The Fall Marathon - A Building Block
November is the time to make plans to take advantage of your fall marathon and all of the hard work associated with marathon training. Many marathoners are already making plans for their next marathon next spring, whether they will have run a decent fall marathon or turned out to be among the unfortunate ones who crashed and burned. There is good news and bad news for this group of marathoners. The good news is that most runners who ran a fall marathon, whether successful or not, are already positioned for a successful spring because they have a great aerobic base.
The bad news is that you can blow it if you're not careful. There are a couple of steps that should be followed to ensure a successful spring. First, you need a sufficient period of recovery from the trauma of the marathon to heal from the damage to your leg muscles incurred in your 26.2 mile ordeal. As a coach, I insist that my runners not race or do speed work for an entire month after the marathon. I also strongly urge no running whatsoever the first week after the marathon. Thereafter, my runners can gradually resume their training so that they are running their pre-marathon weekly mileage after four weeks. I believe all their runs should be at 60-70 percent of maximum heart rate or the equivalent of two minutes per mile slower than their10K race pace. By taking the time to recover, most runners will be ready to return to vigorous training and will have lessened the likelihood of an injury.
Race in the Spring to Run a Fast Fall Marathon
I strongly urge those whose goal is to run a fast marathon to cancel their spring marathon plans. Too many marathons make for tired, dead legs. Also, the result of too many marathons is to train your body to run long and slow. Moreover, there won't be enough time to do the necessary training to increase your anaerobic threshold (AT), and without AT training you won't get fast enough to run the kind of marathon you want. While there are many benefits to be reaped from the aerobic base that is developed during long-distance training, that training by itself will not significantly increase a runner's AT. To develop your AT, you should spend the spring running 5Ks, 10Ks, and ten-milers.
Continue Doing a Weekly Long Run
If you decide to embark on a spring racing season, you should continue doing a weekly long run of 10-12 miles. The long run will help you maintain a certain level of aerobic fitness as well as build leg strength. By maintaining your aerobic fitness, you should not have to spend the entire summer preparing for a fall marathon. Instead, you can begin your fall marathon training only 12-14 weeks before the marathon. Meanwhile, during the spring you will have done some 10K racing, improved your 10K times, and raised your AT, which in turn will lead to a faster fall marathon and perhaps that long-sought PR or Boston qualifying time.
Changing Goals Is Not Easy
On a personal note, I have discussed my training plans for Marathon in the Parks in the past three columns. Unfortunately, the best-laid plans often fall apart. In my case, it was a July virus that resulted in a month's layoff coupled with increased work responsibilities. When I was finally able to resume training in August, it quickly became evident that I had lost too much training time to achieve my 3:20 time goal. As a coach, I have observed too many runners stubbornly try to run an unrealistic marathon time. In most cases, the results are disastrous, as it would be if I were to try for a 3:20 this time. It is, of course, very difficult for most runners to be objective about their running. One of the real benefits of using a heart monitor is that the monitor tells no lies. In my case, six weeks before the marathon (when this column was written), the monitor has told me that I am not capable of running my goal pace. Accordingly, I have changed my goal and will simply try to finish the marathon so that I can say I ran the first marathon in Montgomery County.
Coach West is a licensed coach, affiliated with MCRRC, and available to coach motivated adult runners. A portion of his coaching fees for MCRRC members is returned to MCRRC. For further information about personal coaching opportunities, contact Coach West at kirtwest@comcast.net.
