Marathon and Half-Marathon

by Marnie Caron

  Keeping a Logbook

  Many fitness enthusiasts and athletes have daily training records that date back 10 years or more. These records allow athletes to see the big picture and the patterns that emerge only over time. In a nutshell, your logbook will enable you to analyze the effect of your distance-running training, monitor progress, keep track of any aches and pains, help you to stay motivated, and act as a resource in the event of any injury or illness.

  Consider jotting down notes about your diet in your training log. Having a record of food intake can help you identify problem times, moods, or stresses that affect your eating. And you’ll be able to see how all of these things affect your training.

  RUNNER PROFILE

  Rod

  Rod, 37, is a family doctor, husband, and father to a new baby boy. He’s done numerous marathons and half marathons over the years, and for the most part he has always trained on his own. “I do find any run over 2 hours to be a little bit long on my own, and I would definitely welcome having a friend along to keep me company and as a motivator. But for the most part I see running as one of the only times in my day that I get to be on my own. For me, running can be very meditative. It’s time for me to listen to my breathing and be silent.”

  RUNNER PROFILE

  Robin

  Robin, 35, is a product manager for a large on-line gambling company. He is also an elite runner. Originally from the East, he made the decision to leave his job with a large accounting firm and moved to the West Coast, where the climate was more conducive to training. Working part-time at a running store, Robin decided to give himself two years to focus on running to see what results he could produce. He had always been a middle-distance runner, with a personal best of 31:30 over 10 kilometers. In looking for a new challenge, he set his sights on a half marathon, 21 kilometers.

  Today, years after his half-marathon debut, Robin flips through his old training logs to explain what went wrong. “In preparing for the half marathon, I see now that I didn’t take the time to put the jam on top of the peanut butter. I was young, impatient, and I did too much quality and quantity (faster interval work and extremely long runs) alongside poor nutrition. I also didn’t give myself enough time to increase the distance of my long run and ignored fatigue and signs of illness. On race day, I had nothing in the tank by mile 10, and instead of dropping out, I forced myself to finish the race. Two weeks after the half marathon, I became extremely sick. I wasn’t the same for a couple of years afterward.”

  Robin was diligent in recording the details of his training: he logged the date, route, effort, type of workout, sickness, injury, and total distance, as well as weekly and monthly distance totals. Logbooks are great motivators, because at the end of the day you have to answer to your book; if you haven’t run, you have to record a zero. But, as Robin points out, “They can be a double-edged sword. Logbooks police you to stay honest with your training, but it can easily become a competition between you and your book—always a challenge to see how many more miles you can record this week compared with last week. And they can also discourage cross training and rest days in order to meet your mileage goals.”

  It’s like most things in life: if you keep your logbook in perspective, it can motivate and provide good historical value. If it weren’t for Robin’s logbook, he would have had a much more difficult time analyzing what went wrong in his training so that he could learn from his mistakes. He’s back on track with his running, and though he doesn’t have any half marathons in the foreseeable future, he is training for the upcoming cross-country season and thinks that one day he will again consider a half marathon.

  Warming Up

  Warming up is not just for beginners—even world-class athletes need to warm up before every workout. The purpose of a warm-up routine is to prepare your body for exercise. (Warming up itself should not be thought of as exercise, even if the routines are called warm-up “exercises.”) Cold muscles work less efficiently and are more easily injured. They lack the flow of blood necessary to do the work.

  Your warm-up should include some kind of general body movement designed to get the blood flowing. After about 10 minutes of moving your arms, legs, and trunk continuously, you can proceed to some gentle stretching, and the emphasis here is on gentle. Wendy Epp, a sport physiotherapist and competitive runner and triathlete, points out that research shows you’re more likely to pull a cold muscle by stretching too vigorously than by actually starting right into jogging. “It’s important to warm up progressively. A low-intensity, rhythmic activity like gentle jogging, which takes your muscles through a limited range of motion, will increase muscle and body temperature gradually and thus minimize the risk of injury.”

  The rule with stretching, before, during, and after exercise, is to listen to your body: if it hurts, you’ve gone too far. This is true regardless of how fit you are or how fast you run. You might find it annoying to get a running injury, but just imagine how frustrated you’d feel if the injury resulted from something you thought you were doing to avoid being injured! In general, runners and walkers should focus on their hamstring, calf, hip flexor, and lower-back muscles. Hold each stretch for about 10 seconds and repeat two to three times per muscle group.

  Cooling Down

  Just as a warm-up is the best way to prepare your body for increased levels of activity, a cooling-down procedure is the best way to ease it back down to idle speed. It’s a good idea to keep your muscles active for 10 to 15 minutes after exercising, using a similar but less intense version of exactly the same thing you did during your warm-up. It takes your body and heart time to recover.

  Eventually you’ll find that the nice warm muscles you developed during your training session are more pliable, and that makes your post-exercise period a perfect time to work on your flexibility. After your training session, when you are thoroughly warmed up, you can safely hold each stretch for anywhere from 30 seconds to 3 minutes.

  Your Training Schedule

  Keep in mind that your training schedule is flexible. It’s up to you to decide on which days of the week you will do each of your runs. However, it makes sense to space your runs through each week. If you’re not part of a running clinic, you may also want to consider meeting a friend who runs at a similar pace for the occasional run. This helps with motivation and can make training more fun. Chapter 8 has detailed information on running clinics and training partners.

  Maintenance runs/regular runs

  There needs to be room in your training program for days that are for easy jogging. You will notice that the training programs outlined in this book include two runs a week that are approximately half the distance of your long run and are done at approximately the same pace as your long run. It is especially important for beginners to schedule these runs in the middle of the week to increase your comfort level when running and to allow your body to gradually adapt to the physical and mental demands of the sport.

  The long run

  The long run is what many marathoners and distance runners refer to as the bread and butter of their training program. “Running long” helps build cardiovascular fitness, familiarizes the body with the increased stress that comes with long-distance running, and prepares you mentally for the 26.2- or 13.1-mile course.

  It seems obvious, but in order to complete a distance event like the marathon, you have to, eventually, be able to walk/run the distance. Don’t be overly concerned. You will increase the distance of your long run gradually as you progress through your training program. If you turn to the section of this book that outlines your training program, you will notice that we have suggested running times as well as specific distances. Take a drive and measure the various running routes using your car’s odometer. It is important to gradually build your mental and physical strength. By measuring the distance of your training runs, you avoid overtraining (running farther than necessary).

  The once-a-week long run is done at a slower pace than your other sessions, so that you finis
h your runs feeling strong and as though you could do more. For example, if you are a 10-minute miler, you slow your long-run pace to 11 or 12 minutes per mile or even slower. The regular runner will be aware of his or her pace; if you don’t know what your pace is, go to a measured track and time yourself, or measure a mile or kilometer when you are out researching your various running routes for your long run.

  The pace for your first-time experience is irrelevant. It’s all about respecting and preparing for the distance. Each session will bring you closer to covering the half-or full-marathon distance. On race day, you will then have the knowledge, confidence, and peace of mind that you need to complete the race.

  It’s important to think ahead and properly prepare yourself for your weekly long run. The shorter sessions may seem a breeze, but once you start increasing the distance of your long runs, you will soon find out that covering 16 miles is significantly more demanding mentally and physically. You can be out on your long runs for 3, 4, and sometimes 5 hours, which leaves even the fittest person fatigued. For some, the fatigue can be the result of inadequate carbohydrate stores, and for others it can be the result of dehydration. The point is that your experience is unique and might be significantly different from your training partner’s. Each runner needs to assess his or her own preparation in the areas that are controllable. For example, you can certainly regulate your fluid and food intake prior to and during your sessions, and you can work to use the psychological tools you have learned.

  If you’re unsure whether you’re going too fast on your long runs, try using distance-running guru and author Jeff Galloway’s checklist. If any of the following describe you, you need to slow down:

  • Following your long run, all you want to do is lie on the couch for a few hours.

  • Your legs are tired and/or your muscles are sore for a few days following the long run, making it uncomfortable to run.

  • You experience aches and/or pains for several days afterward.

  • You are so winded during the final few miles of your long run that you cannot speak more than a few consecutive sentences.

  • You feel nauseated and/or irritated at the end of the run.

  A final word of caution regarding the long run: it is inevitable that for the duration of your marathon training you will have at least one extremely difficult or bad long run. This happens to everyone, even the elite. What’s important is that you learn from this experience. You may be unable to pinpoint the exact cause, but the following are common factors that contribute to making a long run more painful that it needs to be:

  • Dehydration

  • Hunger from insufficient fueling, either before or during your run

  • Walk breaks that were too short and/or too fast

  • General fatigue due to the demands of work and family, or because your weekly runs were too close to your long run, giving you insufficient recovery time

  • Pace that was overly aggressive

  Check to see if you have optimized your run preparation

  • Did you get enough rest the day before?

  • Did you eat appropriately all week?

  • Did you eat at the right times during your run?

  • Did you drink enough fluids the day and evening before?

  • Did you properly hydrate during the long run?

  • Were you mentally prepared?

  • Did you wear the best clothing for the weather conditions?

  • Did you schedule your run for the best day of the week?

  • Did you allow yourself enough time for the run?

  • Did you organize to have a running partner join you for part or all of your run?

  Running USA’s Web site says that in 2004 the average marathon time for men was 4:23:35 and 4:55:21 for women.

  Rest and recovery

  Rest and recovery days are just as important in your marathon program as your training days. If you don’t allow yourself enough time to recover after each run, you will not get fitter; you will just get more tired. You need to rest and recover in order to get stronger and improve. Running puts incredible demands on the body. Our half- and full-marathon programs do not have you running every day. Schedule in your rest days, just as you do your run days. Avoid running every day; spread your training sessions throughout the week. Although we have outlined a schedule for you, it is also important that you get to know your own body. Avoid being a slave to the program—be flexible, and respond to what your body is telling you.

  There will be times throughout your training program when you feel run-down, fatigued, or sick with the flu or a cold, causing you to run less or occasionally miss a session. This is all part of getting to know your body. The more you run, the more you will understand what your body is telling you. It takes time to distinguish between extreme fatigue that accompanies a difficult session and general stiffness and soreness. Because tiredness, and sometimes soreness, usually peaks 48 hours after a run, it’s good to spread out your runs. If you are still feeling sore the next time you are scheduled to run, take an extra day off. Take a walk, or try some non-weight-bearing cross training outlined in chapter 7; leave the run for the following day. The key to avoiding overuse injuries is to plan your workouts and to remain flexible in order to respond to what your body is telling you. For more on injury prevention, refer to chapter 9.

  Tips from an elite athlete: Recover before you resume

  As the bronze medal winner in the 3,000-meter track-and-field event at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, Lynn Kanuka knows a little about staying healthy. Here she provides some tips for distance runners:

  • If you feel stiff, tired, and sore for a day or two following a run, take more time to recover before you resume running.

  • Missing a session or two doesn’t mean you need to do more the following day to catch up—that is how you will get injured. Just restart your schedule when you are able to.

  • Don’t run every day. Remember to schedule your rest days—and stick to it!

  • Spread out your training sessions throughout the week to avoid injury and overtraining.

  • Patience is the key to running success. You will not improve overnight. Start cautiously and progress gradually.

  Building and reducing

  Marathon and half-marathon training is draining, both mentally and physically. Regular rest days do not provide a sufficient break for your mind and body to recover over the course of a 6-month marathon-training program. In order to reduce the risk of injury, mental burnout, and reduced motivation, we have included a rest week every fourth week.

  The training programs included in this book use a 4-week cycle. The first 3 weeks of every cycle gradually increase the distance of the long run, with the fourth week being a rest week. Every fourth week, the distance of your long run is reduced by approximately one-third. Even elite marathoners progress through training cycles that include a period of building followed by a shorter period of reduced volume and intensity. The rest weeks allow time to relax and provide the much-needed mental and physical break from the sometimes-grueling intensity of marathon training.

  Other events

  It’s often a good idea to include a couple of 5- or 10-kilometer races as part of your training preparation. These races will provide you with priceless race-day experience. They will give you the opportunity to iron out some of the kinks in your pre-race-day preparations and to experience first-hand the start-line jitters, running in a crowd, taking in liquids at the aid stations, and much more. Once you’ve done a couple of races, you will feel more comfortable and confident in this new environment, which will reduce anxiety in the days and hours leading up to your event.

  Pacing

  Pacing is the process of finding a pace you can maintain throughout your training run. This is not as easy as it sounds; finding the right pace can be difficult. All too often, beginning runners take the “no pain, no gain” approach. But in the early stages of training, or when participating in events, it�
��s important to go slowly and remember that running too fast can lead to fatigue and, possibly, physical breakdown. Give yourself the talk test. If you can speak four or five consecutive sentences without feeling winded, you are going at a pace that is good for you. If this is not the case and you feel out of breath after two sentences, you need to back off and reduce your pace.

  Stay Safe

  The question of safety is an issue that all female runners face. Running has many great benefits, but we cannot deny the troubling reality that women continue to be physically harmed while running. Constable Rachel Bourne of the Victoria Police Department in British Columbia suggests the following precautions to stay safe:

  • Make sure you carry identification.

  • Avoid dark alleys, poorly lit streets, and unpopulated areas (if you live in a city).

  • Carry a cell phone in a waist pouch, or coins to make an emergency call.

  • Before heading out the door on your run, be sure to tell a friend or family member where you will be running.

  • Vary your route and the time of day you train. You don’t want to be too predictable.

  • Avoid wearing any music device, such as an iPod or MP3 player. You need to be aware of your surroundings at all times.

  • Don’t wear jewelry. It can attract unwanted attention.

  • Trust your intuition. Avoid any person or area that feels unsafe.

  • Call the police immediately if something happens to you or to someone else, or if you are being followed or harassed.

  Your Running Style

  As a beginning runner, technique is not something you need to worry about. Everyone, even elite runners, have idiosyncrasies or quirks that detract from their optimum pace. In time your body will gradually adopt the technique best suited to you. This is not to say that good technique doesn’t pay off.