested here aren’t exactly fun to perform. No one I know enjoys running 50, 60 or 75 laps on a track. You’ll be tired a lot, and you are unlikely to race well at shorter distances.
Still, the benefits are difficult to deny. You’ll develop a keen sense of pace. The way you’ll feel at the end of those sessions provides a great rehearsal for the fatigue that creeps up late in a marathon. On race day, when the finish-line banner is in sight and your goal is well in hand, you might be grateful for those long time trials—or as grateful as anyone can be after maxing out for 26.2 miles.
Kevin Beck is the newsletter editor of the Central Mass Striders. When not training, he’s usually chasing after his yellow Lab puppy, Komen.
The Program This schedule is based on a three-week cycle; when training for a marathon, three such cycles should be employed, followed by a three-week taper. The program does include long runs at "moderate" effort--i.e. the sort of long runs you're probably accustomed to doing. Running long at a relatively relaxed pace has physical and mental value; it simply may not be sufficient to maximally enhance performance. You can vary the interval workouts, but focus on high-volume, marathon-intensity type sessions. One workout Ronaldo da Costa does is a 6K-5K-4K-3K-2K-1K ladder, all of it at or near marathon pace. It's probably not necessary for most of us to do 21K of intervals, but training your body to handle marathon pace as often as possible has great value. All hard pace running should be preceded by a warm-up and followed by a cool-down. Adjust the mileage on easy days (or make them rest days) depending on how you are feeling. |
| | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 |
| Monday | rest/crosstrain | 10K-15K marathon-pace run | 10-12 miles moderate |
| Tuesday | rest or 4-6 miles easy, depending on how you feel | 4-6 miles easy | 8x800 meters 3-5 seconds faster than 5K race pace (10-12 miles total) |
| Wednesday | 6-8 miles easy | 10-12 miles moderate | 6-8 miles easy |
| Thursday | 10-12 miles moderate | long (22-26), moderate effort | 10-12 miles moderate |
| Friday | 4-6 x 1 mile at 5K race pace (10-12 miles total) | 4-6 miles easy | 6-8 miles moderate |
| Saturday | 10-12 miles moderate | 6-8 miles easy | 6-8 miles easy |
| Sunday | 10-12 miles moderate | 10-12 miles moderate | 20K, 25K or 30K at marathon pace (depending on whether you're in the first, second, or third three-week cycle) |