Monday: Rest day. As mileage in our training program builds, you'll need this day of rest more and more. This is a high-mileage week (32 total), so don't overdo today's workout, regardless of which cross-training discipline you select. You had a long run of 15 miles yesterday; you'll have a longer run of 16 miles at the end of this week. You are now into the 11th week of my 18-week Marathon Training Program with five weeks left to go before the taper begins. Hopefully, you have begun to see some improvements in fitness since when you began a long, long time ago in a distant galaxy. Maybe you've lost some weight. If not that, you probably have built some muscle and lowered your percentage of body fat. You look better and feel better. Congratulate yourself on your perseverance so far.

Tuesday: Your easy run today is 4 miles, up a mile from previous Tuesdays. The mileage buildup continues. You will burn an extra 100 or so calories because of this extra mile. If you're trying to lose weight, you may consider this an advantage--but losing too much weight can get you in trouble! Be sure to watch your diet. In fact, you probably need to increase your carbohydrate intake on all days of the week to compensate for the extra miles you’re starting to run. You can’t train well while glycogen-depleted.

Wednesday: Eight miles. The mileage of this midweek "sorta" long run will continue to build gradually over the next five weeks. This is an essential part of your training program. Be sure to take it seriously. By now, you are running farther during your Wednesday workouts than you did during your weekend workouts during the first three weeks of the program. That's quite a step up in distance. Hopefully, your body has begun to accommodate to this extra level of stress. 

Thursday: The purpose of this 4-miler is partly to loosen up after yesterday's run. Remember to keep this at a comfortable pace. By now, this should be a workout that you could run with your hands tied behind your back, humming the your favorite P. Diddy tune and cheerfully greeting everybody you meet on the jogging path. Don't push the pace too hard today, because you have a tough run coming up on the weekend.

Friday: Today is a day of rest. If tonight is "Date Night" and you go out for dinner, as I often do with my wife Rose at the end of the week, pick from the menu well. A well-balanced diet for runners is to obtain 55 percent of calories from carbohydrates, 30 percent from fats and 15 percent from proteins. Complex carbohydrates found in pasta, rice and fruit are the best. Forget those high-protein and low-carbohydrate diets. They simply don't work for endurance athletes.

Saturday: Run 16 miles, another landmark of sorts. When you pass this point in the marathon, you'll get a psychological lift in that only 10 miles remain and you'll be facing single digits (9, 8, 7, etc.) as you cruise toward the finish line. Next week you'll run a shorter distance as part of a stepback week, so tough this out. As a mind game, visualize yourself running over the first 16 miles of the marathon course. 

Sunday: Don't overdo the cross-training today. Particularly as the mileage continues to build, keep the effort level low. If you're out on a bike, for example, you don't want your head down and your legs pumping at high revolutions or in low gears. As for strength training, you probably need to begin to cut back on the heavy weights as mileage builds. Next week is another stepback week and also the end of our fourth three-week cycle. For the rest of the program, as the mileage continues its upward spiral, we will provide you with a stepback week every other week to make certain you don't become stressed out.

 

Tip of the Week: Occasional racing may be important for marathon success. Particularly this is true for Novice runners who have raced infrequently--or not at all--before catching the Marathon Bug. One reason for racing is to test your fitness: to get an idea of how fast a pace you will be able to carry in the marathon. Another is to test all your strategies from the shoes you'll wear to grabbing fluids at water stations. Leave nothing to chance. Too much racing, however, can lead to overtraining, so don't overdo it.

How to Improve: Run Fast is one of Hal Higdon's most popular books, a best-seller with 75,000 copies in print. It is designed to help runners improve their speed at basic distancesfrom 5-K to the half marathon, but the information you'll find in this handy book can help you with all of your training, including the marathon. Recently revised, the new edition will be available September 2000. 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.