Long Run for the Half and Full Marathon (Part 2)

On an earlier post, I talked about integrating faster work within the long run. Several people reached out and asked about the length of long runs, how many, and volume of intensity within a long run

How many long runs:

• For marathon, I like to program a minimum of 4 runs in the 32 to 36km range. If someone needs to build their aerobic capacity, this may be increased to 6.

• For half marathon, I like to program a minimum of 4 runs in the 23 to 28km range. If someone needs to build their aerobic capacity, this may be increased to 6.

How many runs with intensity and how much intensity:

• 4 runs with intensity is my preference for a marathon or half marathon build. These are built up with each run. For the marathon, the maximum distance of built in intensity within the long run is 25km, and for the half marathon 10 to 12km. Again, this depends on the athlete but this is a pretty good general guideline.

• Programmed every 2 to 3 weeks. Depends on the how long the training cycle is.

Type of Intensity within the Long Run:

• Marathon- marathon pace and faster pace work

• Half marathon – half marathon and faster pace work.

• Generally, I like to break these into segments. Marathon- 3km up to 10km segments. Half marathon- 1km up to 5km segments.

• Here are some long run inserts I recently built into programs of runners with years of running with me.

Marathon Specific:

• Within a 30 km long run, usually after running for 60 to 75 minutes, 8x 90 seconds at 10 mile to half marathon effort with 4 to 5 minutes at MP.

• Within a 30 to 32 km run, 2x (6 to 8km at MP/ 2 min easy/ 2 km HMP/ 3 min easy).

Half Marathon Specific:

• With a 22 to 25 km run, 3k at HMP, 2k at HMP, 2x 1 km at 10km pace with 3 minutes easy between all.

• Within a 22 to 25 km run, 3x 3km run progressively for each km. Starting at HMP and descending down to 10km effort for the last Km. 3 to 5 minutes easy running between.

Long Run fast finishes and fast segments

I integrate fast finishes and faster tempo running in long runs for all distances. For the marathon, marathon paced work is included in long runs at various points of the build toward the race.

Why:

• To teach your body to burn lactate.

• To teach your body to recruit more muscle fibers. In this example, our intermediate muscle fibers.

• For the marathon, to gain a better understanding of fueling and hydration requirements.

Examples:

10km Training

• 20 to 25 minute pickup at the end of a long run

• 30 min pickup in the middle of a long run

• 6 to 10 times 1 minute to 2 minutes surges halfway through a long run every 5 minutes.

Half Marathon Training

• 20 to 25 minute pickup at the end of a long run

• In the middle of a long run including 3 km at marathon effort, 2km at half marathon effort, and 2x 1km at close to 10km effort. Taking 3 minutes easy between all.

Marathon Training

• 20 to 30 minutes at marathon pace at the end of a long run

• Every two to three weeks replacing a long run with a marathon pace run. The volume of these build throughout the preparation period. For those who have not been exposed to these before, I suggest something like this:

  • 13 weeks out 6x10 at MP

  • 11 weeks out 5x15 min at MP

  • 9 weeks out 4x20 min at MP

  • 7 weeks out 2x30 min + 10 min at MP

  • 5 weeks out 2x40 min at MP

  • 3 to 4 weeks out 80-90 min at MP

• More advanced runners may work up to 25 to 30km at marathon pace as they near the last 4 to 8 weeks of the marathon build.

Alternations

I use this type of workout in marathon and half marathon builds extensively. These are also effective at other distances. What changes is the specificity of the pace varying to the distance we are training for.

Why and how:

• Alternations improve our ability to handle lactate.

• We vary the pace so that it is slightly faster than lactate threshold and slightly slower.

• The benefits of this type of training comes from the work done at the slightly slower than lactate threshold. The work we do above lactate threshold causes our blood lactate to rise. When we transition to the slower pace, we are teaching the body to clear the lactate.

Examples:

Marathon training

• Early block: 8 to 12 km continuous as 1000m at slightly faster than LT - near 10km effort, RPE 7.5 to 8 / 1000m at MP, RPE 5 to 6

• Later block: 2 to 4 sets of 3000m at MP, RPE 5 to 6 or slightly faster / 1000m at 10 seconds slower than MP.

Advice:

• Pushing the pace defeats the purpose of the workout and can lead to the slower sections becoming too slow.

• Rhythm runners or those with a strong aerobic engines tend to do well in executing these sessions.

• Runners used to pushing out fast intervals with decent recovery tend to struggle with these sessions.

• Integrate alternations into your training plan every three to four weeks.

• Stick to about 10% of your weekly distance for alternation volume in a session.

Building a Performance-Oriented Plan

Training for only a marathon distance, and neglecting training for shorter distances, often can result in not getting the opportunity to improve your VO2max and running efficiency. This ultimately impacts or limits the ability to improve performance at the marathon distance. Training needs to include a change of stimulus. Without adding a new stimulus, often fitness will decline. It is important to train all energy systems.

My approach, for those more focused on performance at the marathon distance, is to look at things over 18 months to 2 years. Below I outline a typical strategy to achieve this by breaking out the 18 to 24 month period into blocks with specific focus, and addressing the need for training all energy systems and providing new stimulus to make gains.

I also outline the typical approach I take with athletes who are training specifically for the half marathon, and 5k / 10k distances. I break out my blocks over a year for these distances.

Regardless of the distance you run, the key to endurance is our anaerobic threshold. It allows us to run a faster speeds before fatigue and lactic acid begin to take place.

Marathon Performance Plan

Marathon: the main ingredients are aerobic threshold, muscular endurance and fuel efficiency.

Aerobic threshold is the fastest pace you can run while staying aerobic.

Muscular endurance is the ability to hold it together without falling apart.

Fuel efficiency is about how efficient you are at burning fat

Half Marathon Performance Plan

Half marathon: the main ingredients are stamina (lactate threshold and anaerobic threshold), muscular endurance, and speed endurance.

Lactate threshold is the point where lactic acid is just beginning to accumulate.

Anaerobic threshold is the level of exercise intensity at which lactic acid accumulates in the blood stream faster than it can be cleared away.

Muscular endurance is the ability to hold it together without falling apart.

Speed Endurance endurance is your ability to hold a specific pace for an increasingly longer period of time. 

5k / 10k Performance Plan

5k / 10k: the main ingredients are VO2max, speed endurance, and running efficiency.

VO2max is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can utilize during exercise.

Speed Endurance endurance is your ability to hold a specific pace for an increasingly longer period of time. 

Running efficiency is the ability to recruit maximum muscle fiber with each stride without increasing effort.

Key Performance Indicators for the Endurance Athlete

I was recently at several coaching seminars and I was intrigued by something one coach indicated that was foundational to his coaching philosophy. It is something I have done informally with the athletes/clients I coach. The philosophy centers around Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the athlete. For the past couple of days, it has been on my mind. These are things that I think every distance/endurance athlete can use to measure themselves against the process of training.

Here is my take on KPIs that an athlete can adopt which center around the process.

1.       Days missed. Consistency is key when it comes to endurance and running. As an athlete it is important to assess what you can commit to in terms of days of training per week. Hitting the days, you can commit to is better than missing days of training week over week. Goals and expectations need to align with what you can commit to.

2.       Volume per week and volume per year. Getting better at distance running is not a short-term endeavour. It takes years to become stronger, faster, and better. Volume is better than intensity when you are a distance runner. Distance running is about building muscular endurance and fueling capabilities. We are training to create energy in the muscle. A consistent build over years is essential for longevity and building strength.

3.       Maintenance of intensity in training. Keeping intensity in training is critical throughout the year. It becomes even more important as we get older (over 35 years of age). Use it or lose it. The volume of intensity must align with your volume of running as well.

4.       Rating of training sessions by using Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) post workouts. With the GPS and social media era everything has shifted to pace and how fast one can run in training. This has caused many to lose sight of the purpose of a particular training session. Ranking the session by RPE and asking if the RPE matched the intention of the session can be the most important signal to overtraining, onset of sickness, and adaptation. Be honest about your effort.

5.       Ownership of the process. As an athlete are you asking yourself, “what can I be doing”. This includes getting enough sleep, rolling, mobility, massage, timing of nutrition, keeping a training journal and communication with your coach.

I looked back on my own training diaries over the years and found that these were all measured and documented within my logs. No matter what level of athlete you are, these KPIs can be valuable in your development and create ownership in the process.

Strategies for the Masters Endurance Athlete

At age 35 and beyond the body goes through some important changes. With ageing comes reduction in:

• Growth Hormones

• Testosterone

• Oestradiol

What does this mean for the ageing athlete:

• Increased risk of injury

• Reduced Anaerobic Threshold

• Reduced bone mineral Density

Some changes the ageing athlete can make to their routine that will go a long way to keep you training include:

• Longer warmups

• Polarization of training (need to prevent Type II fast twitch decline and denervation)

• Multidirectional strength training

• Prioritize sleep and recovery

• Protein: 1.2 to 1.5 g/kg/day. Timing: 25g every 3 hours. Pre-sleep intake of Casein

• Vit D

Spicing up Lactate Threshold Training

The threshold run is well known to all distance runners. It is the staple in most running programs. I feel, it is also misunderstood, and not utilized to its full benefits in training.

Threshold runs are executed at the fastest pace one could maintain for an hour if racing and equates to 86% to 88% of VO2max. If using rate of perceived effort (RPE), this is a RPE of 7.5 to 8.

Athletes slowing down on sustained 20 to 40-minute tempo runs, and in their running in general, may need to  integrate some other variables into training to improve threshold. It appears that the body is getting less efficient rather more efficient. Yet, the purpose of threshold training is to build strength and speed. By running at or near lactate threshold, the body should become more efficient at clearing lactic acid and reusing it to fuel muscles. For an endurance athlete, this is key.

The reason an athlete may not see improvements has to do with muscle fiber recruitment. In a continuous 20 to 40-minute tempo run, the muscle recruitment is mostly the slow twitch muscle fibers and some intermediate muscle fibers. At slower paces we also utilize more quadriceps and calves, and at faster paces, the glutes and hamstrings are utilized more.

Staleness, lack of adaptation, or declining performance are signals to change training approach by adding a new stimulus or manipulator. To improve or challenge the ability to run stronger, it is important to mix up threshold training. Adding training within our threshold work that recruits all the muscle type fibers available can be extremely beneficial. We become more efficient but also minimize fatigue because of accessing a larger pool of muscle fiber types. Increasing the recruitable muscle fiber pool enables fast twitch muscles to jump in and do some of the work when the slow twitch muscles become overwhelmed. This aids in sustaining pace over longer efforts which is the purpose of training at threshold.

As a coach, I look at training as imposing a serious of threats upon our body/muscles to improve fitness. Experienced coaches understand how to manipulate variables in training to continuously impose threats to get the most out of their athletes. When it comes to increasing/improving threshold the same old sustained 20 to 40-minute threshold run needs some spice. Here are some examples of threshold work and manipulators that can provide some spice to training and provide threshold with an uplift. When we first introduce these types of manipulators, athletes will struggle. This is a good thing. The body is learning to again become efficient at clearing lactic acid and reusing it to fuel muscles. It is not always about hitting the pace, effort is what counts. The workout is achieving what it is supposed to.

Ingredients to add to threshold workouts:

10 minutes at threshold / 3 minute easy / 5 x 2 minutes or 600m at 3k to 5k effort with 90 seconds active recovery between each effort and 3 min after last one/ 10 minutes at threshold.

Alternations or under overs – alternating running slightly faster than threshold with running slightly slower than threshold. I like to build these over a training block by adding distance to each portion and to the overall volume of the workout

Fartlek runs – 3x 1 minute at 3k to 5km effort with 1 to 2 minutes active recovery between each effort and 3 minutes after the last one / 10 to 15 min at threshold / 2 to 3 min active recovery /  3x1 minute at 3k to 5 km effort with 1 to 2 minutes active recovery between each effort.

4 to 6 short hills of 1 minute in duration / 3 to 5 min easy / 10 to 20 minutes at threshold.

3 to 5 x mile performed as 200m at faster than threshold and 200m at slower than threshold with 5 minutes active recovery between each mile. Do not underestimate how difficult this workout is.

30-minute tempo as 10/8/6/4/2/ minutes at slightly faster than threshold with 60 to 90 seconds between.

40-minute progression run: 15 minutes steady, 10 minutes faster, 10 minutes faster, 5 minutes fast but controlled.

Picking up your heels in running

Learning to pick up your heels in running is one of the hardest things to master in running form. When running, the heel should be pulled up directly under you and not behind you. If the foot comes up behind you, it means that you are running with a hip flexor dominant swing phase. Injuries to the psoas, IT band and rectus femoris are likely to occur. It is also likely that the pelvis is not level when running.

Learning to pick your foot up and pull it underneath your hip requires engagement of the hamstrings during the early to mid swing phase. This offloads the work of the hip flexors to pull the swing leg through under the body.

Practicing this allows there to be more balance around the hip and pelvis. Further, getting those hamstrings activated during the swing phase helps avoid the tendency to sit back when running (I call this sitting on the toilet running).

Here is a drill that will help keep the pull movement under the body rather than becoming more of a flick behind you.

Run Training and Types of Training Explained

Training for running is not complex.  It is pretty straight forward but it always surprises me when people train for years and cannot figure out why they do not improve, have chronic fatigue, or are constantly injured.

The goals of a structured training program can be summarized into six points.  Jack Daniels describes the goals as:

1.       To improve the body’s ability to transport blood and oxygen.

2.       To increase the ability of muscles involved in running to use the available oxygen and convert carbohydrate and fat fuel into useful energy.

3.       To increase lactate threshold to enable faster running speed.

4.       To increase aerobic capacity by increasing VO2max.

5.       To improve speed.

6.       To decrease energy demand by improving running economy.

I start with these goals as I believe that the linkage between these goals and the type of training to enable these goals is not clearly understood or it is simply ignored.  If one is going to spend time doing an activity, I think they should learn to train properly to maximize benefits.  I admit, I get extremely frustrated when people tell me how hard they run or how much they run.  So what.  If one is not training properly that means absolutely nothing.   If you win races and run exactly the same time every time, then you should start to question your training.

The second thing that frustrates me, is that I see people training together doing exactly the same workout without considering level of the runner or the volume of running per week.  Someone who runs 40 km a week should not be doing the same volume of intervals as someone who runs 100 km a week.  Nor should someone who is relatively new to running be doing the same type of intervals as someone experienced.

I may have two athletes do a workout that on paper looks exactly the same but the purpose of the workout is different.  For example, 5x1000 meters.  One athlete may be doing this at threshold and the other at VO2max.  The recoveries may also be the same or different as they are at different levels.

So let’s get back to the basics.

Easy and Long Runs

Purpose: To improve cell adaptation, promote glycogen depletion, to teach the body to use fat as fuel. 

How:  Run 65% to 70% of VO2max. 20 minutes to 2 hour 30 minutes.

Example:  45 minute easy run the next day after a hard workout.

Threshold Runs

Purpose: To build strength and speed.  By running at or very near your lactate threshold, your body will become more efficient at clearing lactic acid and reusing it to fuel your muscles.  Threshold runs simply teach us to endure greater intensity for longer periods of time.  For an endurance athlete, this is key.

How: Run 86% to 88% of VO2max.  Tempo runs, Tempo intervals, Cruise Intervals.  It is a pace that you could maintain for an hour in a race.

Example 1: 20 min tempo run.

Example 2: 8 x 1000 meters with 30 second rest interval.

Example 3: 2x10 minutes with 1 to 2 minutes’ rest interval.

Intervals

Purpose: To increase your maximal aerobic capacity (VO2 max).

How: Run 98% to 100% of VO2max.  It is a pace that you could maintain for 10 to 15 minutes in a race.  It is often quoted as 3 km race pace.  Running these too fast results in training the wrong system and defeats the purpose which is to improve your aerobic capacity.

Example: 30 second to 5 minute intervals.  I stress time here as opposed to distance as I differ the workout distance based on level of runner.  For example, a slower runner covers less distance in 5 minutes than does a faster runner.  The rest interval varies but it should be equal to or less than the interval time.  As athletes become stronger, I tend to shorten the rest interval.

Speed

Purpose:  To improve mechanics. 

How: Greater than VO2max.  Intervals of less than 2 minutes.  Again, using time as opposed to distance as we need to account for a runner’s ability.  The rest interval would be up to four times it took to do the interval.  For example, 30 second interval would get a rest interval of 2 minutes.

Marathon Pace workouts for Marathon Runners

Purpose: To enable an athlete to spend some time running the pace at which they hope to complete the marathon in.

How: Run up to 25 km at marathon pace.  I incorporate a build up to 25 km over time in a marathon program.  I also encourage athletes to run a half marathon race at marathon pace or slightly faster.  I usually start runners at 10 to 12 km and gradually build them to 25 km over a 16 week to 20 week period.  I like to schedule a marathon pace run every three to four weeks.