Monday: Three miles at an easy pace. These easy rest days might offer a good time to do some extra stretching, particularly after Sunday's long run. Also, 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: Eight miles today, a step upward in this week of increased mileage from your previous Tuesday high of two weeks ago. As these Tuesday workouts continue to climb, you may need to budget more time out of your busy schedule. Final Tuesday 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. :-)

Wednesday: 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. Remember: The pace should remain easy.

Thursday: Speed training. Head to the hills again: 5 x Hill. If you warm up well, you'll be able to run uphill with greater efficiency. To maintain good form, focus your eyes on the top of the hill. Pump your arms and lift your knees to develop your quadriceps muscles. Well-meaning people (usually spectators) who tell runners to "lean into the hill" are offering poor advice. Smile at them, but maintain an upright posture. This workout helps develop strong quads, which you'll need in the closing miles of the marathon.

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. Eight 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, don't forget to make an allowance for variations--but that will be true in the marathon itself.)

Sunday: Run 16 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 40 or so miles this week you will have lost the equivalent of just more than 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 be competitive, 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 © 2001 by Hal Higdon. All rights reserved.