Training
For Your First
I
ran my first marathon in 1983. So why do
I think I can give advice about something I did so long ago? Because I just ran the L.A. Marathon in March
2007, and since it had been almost 20
years since I had run a marathon, I trained for it the same way I did for
my first one.
Before
I begin, I offer these tips (some common knowledge; others my personal bias):
1)
Don’t attempt this unless you can commit 8 – 10 hours a week to it.
2)
Before you start increasing your mileage, get to a mileage level of 30
miles a week for a month or so.
3)
Get a log book to keep track of your mileage and any other comments you
want to put in it. It’ll help point out
training techniques that worked well/not-so-well for you. It’s also kind of fun to look back on your
training, especially years from now. I
use Marty Jerome’s “The Complete Runner’s Day-By-Day Log and Calendar”; you can
get it in any major bookstore when they have their calendars on the shelves. This book was originally created by Jim Fixx,
but when he died, John Jerome took it over.
Then when he died, his son Marty took it over.
4)
Take your pulse and weigh yourself every morning just after getting
up. You’ll probably want to lose a
little weight (not too much) but if you’re losing it very fast it could be a
sign you’re overtraining or not replacing enough fluids. Likewise, if your pulse rate is elevated
you’re probably overtraining. Otherwise,
it’s pretty exciting to see it get down to 50 beats per minute, then maybe 46,
42, even 36 (my lowest ever).
5)
Replace your shoes every 500-750 miles, depending on the shoe.
6)
Try not to stop at all on your training runs, except for water (which
you should drink plenty of), although even there don’t lolly-gag around – drink
several gulps and get back to it. If you
come to a stop light, run in place until you can cross the street so your heart
rate doesn’t dip too much. You can stop
your stopwatch when you’re stopped so you get a more accurate calculation of
your overall pace.
7)
I like to train with a stopwatch, but don’t be a servant to it; use it
to make sure you aren’t running too fast, not to try beating your old
pace. Do your training runs nice and
slow.
Doing
speed work isn’t essential for your first marathon – after all, your goal is
just to finish – but it will make
you fitter and faster, ultimately making the race a little easier. Just don’t do it more than once a week. The way I do it is by doing “pickups”,
sometimes called “sprints” or “surges”.
Some sources lay out a rather complicated formula but my method is very
simple: progressively longer pickups,
followed by equal-length recovery jogs.
Here’s how:
After
a two-mile warm-up jog, run very hard (about 80 or 90 percent as fast as you
can) for one minute, then do a one minute easy recovery jog. Then do a two-minute sprint followed by a two-minute recovery jog.
Then a three-minute sprint
followed by a three-minute jog, a four-minute sprint and four-minute jog. Then work your way back down the “ladder”
with 3-3, 2-2 and 1-1 sprint/recoveries.
Don’t stop your stopwatch; just say to yourself “at 16 minutes I sprint
to 17”. Then when you get to 17, you say
“at 18 minutes I sprint to 20”. At 20,
you say “at 22 I go to 25”. At 25, you
say “at 28 I go to 32”. Then work your
way back down the ladder: “At 36 I go to
39”, “at 42 I go to 44”, “at 46 I go to 47”.
It’s best to start on an even minute number; that way, you always know
that your sprint always starts on an even minute number. Your brain isn’t capable of too much more
when it’s oxygen-deprived!
Hill
workouts are also very useful for getting fitter and faster, but again, I would
limit them to once a week. If your
regular route is naturally hilly anyway, so much the better. Here’s a tip I learned from Dick Beardsley: When you come to the top of a hill, keep
charging forward well past the top, so you get the feel of relief while still
pushing.
Here
is a suggested mileage chart, showing you how long each of your runs should be
for the last 12 weeks of your training.
As you can see, the idea is to alternate hard days and easy days – a
9-miler followed by a 5-miler, for example.
The week starts off on Sunday with a long run at a very comfortable
pace. The next day you can take off
(yes, you can take one day off per week - just try to make it an easy day;
don’t miss a hard day, if possible).
Tuesday’s a moderately hard day, maybe some speed work. Wednesday is an easy day. Thursday is your longest mid-week run, nice
and slow. Friday is an easy day. Saturday maybe a little harder, maybe even a
10K race (no longer).
|
Week |
Sun |
Mon |
Tues |
Wed |
Thurs |
Fri |
Sat |
Total |
|
12 |
8 |
0-5 |
6 |
4 |
7 |
3 |
4 |
32-37 |
|
11 |
9 |
0-5 |
7 |
4 |
8 |
3 |
4 |
35-40 |
|
10 |
10 |
0-5 |
7 |
4 |
9 |
4 |
5 |
39-44 |
|
9 |
12 |
0-5 |
8 |
5 |
10 |
4 |
5 |
44-49 |
|
8 |
14 |
0-5 |
8 |
5 |
11 |
5 |
6 |
49-54 |
|
7 |
14 |
0-5 |
9 |
5 |
12 |
5 |
6 |
51-56 |
|
6 |
16 |
0-5 |
9 |
5 |
13 |
5 |
6 |
54-59 |
|
5 |
16 |
0-5 |
9 |
5 |
14 |
5 |
6 |
55-60 |
|
4 |
18 |
0-5 |
10 |
5 |
15 |
5 |
6 |
59-64 |
|
3 |
18 |
0-5 |
10 |
5 |
16 |
5 |
6 |
60-65 |
|
2 |
16 |
0-5 |
9 |
5 |
20 |
3 |
6 |
59-64 |
|
1 |
14 |
2 |
8 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
34 |
|
0 |
26.2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|