Monday: Begin the week with a day of cross-training. I have kept purposely vague how much time to spend biking, swimming, walking or whatever, wanting for you to maintain a low stress level. But, considering the fact that yesterday's long run was "only" 9 miles in a stepback week, you can probably afford an hour's worth of exercise today. Nevertheless, don't be afraid to program in an extra day of rest--any day of the week--if you feel your body needs it. Don't be a slave to any training schedule, this one or any other. Having said that, if you take too many days off you will compromise your training program. Balance is essential in any program for success. You don't want to do too much; you don't want to do too little.

Tuesday: Four miles at a comfortable pace. Yes, that's one mile further for this day than I have asked you to run during the first six weeks of my marathon training program. It's all part of a gradual buildup to more mileage. "Gradual" is the operative word in the previous sentence. Other than more mileage, another reason I schedule changes in distance is for variety, so you won't be running the same distances day after day after week after week. Since experienced runners such as you often have set courses for different distances, this may even force you to select another route for your run: Course A vs. Course B. It's a mind thing. The difference between doing 3 and 4 miles may also result in an almost imperceptible pace change, which is also good. Plus, you burn an extra 100 calories.

Wednesday: Seven miles today, also a step upward in this week of change from your previous midweek high of two weeks ago. As these midweek workouts continue to climb, you may need to budget more time out of your busy schedule. Final Wednesday instruction: Smile at everybody you see on the jogging path today. Give them a cheery "Good morning" or "Good afternoon." If someone offers you a similar greeting, it may be because they're following my training program too. :-)

Thursday: Four easy miles, also a bump upwards. By the time you get to Sunday, your total mileage for the week will be 36, biggest so far. Do some stretching and strengthening too. While doing your strength training routine and moving from exercise to exercise, don’t rush and don’t waste time chitchatting with friends. Stay focused on your workout by stretching in between. "It’s very important while strength training to have a stretching routine," warns personal trainer Cathy Vasto. "You don’t want to lose your flexibility, which can happen if you forget to stretch. Eccentric contractions (which occur when lowering the weights) actually can tighten the muscles." Stretching while strength training provides a double dose of conditioning in a minimum of time.

Friday: Rest today will provide just that extra dose of recovery necessary for you to have a good weekend of workouts. Remember, the focus on this training program is quality as well as quantity. You can't achieve quality in your workouts unless you come into the days you run hard well rested. You'll be able to accomplish tomorrow's pace workout much more successfully if you are rested and ready. This means getting a good night's sleep tonight too. Social considerations aside, you probably don't want to hang out all night at the bars, then be forced to get up the next morning and train hard. What's important in life to you? Make that decision and follow up on it.

Saturday: Pace training day. Seven miles at marathon race pace. Assuming you have a watch that allows you to record splits as you run, write them on a piece of paper when you finish. How successful were you at maintaining race pace? If you're plus or minus more than 15 seconds off race pace, you may need to focus your attention more during these pace workouts. (If you're running a hilly course or under adverse weather conditions, you may need to make an allowance for variations--but that will be true in the marathon itself.)

Sunday: Run 14 miles in today's long run. Remember to run at a pace 45 to 90 seconds slower than the race pace you ran on Saturday. Running long workouts too close to race pace is a major training error. Be conservative in your approach to training, and you're more likely to succeed. Before we end this week of instructions, let's talk briefly about calorie burn. Running will help you maintain or lose weight. You burn the same number of calories (about 100) walking a mile as you do running a mile. That seems unfair, but calorie burn is related to foot-pounds: how many pounds you push over so many feet. Since you lose 1 pound for every 3,600 calories burned, theoretically by running 36 miles this week you will have lost the equivalent of 1 pound compared to if you hadn't run. That assumes your eating habits didn't change. You can lose weight faster by combining diet and exercise, which is the best way to lose weight as well as keep it off.

 

Running Tips: Marathoners need to learn the value of strength. If you plan to win the marathon, running is not enough. Most top runners head to the gym two or three times a week to pump iron. That's good advice for anybody. Machines and barbells work for the elite, but you can stay in shape with push-ups and sit-ups in your own front room. Then you can flex your muscles while crossing the finish line on marathon day.

How to Improve: Hal Higdon's Smart Running is a collections of questions and answers from his on-line Ask The Expert column. It covers everything you wanted to know about running, but were afraid to ask. To order an autographed copy of this and other books by Runner's World's best writer go to Books by Hal Higdon.

 

Copyright © 2000 by Hal Higdon. All rights reserved.