As you emerge from the base phase of your marathon training (see my previous post here), you’ll be feeling fitter and stronger. You’ve perhaps got eight or ten weeks until the big day, so it’s time to build on that aerobic base.

A lot of plans will begin to ramp things up now by increasing distance and adding in speed work. You may find that you do your longest run in this four week block. Building up time on feet and speed endurance are what this phase is all about, as it continues to build both physical and mental fatigue resistance. 

The speed work that gets added to plans is designed to challenge your energy systems and muscles in a slightly different way that you’ve been training so far. The higher intensity efforts help to force adaptations in your muscles and connective tissue, making them stronger. They also challenge your cardiorespiratory system and helps to improve your aerobic thresholds. Lots of other good stuff is happening here as well, including building mental strength and preparing you for a solid performance on marathon day. 

For me, starting to train more at my target marathon pace is important. Remember, the marathon is a long way and commands a consistent output from start to finish. To most of us that don’t run with power meters, this means a consistent pace, and that’s why setting your target pace is important. This pace will feel easy in the first half, and will become progressively harder as you go into the last third. So, getting a lot of practice at this target pace is critical to helping you find that groove on race day. To help you find your marathon pace, the McMillan calculator is a good starting point.

 Different plans will have different formats for building this in, such as sandwiching  it in between easy sections in a longer run or having fast finish long runs where the last few miles are at your marathon pace. If your plan doesn’t do this, I would recommend adding some marathon pace practice in. The easiest way of doing this is to sandwich by splitting your runs so that you do one third at easy pace, one third at marathon pace and the last third at easy pace. Start off with your mid-length runs and keep your long runs easy. If you are more experienced at marathon training, then you can do this in your long runs, or go for the fast finish option. 

When I design marathon plans for my athletes, I use the speed sessions to build lots of marathon pace practice. I use the sandwich method but tend to sandwich faster efforts in between two sections of marathon pace. I’ve found this to be very effective and is based on the speed sessions designed for my first claim club, Bournemouth AC

If you don’t already have a target marathon pace, choose one. Look through your runs in the base phase and pick a pace that is realistic and aligns with your goals. If your goal is to finish without a specific time target and simply enjoy the event, choose a pace that will allow you to do this. Don’t put yourself under unnecessary pressure. It’s easy to get carried away, especially if your training is going well. If you have a time goal, work out the pace you need to run and decide whether that’s realistic and adjust if necessary. It is likely that at the end of this phase you will reevaluate the pace following the speed work and any tempo runs.

Once you have your target marathon pace, practice it at least once per week and build up the time you run at this pace. However, you are not trying to run long distances at this pace. Remember, you can sandwich it into your runs and you can do a couple of longer runs with the last 3 to 5 miles at this pace.

If your plan gives you speed work – do it! This is so important for your physical and mental development. I appreciate that it can be confusing to decide on paces and understand the different run type terminology, but your plan should provide guidance on this. For my own explanation of run types, see here.

Run your long runs easy and don’t panic if you have to walk some of it. You want to push yourself somewhat, but you also have to take into account everything else going on: weather; personal stress, terrain; sleep quality – to name just a few. If you need short walking breaks near the end of a long run, that’s fine. It doesn’t necessarily translate to walking on race day, so take the pressure off and enjoy it. Yes, it will be tough – but remeber your goal in this phase: time on feet endurance and fatigue resistance.

Practice your fuelling and hydration. Do not leave this to chance! This is in two parts:

• Pre-race: Think about what you are going to eat in the two days before, and the morning of the marathon. The same goes for hydration: keep your electrolyte levels topped up. Practice in this phase of training, even if it’s just once before a really long run.

• In-run: Experiment with your in-run fuel and hydration. What does the event have available and at what frequency; will it be suitable for you? For example, if they hand out gels or sports drinks and you think you may use them, get hold of some and try them on your runs. Not all products suit everyone and upset stomachs are very common with poor fuelling strategies and a lack of trying products beforehand.

One strategy I’ve used very successfully is pre-loading both fuel and hydration. For fuel, I always use Generation UCAN (Super Starch). This can provide several hours of energy and you take it before you run. You can find out more here, and get a 10% discount using the code: RunTeach.

For hydration, my product of choice is SOS as it’s specifically designed to deliver a measured amount of electrolytes without the fizzing or stomach upset that some other electrolyte products can cause. As a bonus it is also fully organic and mixes immediately. I pre-load with this to ensure I am well hydrated with topped up electrolyte levels. I use it both the night before a long run / race as well as in the morning of the event. You can take it with you if you prefer to carry fluids rather than use the on-course options. You can find more here, and save 20% with discount code: CHRIS20.

I love this phase of marathon training as you can really get your teeth into it. You are building up raw endurance, speed endurance, fatigue resistance, fuel and hydration run-throughs, and for me: starting to do mental and visualisation run-throughs.

Have fun with it, and embrace the challenge – the taper will be here soon enough!

Most importantly, keep a check on your effort and pace – keep it real and doable. Remain calm about your long runs, practice that marathon pace, get in that speed work if it’s on your plan and experiment with fuel and hydration.

Until the next phase, happy training!

The post 5 do’s of marathon training – progressive phase appeared first on RunTeach.

And if your chosen marathon is a tough trail event, you are going to have some unique challenges that the road runners won’t have. Because of this, I’ve provided you with my top 5 tips no matter what type of marathon you are doing, and then added some extra tips for the trail marathoners. 

So, this first phase of training is all about building a base. It’s about getting you used to increasing your mileage and allowing enough recovery for your body’s tissues to adapt. There are lots of other things going on as well, such as improvements to your cardiorespiratory system and adaptation to utilising more body fat for fuel than you may be used to. So, with this in mind, here are my top 5 tips:

This may sound obvious if you already have a training plan, but you may be surprised to learn that there are a large number of runners who don’t follow a training plan.

If you are one of those runners that doesn’t have a plan, I would strongly suggest that you find one you can follow. Some good ones that I’ve seen online are from the Virgin London Marathon team and the one from Bupa. These are both 16 week plans, and while the structure is pretty good, they don’t include any strength or precision work which I believe is vital. They also don’t really include much speed work at any point of the plans: something from my own experience is important as you transition into the next phase of training (approx. 4 weeks time).

One set of plans that does include speed work is from The Running Clinic, and I also like this one because it displays the different phases. However, it is a 20-week plan so you may need to adjust to suit your time frame.

There are also some great books on Amazon with plans. Here are is a selection:

If you already have a plan, make sure it is right for you. We are all different and life often gets in the way of training. There is no point in trying to follow a plan that has you running 4 or 5 days per week when you struggle to get out more than 3 days. Missing sessions or cutting runs short can lead to frustration, guilt, and being underprepared.

If you can’t find an off the shelf program that suits, you could consider getting a personalised plan from a coach such as myself or someone else you can trust. Alternatively, if you are interested in the mechanics, you can learn a little bit about recovery and adapt your off the shelf plan to suit your needs.

Ideally, you want to get into the habit of sticking to the plan as written. Most training plans have been designed in a specific way to take you through all of the adaptations and progressions that you need to reach your race day goal.

Getting into the habit of sticking to the plan in this first phase and not giving yourself excuses such as the rain, wind or cold is very important for the later stages of training.

However, if you have to miss the odd session or cut them short on occasion, that’s fine – you need to be somewhat flexible. As mentioned above, this can lead to feeling guilty and underprepared so it is vital that you reflect on how you feel about this. If you notice that you are getting into the habit of missing runs or avoiding certain types of runs, you need to take stock: are you on the right plan? Does something need to change, and if so what?

Use this first phase to learn how you are adapting to both the distance volume and the number of runs and make changes where necessary. Don’t ignore it as it will come back to bite you later! And that brings me to my next tip…

If you pay attention, your body and your mind will let you know what’s going on. Running a marathon is hard and your body and mind need to adapt to the stress you are going to be putting on them. While it may seem that it’s all physical stress, think about those last 6 miles or so when you may need to dig deep and push on. This part needs training as well, which is why it is so important to also push hard in training. To clarify, I am not saying you need to run fast/hard all the time, when injured, over-fatigued or go beyond what your plan tells you – it is simply that pushing on when you could easily give yourself an excuse to quit will really help you in those final stages on race day.

But the flip side of that is knowing when to calm it all down. Training for a marathon is tiring, there is no getting away from that. But there is being tired and there is being exhausted. Being tired is normal, especially as you progress to longer and harder sessions. Being exhausted though, is not good.

When you get over-fatigued you are more likely to get injured. This can happen due to poor decision making, overuse by pushing through when you should be recovering, and a general lack of control when your nervous system is tired. Knowing when to tone it down comes with experience, but even if this is your first marathon you can tune in to your body and mind. If you are in any doubt then ask. Either ask me a question here, or ask someone else you can trust – don’t suffer in silence!

A great way to learn about your body and mind is to keep a running diary or log. After a run, write down how it went and how you felt, how you slept the night before, eating and drinking etc. I have notes on every run I’ve done (some more detailed than others) going back to when I started in 2009. The notes can be as detailed as you want: the main thing is to capture enough so that when you look back it will be of help to you the next time you do this session, race or workout.

If you know me, then you know this is one of my favourite mantras. Whenever you subject your muscles, connective tissue and bones to repetitive stress such as running, the tissue breaks down. Most runners understand this in a weight training context, but don’t seem to relate it to running. But it is exactly the same process – your body doesn’t know whether you are lifting weights or running on the road or trail. All it knows is that it’s being put under stress.

And whenever your body’s tissues are broken down, they need to have adequate recovery to repair and get stronger. It is during this recovery phase such as sleep, less intense sessions and active recovery (massage, foam rolling, cross training, lighter sessions etc), that the repair and strengthening happens. And it’s not just your muscles, connective tissue and bones that need this: your nervous system also needs to get stronger.

In fact, adaptations to muscle mass to get stronger often takes six or more weeks. Connective tissue can take much longer. Normal microdamage to bones can be repaired and adapted to between 8 and 12 weeks. But, strength gains can happen much quicker with the nervous system. This is because it can instruct muscles to recruit more fibres and motor units in a muscle, making it stronger without increasing the physical size of the muscle. This is often why you can see strength gains in just a couple of weeks. your nervous system ca also take advantage of better movement skills (see my next tip) as it will recruit muscles that work well together.

Whether it is better motor recruitment, bigger mass, stiffer connective tissue or stronger bones, adequate recovery time is critical. Stress is cumulative and if you don’t allow time for it to be adapted to, you are heading for injury and misery.

The cumulative stress mentioned above can cause you all kinds of niggles and pains. Maybe you do the right thing and recover well and start adding some strength work. But, if you are not moving well in the first place, you are at risk of loading areas of your body that are not designed to handle that load. Because running places so much force on your system, learning to move well is essential to reducing cumulative stress in compensating areas.

For example, runner’s knee is a very common complaint. This is particularly true as you start to increase your distance and/or speed. The thing is, in almost all cases, the pain of runner’s knee is caused by improper movement. Just resting and adding strength work is not going to help over the longer term. Yes, strength work can help and you may get away with it but if you are not moving correctly then you are just making incorrect movement patterns stronger. At some point the piper will need paying!

I would recommend at the very least, getting some video of you running so you can see any obvious areas to address. Of course, what I would really suggest is that you get a professional to assess you – and I don’t mean a running shop for a shoe-selection gait analysis (as good as they are for shoe selection – they won’t tell you anything else). In the assessments I do(RunForm and RunTest), I place a lot of emphasis on correct movement. I strongly believe this is important for all runners at all abilities and for all types of running, but it is critical for higher volume and/or higher intensity running.

Yes, marathon training is tough! Yes, marathon training is tiring! Yes, you may feel like you’ve bitten off more than you can chew…

But if you can always find something to smile about, even when you are being battered by the weather or hurting in those last miles of a long run, you’ll progress so much quicker.

Run with friends or a group. Find some appropriate music, if that’s your thing. However you do it, learn to enjoy this phase of training and it will take you through to the future phases with a sense of accomplishment and excitement!

Running trails can be very different from road running. The terrain is likely to be uneven and often there are steep hills and other obstacles to negotiate. All of this takes the precision aspects of running to a different level.

Balance, balance, balance!

My top tip is all about balance. In fact, I’m going to wrap up everything into this section and include everything single leg.

When running on trails, you are going to be relying a lot on foot stability, leg strength and balance. The amount you will be calling on these things will vary with the terrain, but you can be certain that if the ground is going to be uneven at all, then you’ll need good skill in these areas. You’ll also be calling upon core stability and strength to help control your movement as you go up and down hills and across unstable ground.

I’ll write more posts looking at these areas in more detail, so for now here are a few I’ve done to date:

Better night vision

Foot strengthening (also contains links to related articles)

Core stability 1, Core stability 2

Injury

https://www.trailandkale.com/tips/running-first-trail-race/

https://trailrunnermag.com/snowball/technique

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It’s going to be an exciting a short post:

There isn’t one!

Don’t worry, I won’t leave you hanging with that bombshell.

But it’s true. Just like diets, there is no one-size-fits-all blueprint for running form.

If you don’t believe me, just watch some of the top performers on the road, cross-country and track.

All those Internet sites and online videos that teach you the “best” way to run are great – except they miss the vital ingredient:

You!

The simple truth is “we all move differently”. And because of this there can’t be just one way to run more efficiently, faster, longer, and less injury prone.

The good news though, is that there is a framework from which you can build your unique blueprint – and this is what I’ve been working on for the last 10 years.

There are some cornerstones that research and experience support that can help us run stronger, faster and longer. But, we have to tailor these to our own uniqueness.

The framework that I’ve built is based on what I call The 3 Marshal Points to Victory:

• Cardiorespiratory fitness
• Neuromapping and proprioception 
• Stiff spring

It lays the foundation for all of us to achieve those cornerstones identified as elements of good running form:

• Relaxed, upright posture with level, stable hips
• Appropriately quick cadence (foot turnover)
• Running from the back
• Up-cycling heels that take advantage of our natural elasticity

If you have ever tried to change your running form then you’ll know just how hard it is. And that’s why you need to personalise it. Do you know what cadence you should be aiming for? Do you know the quirks in your gait that you’ve encoded through years and years of walking and moving?

I believe that running is individual to all of us – after all, we are all unique humans with unique life experiences. Why would there be just one blueprint?

This is why RunTeach exists. I want to share this truth with runners of all abilities, providing the education and tools so you can take control of your own running journey.

Keep tuning in for all the best, and sometimes crazy and weird, stuff I’m going to share from the best resources out there, and start to build your own running form blueprint!

The post The Running Form Blueprint appeared first on RunTeach.

You are as ready as you’ll ever be, and all that stands between you and marathon glory is a simple case of 26.2 miles…

So, given this distance and the fierce reputation that a marathon has, you would be forgiven for thinking that most runners wouldn’t hare off as if they were at the start of their Saturday morning 5k. But you’d be surprised at how many runners go off way too fast in the first few miles of a marathon. I’ve even seen people literally sprint away to get in front of the crowds.

And it’s easy to do. We are always thinking about those last 6 miles, that dreaded final 10k. We are desperate to bank time when we are feeling great, just in case the wheels come off later in the race. The truth is, the banking time strategy can actually cause the problems that many of us experience in those later miles.

So, what to do? Well, throughout your training you will have determined your approximate race pace. You know what you can do in training and will have done at least some shorter runs at your target pace so you feel comfortable. This pace is usually a lot slower than you normally run and you are going to feel great for at least the first 10 miles, if not the first 14 to 16 miles of the marathon.

And there’s the challenge: the pace will feel slow. It may even feel a little ploddy depending on your cadence (steps per minute) and running form. And the temptation to push on will be nipping at you that whole first half. But you need to hold back!

You need to manage your pace and avoid getting carried away. We’ve all done it. We’ve all got into a conversation while running and before you know it we are running way faster than we intended to. Having a group, or even one other person, to run with during the marathon can be great and makes it much easier to get through the miles.

But it can also be a distraction from your pace in the early miles, leading you to go out ahead of pace and lining yourself up for a higher chance of a sticky ending! You need to run your own race at your own pace, even if that means dropping back from others, or indeed going ahead of others throughout the event.

We all think that the end of the marathon is the biggest challenge, and maybe it is. But the first half is also a formidable undertaking. Holding yourself back when you are feeling great is hard to do. But if you can achieve this, if you can closely manage the pace and effort in the first half, you are setting yourself up for a much stronger final 6 miles.

Run the first 3 miles (5k) at the slower end of your target pace range, letting everyone else around you do their own thing. Don’t worry – you’ll probably go past a lot of them later on. Use this first 5k to settle into your pace.

Run the next 3 miles (5k) at a similar pace, but then progress to the faster end of your target pace range by mile 8 or 9 (12k to 15k). From here, hold a consistent pace until the end. Almost everyone drops back in those last few miles, but by running your race this way, you stand the best chance of limiting that drop-off to a gentle slide.

If you don’t have a pace range, then run those first 6 miles (10k) a little bit slower than your target race pace and progress from there.

Avoid trying to make up for “lost” time at the start or on hills. You’ll use up too much energy with little bursts of speed and weaving in and out of people. Over the 26.2 miles, a minute or so of lost time at the start isn’t significant. By running with a restrained strategy, you’ll more than make that up.

Consciously holding back and managing your pace will pay big dividends from mile 18 onwards, and I challenge you to try this so you can have your best marathon ever!

The post Hold your horses! Marathon pacing appeared first on RunTeach.

Are you thinking this? I know some of the athletes I coach and others that I also talk to are – even the really experienced ones –  it’s those marathon nerves.

I’ve run seven marathons over the years, and while that pales into insignificance compared to many runners these days, six of those I was attempting to set a personal best. I ran the PB attempts in two blocks of three, each race being six months apart:

April 2013: Brighton (03:25:45)

October 2013: Bournemouth (03:24:28)

April 2014: Brighton (03:15:51)

October 2016: Bournemouth (03:03:35)

April 2017: Manchester (03:00:29)

November 2017: Abingdon (02:59:04)

I then ran the London Marathon in April 2019 (03:16:36) for the experience and because I had earned a place in the earlier marathons.

Now, you would think that running the marathons the way I did, I would have confidence in each of those (perhaps apart from my very first one). You would think that I would have the confidence to:

1. Be able to run the distance
2. Be able to set a decent time based on the previous one

This was not the case! Even though I had run a marathon only six months earlier for maras two and three in each block, I was still nervous that I may not even complete it. I still got the marathon nerves.

Marathon nerves are normal. This feeling of “I’ll never be able to run 26.2 miles at the pace I want” is completely normal. Halfway through my training on each one of those marathons, I said to myself: 

“I can’t even run 15 miles at my target pace, how am I going to run 26.2 miles?”

“What if I blow up and don’t even finish it?”

And in the first three marathons I ran, I did have short walking sections (30 seconds or so) after mile 21. But I still completed the distance and still met my overall time goals – apart from Brighton in April of 2014… I wanted 03:14:something to get a Good For Age place for London – I cried when I came across the line and vowed not to run another marathon until I could get close to 03:12:00.

All my club mates feel the same. My training partner for the second block of marathons is quite a lot faster than me, and he still gets those feelings. We may hide them from other runners and put on a brave face or go the other way and say we don’t care – but we do really.

The body and mind are designed to adapt. At halfway through training, going from running 15 miles at your target pace to running 26.2 miles at (or near this pace) in just six weeks (or fewer) is an amazing adaption. 

However far you are through your training, think back to where you were at the beginning. Realise how far you’ve already come.

Just as the saying:

“the marathon starts at mile 20” is true in terms of real effort

“the last half of your training is where you see the magic of all your hard work appear” is also true.

If you are following a good training plan, then trust that it’ll get you there and keep putting in the consistent work – the magic will happen.

Being nervous about completing your marathon and/or getting the time you want is partly down to how you view it mentally. We may do this differently depending on whether we have experience of marathons or not. And while having experience of marathons can be an advantage, it can also cloud our thinking – especially if we have had bad experiences, injuries, or always run them for fun and now we want a time.

Take a step back and give yourself the time to change your mind. A few minutes each day appreciating how far you’ve come can set you at ease. Start to imagine the feelings you’ll get when you finish the marathon in time you want.

Begin to visualise the hurdles you may face (fatigue, fuelling, hydration), and then visualise how you get over these hurdles. If you know the course, do some mental run throughs, visualising reaching milestones when you want to – but also visualising the difficult parts of the course and how you are going to tackle them. I used Google Street view to go around the courses and imagine myself running the route.

This mental preparation can help us feel more confident about the marathon. I employed visualisation in every one of the marathons I raced, and even in London which I ran purely for the fun of it.

During the Abingdon marathon I ran in 2017, I completely blanked out between mile 22 and mile 25 – I remember absolutely nothing about those miles. However, I had visualised how I was going to handle the race between mile 20 and the finish. I had also visualised the time I wanted and what the absolute fall back time was (02:59:59).

It may be pure coincidence that I was able to maintain enough of a pace during those black-out miles, or it may have something to do with my brain and body working together to achieve what I had mentally rehearsed – we’ll never know, but I know which I prefer to believe.

Go out and take on that marathon and enjoy every step! Embrace those marathon nerves!

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