Tempo runs will help you get a feel for what it is like to run race pace through a variety of conditions. Over the course of training, your tempo runs will span a number of months, requiring you to maintain race pace through an assortment of challenges and circumstances.

Internalizing pace is one of the most difficult components of training. If you feel great at the start line and go out 30 seconds per mile faster than you planned, you鈥檒l likely hit the halfway point ready to throw in the towel. No significant marathon records have been set via a positive split (running the second half slower than the first). Put simply, if you want to have a successful marathon, you are better off maintaining a steady pace throughout the entire race, rather than following the 鈥渇ly and die鈥� method.

Tempo runs teach an important skill: control. Even when the pace feels easy, tempo workouts train you to hold back and maintain. Tempo runs also provide a great staging ground for experimenting with fluids, gels, and other nutrition.

Since you鈥檒l be running at marathon pace, you will get a good idea of what your body can and cannot handle. The same goes for your gear. Use the tempo runs as dress rehearsals to try various shoes and outfits to determine what is most comfortable. Regardless of training, these things can make or break your race; tempo runs provide perfect opportunities to fine-tune your race-day plans.

The Physiology of Tempo Workouts

In the same way that easy and long runs improve endurance, so do tempo workouts. Although tempo days are faster than easy days, they are well under anaerobic threshold and thus provide many of the same adaptations. The longer tempo runs also mimic the benefits of long runs since the aerobic system is worked in similar ways. Specifically, from a physiological standpoint, the tempo run has a great impact on running economy at your goal race pace. One of the most visible benefits of this is increased endurance throughout a long race.

The tempo run has many of the same benefits as strength workouts (faster than race pace but much shorter in distance, such as 1600 meters), minus those that come from recovery between sets. Also, since it is slower than a strength workout, it elicits more aerobic benefits, similar to the long run. With tempo runs, the ability to burn fat is very specific to the workouts. The intensity is just enough that the aerobic system is challenged to keep up, but it鈥檚 slow enough that the mitochondria and supporting fibers can barely keep up.

Over time it is the tempo run that will dictate whether or not you have selected the right marathon goal. With speed and strength sessions, you can in one sense 鈥渇ake鈥� your way through as a result of the relatively short repeats and ensuing breaks in between. However, with a tempo run, there is no break and if you are struggling to hit the correct pace for long tempo runs, then there may be a question as to whether you can hold that pace for an entire marathon. Perhaps the greatest benefit that tempo runs offer is the opportunity to thoroughly learn your desired race pace through repetition. With time, your body figures out a way to internalize how that pace feels in heat, cold, rain, snow, and wind, which is incredibly valuable on race day. When runners cannot tell if they are on pace or not, then the tendency is to be off pace (usually too fast), setting their race up for unavoidable doom. Learning your pace and the feel of that pace can make the difference between a good race and a bad race.

How to Execute a Tempo Workout

In the Hansons Marathon Method, the tempo run is completed at goal marathon pace. For many other coaches, a tempo run is much shorter at paces closer to strength pace, but for our purposes, tempo and marathon pace are interchangeable. The pace should remain at goal pace. Never hammer a tempo run because it feels 鈥渆asy.鈥� Not only are you compromising physiological gains, but you鈥檙e also not learning to be patient and internalizing pace. It will take a good number of tempo workouts before you fully internalize the pace and can regulate your runs based on feel. What does change throughout training is the distance of these workouts. Tempo runs are progressive in length, adjusting every few weeks, increasing from 4 miles for a beginner and 5 miles for an advanced runner to 10 miles over the last few weeks of training. As an advanced runner begins to reach the heaviest mileage, the total volume of a tempo run, with a warm-up and cooldown, can tally 12鈥�14 miles and approach 90 minutes in length.

With the long run looming after a tempo run, that 16-miler might look a lot tougher than it did initially. This is a prime example of how the Hansons Marathon Method employs cumulative fatigue. Rather than sending you into the long run feeling fresh, we try to simulate the last 16 miles of the marathon, and there鈥檚 nothing like a tempo run to put fatigue in your legs.

A Sample Tempo Workout

Try this tempo workout after you鈥檝e developed some endurance and comfort at race pace. Remember: a tempo workout is challenging, so workouts one day before and after it should be at an easy pace.

Run 4鈥�10 miles at race pace. Include a warm-up and cooldown (1.5鈥�3 mi. each).

Adapted from by Luke Humphrey, with permission of VeloPress.

From

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When it comes to physiological movers and shakers, the musculature system is king. More than 600 muscles in your body work to create motion and force. They allow your heart to beat, your eyes to move, your food to digest, and your legs to run. The three main types of muscle fibers are: cardiac, smooth, and skeletal. While the cardiac muscle makes your heart beat and the smooth muscle lines your intestines, pushing food through your system, the skeletal muscle plays the biggest role in human locomotion. Skeletal muscles make running possible.

Not only are the skeletal muscles responsible for generating physiological movement, they are also where the majority of energy is stored. These muscles include slow-twitch fibers and fast-twitch fibers, the latter of which has several subcategories. Each muscle contains both types of muscle fiber, which are bound together like bundles of cable, each bundle consisting of a single type. Thousands of these bundles constitute a muscle, and each individual bundle is controlled by a single motor neuron. The motor neurons are located in the central nervous system, where they work to control muscles, and in turn, movement.

Altogether, the fibers and the motor neuron make up the motor unit. Since each bundle contains only one type of fiber, a bundle of slow-twitch fibers and a bundle of fast-twitch fibers will receive information from the brain via separate motor units. If one motor neuron is activated, a weak muscle contraction occurs. If multiple motor neurons are activated, however, a more powerful muscular contraction is created.

Why is all this important? Ultimately, the structure of the skeletal muscle system dictates marathon ability. The better understanding you have of . Let鈥檚 look more closely at the muscle types.

Type I Fibers (Slow-Twitch Fibers)

Your family tree plays an important part in determining your marathon potential. If your parents endowed you with an abundance of slow-twitch muscle fibers, you have a leg up on the competition. These slow-twitch fibers, also called type I fibers, are particularly important for endurance events because of their efficient use of fuel and their resistance to fatigue. Slow-twitch muscle fibers are aerobic, which means they use oxygen to transfer energy. This is a result of their large capillary area, which provides a much greater available supply of oxygen than fast-twitch fibers. Additionally, these fibers have the machinery necessary for aerobic metabolism to take place. Known as the mitochondria, this machinery is often referred to as the 鈥減owerhouse of the cell.鈥� Thanks to the mitochondria, you are able to use fats and carbohydrates as fuel sources to keep your body running.

True to their name, the slow-twitch fibers also have a slower shortening speed than the other types of fibers, which serves an important function for endurance runners. While these fibers cannot generate as much force as the others, they supply energy at a steady rate and can generate a good amount of power for an extended period. They also have smaller motor neurons, which require less neural impulse to make them contract, so the slow-twitch fibers are first to start contracting when you begin running. In addition to being slower to contract, type I fibers are only about half the diameter of fast-twitch fibers. Although they are smaller and slower, they are also more efficient and persistent, warding off fatigue during a long haul on the roads.

Type II Fibers (Fast-Twitch Fibers)

Fast-twitch fibers, also known as type II fibers, are also genetically determined and are the slow-twitch fibers鈥� more ostentatious counterpart. They are bigger, faster, and pack a powerful punch, but they also fatigue rapidly. Since these fibers have very few mitochondria, they transfer energy anaerobically, without the use of oxygen. These forceful contractions use such large amounts of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), basically a high-energy molecule, that they quickly tire and become weak. That is precisely why an Olympic 100-meter champion can run a record-setting pace for the length of the homestretch, while a marathon champion can maintain record-setting pace for 26.2 miles. Two different muscle-fiber types; two different results.

The type II fibers are further divided into subgroups. Two of the most common are type IIa and type IIb, also known as the intermediate fibers. The type IIa fibers share several characteristics with slow-twitch fibers, as they have more mitochondria and capillaries than other types of fast-twitch fibers. As a result, type IIa fibers are considered to be aerobic, although they still provide a more forceful contraction than slow-twitch fibers. By contrast, type IIb fibers contract powerfully, transfer energy anaerobically, and fatigue quickly. See the table below for a brief comparison of fiber types.

A Working System

All humans have both type I and type II muscle fibers, but the distribution varies greatly. Most people, regardless of gender, have a type I fiber distribution of 45鈥�55 percent in their arms and legs. Individuals who are fitness conscious, but not completely devoted to training, can see a type I distribution of around 60 percent. Meanwhile, trained distance runners tend to have a type I distribution of 70 percent, and elite marathoners have an even greater percentage than that. Herein lies the challenge. When it comes to running a marathon, Runner A, who has a high proportion of type I fibers, will naturally be better off than Runner B, who has a low type I and low type IIa distribution. So how does Runner B get around his own physiology?

Luckily for both runners, the body is an amazing machine capable of adapting to myriad stresses. In the field of exercise physiology, 鈥渟tress鈥� denotes the repeated and intense training that leads to certain physiological adaptations. Researchers have long sought the key to muscle-fiber conversion, hoping they might discover how a person like Runner B could actually change the composition of his or her muscles via training stress. Although much of the research remains inconclusive, it is agreed that elite distance runners have a greater proportion of type I fibers than the average recreational runner, and that those type I fibers are necessary for a fast marathon performance. (See the table below for a comparison among different types of runners.) What we don鈥檛 know is if you are genetically bound to a particular muscle-fiber arrangement or if you can change it with physical training through certain training stresses. Although it may be too early to make any definite statements about conversions from type I to type II fibers, it has been shown that transformations can take place within the type II fibers. Even after a relatively short training block of 10鈥�12 weeks, a runner can display a transition from anaerobic, fatigable type IIb fibers to the more aerobic, fatigue-resistant type IIa fibers. This is great for an endurance runner. It shows that training elicits tangible physiological changes that create performance advantages and real improvements. There is much hope for Runner B.

Maximizing Muscle Fibers

Regardless of genetics, training remains a vital predictor of running performance. To get your muscles to respond the way you want them to on race day, you must train them to fire in a particular manner. It all starts with a signal sent from the motor units in the central nervous system, which begins by recruiting the slow-twitch fibers. You continue to rely heavily on those fibers unless one of these three things happens:

• You increase your pace.
• You encounter a hill or another force that creates resistance.
• You run long enough to exhaust the slow-twitch fibers.

Depending on fitness level, some runners can go an hour at a modest pace before they begin to recruit the fast-twitch fibers; others can go up to two. It is likely that you鈥檒l rely on type I fibers almost exclusively during the first half or so of the marathon. As those fibers tire, the body will begin to employ the type IIa fibers, those slightly larger, aerobic fast-twitch fibers. If you have trained properly, you鈥檒l have enough leeway to get through the rest of the marathon using these fibers. While they aren鈥檛 great for endurance running, they are a good substitute for the exhausted type I fibers. Issues arise when the undertrained runner is forced to go to the third line of defense: type IIb fibers. Remember, these are built for power, and they fatigue quickly. If you are relying on these fibers to get you to the finish line, things will not end well.

What the seeks to do is teach you how to maximize the use of the type I and type IIa muscle fibers, without having to resort to the type IIb fibers. While genetics dictates what kind of work you may be innately suited for, the right training helps you maximize your individual potential.

Adapted from by Luke Humphrey with Keith & Kevin Hanson, with permission of VeloPress.

https://www.velopress.com/books/hansons-marathon-method/

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With speed workouts, half-marathon training begins to get more interesting. When we refer to speed training, we are talking about , also called repeat workouts. Speed workouts require you to run multiple bouts of certain distances at high intensities with recovery between the fast segments. This type of training not only plays a role in prompting some of the important physiological changes we already discussed but also teaches your mind to handle harder work. While easy days are typically low-pressure, speed workouts require you to put your game face on, and discipline is one of many benefits garnered. While you may be able to complete an easy run the morning after a late night out on the town, if you want to get the most out of your speed work, you will need to eat a hearty dinner and hit the hay at a decent hour. For whatever you give up to optimally execute these workouts, the training will give back to you tenfold. Every speed workout you complete is like money in the bank when it comes to resources on which you can draw during the most difficult moments of the race.

Surprisingly, advanced runners often make the same mistakes that novices do in terms of speed training, namely, they neglect it. For instance, we have had runners come to us feeling stale after running several races in a year. Digging into these runners鈥� histories, we often find that they are running so many races that they have completely forgone speed training, spending all their time on long runs, tempo runs, and recovery. Along with flat workouts tend to come stagnated finishing times. That鈥檚 where we set them straight by guiding them through the Hansons Half-Marathon Method. Like the other types of workouts, speed training is an important part of constantly keeping your system on its toes, requiring it to adapt to workouts that vary in intensity and distance.

Many runners who train for the half-marathon distance have done speed work in the past. Therefore, convincing them that speed work is important is not as difficult as it can be with marathon runners, who tend to neglect it. That said, some folks go too far in the other direction, putting too much emphasis on speed work, which can result in injury. The lesson here is to remember that all training has a purpose and a place.

If you are new to half-marathoning and your past speed workouts have consisted of simply running some days slightly faster than others, you are in the majority. Luckily, the speed workouts we give you here can provide an introductory course on how to implement harder workouts. As you learn to properly implement speed workouts, your training will be transformed from perhaps a somewhat aimless approach to fitness to a guided plan of attack. These workouts can also help you predict what you might be capable of in your half-marathon. With the help of speed work, you can successfully run a shorter race, such as a 5K or 10K, and then plug that time into a race equivalency chart to determine your potential half-marathon time. Additionally, this work helps to highlight weak areas while there is still enough time to address and correct them.

Physiology of Speed Workouts

The greatest beneficiaries of speed training are the working muscles. With speed sessions, not only the slow-twitch fibers but also the intermediate fibers become maximally activated to provide aerobic energy. This forces the slow-twitch fibers to maximize their aerobic capacities, but it also trains the intermediate fibers to step in when the slow-twitch fibers become fatigued. As a result of better muscle coordination, running economy improves. Stimulated by everything from speed workouts to easy running, running economy is all about how efficiently your body utilizes oxygen at a certain pace. The better we can use oxygen, the farther and faster we can run.

The benefits of speed work include:

• maximal development of muscle fiber
• running economy improvement
• increased myoglobin
• improved anaerobic threshold
• triggering of increased glycogen storage

Another adaptation that occurs through speed work is the increased production of myoglobin. In fact, research tells us that the best way to develop myoglobin is through high-intensity running (above 80 percent VO₂max). Similar to the way hemoglobin carries oxygen to the blood, myoglobin helps transport oxygen to the muscles and then to the mitochondria. With its help, the increased demand for oxygen is met to match capillary delivery and the needs of the mitochondria. Exercise at higher intensities can also increase anaerobic threshold. Basically, the speed intervals provide a two-for-one ticket by developing the anaerobic threshold and VO₂max during the same workout. What鈥檚 more, because speed sessions include high-intensity running near 100 percent VO₂max (but not over), glycogen stores provide upwards of 90 percent of the energy, thus rapidly depleting them. This, in turn, forces the muscles to adapt and store more glycogen to be used later in workouts.

Speed Guidelines

You鈥檒l notice that the speed segments in our plans are located toward the beginning of the training block, while later portions are devoted to more half-marathon-specific workouts. This may seem counterintuitive when considering our emphasis on building fitness from the bottom up. However, if speed workouts are executed at the right speeds, it makes sense to include them closer to the beginning of your training cycle. As in other workouts, correct pacing is essential. You will notice that partway through the program, speed work transitions to strength workouts. While runners often worry they will lose the speed gains they have worked so hard to attain, endurance runners (specifically those racing for 90 minutes or more) need not fear. Development of the elements we explain typically occurs at paces above 80 percent of VO₂max. With that said, the speed workouts are shorter intervals ideally at 95鈥�98 percent. Strength workouts are closer to 80 percent but are much longer in duration. It is important to note that the speed workouts produce the gains, whereas the strength workouts maintain the gains.

When many coaches discuss speed training, they are referring to work that is done at 100 percent VO₂max. In reality, running at 100 percent VO₂max pace can be maintained for only 3鈥�8 minutes. If you are a beginner, 3 minutes is likely more realistic, while an elite miler may be able to continue for close to 8 minutes. Running your speed workouts at or above 100 percent VO₂max, however, causes the structural muscles to begin to break down and forces your system to rely largely on anaerobic sources. This overstresses the anaerobic system and doesn鈥檛 allow for the positive aerobic adaptations you need to run a good half-marathon. Our program bases speed work on 5K and 10K goal times, races that both last much longer than 3鈥�8 minutes. Rather than working at 100 percent VO₂max, you probably run these distances at 80鈥�95 percent VO₂max. Unlike other plans, the Hansons Method instructs you to complete speed workouts at slightly less than 100 percent VO₂max pace in order to spur maximum physiological adaptations. Go faster, and gains are nullified and injuries are probable.

In addition to pace, the duration of the speed intervals is important. Optimal duration lies between 2 and 8 minutes. If it is too short, the amount of time spent at optimal intensity is minimized, and precious workout time is wasted; if it is too long, lactic acid builds up, and you are too tired to complete the workout at the desired pace. As a result, the length of speed intervals should be adjusted to your ability and experience levels. For example, a 400-meter repeat workout, with each interval lasting around 2 minutes, may be the perfect fit for a beginner. In contrast, the same workout may take an advanced runner 25 percent less time to complete each 400-meter repeat, therefore resulting in fewer benefits.

Recovery is another important part of speed sessions, providing the rest you need to complete another interval. Guidelines for recovery generally state that it should be between 50 and 100 percent of the repeat duration time. For instance, if the repeat is 2 minutes in duration, the recovery should be between 1 and 2 minutes. However, we tend to give beginners longer recovery time at the start of the speed sessions to sustain them throughout the entire workout. We assign recoveries by distance (e.g., 6 脳 800 with 400 jog recovery). This usually fits the guidelines for recovery time, especially as the repeat distance increases. With the 12 脳 400 meter workout, the recovery time is a little longer. Because it is usually the first speed workout in the segment, we want to ensure it can be completed. Plus it just works better to keep runners moving forward, jogging during the recovery; otherwise there is a tendency to stand around for a few minutes before starting the next repeat.

With further training, recovery can be shortened as an athlete becomes able to handle more work. When doing intervals, one can adjust either the amount of work being done or the amount of recovery allowed. The amount of work is in line with the mileage of the program, however, so we don鈥檛 want to alter that. But as you become fit, the interval paces may begin to feel easier. In that case, shortening the recovery will provide the same stimulus as earlier in the program. Be aware, however, of running too hard. This session is meant to focus on accumulating time within the desired intensity range, not leave you so tired you can鈥檛 put in a quality effort. If you run your repeats so hard that you aren鈥檛 able to jog during your recovery time, you are unlikely to be able to run the next interval at the desired pace. In the end, these speed sessions should total 3 miles of running at that higher intensity, in addition to the warm-up, cooldown, and recovery periods. If you can鈥檛 get through the intervals to hit 3 miles total, you鈥檙e running too hard for your abilities and thereby missing out on developing the specific adaptations discussed. That said, if you are a novice runner and completely new to speed workouts, it鈥檚 better to run only some of the workouts at correct pace than to not run them at all. There鈥檚 no problem with building up to the scheduled mileage, as needed.

The speed sessions that are utilized throughout the Hansons Half-Marathon Method are provided below. Typically, the schedules start with the lower-duration repeats (10鈥�12 脳 400 m) and work up to the longer-duration repeats (4 脳 1200 m and 3 脳 1600 m). Once the top of the ladder is reached (from the shortest-duration workouts to the longest-duration workouts), you are then free to do the workouts that fit best with your optimal development. Most exercise physiologists agree that this optimal development occurs with intervals that are 2鈥�6 minutes in duration. Anything shorter doesn鈥檛 stress VO₂max enough, and anything longer tends to stress it too much, creating undue fatigue. So let that be your guide. If the 1600 workout is well above that 6-minute threshold, don鈥檛 use it. Keep your workouts in that 2鈥�6 minute range per repeat.

For those new to speed work, we strongly encourage joining a local running group. Coaches and more experienced runners can take the guesswork and intimidation out of those first speed workouts by showing you the ropes. When a client tells me he or she has a running group that meets on a certain day during the week, I will do everything I can to schedule that into the training. Additionally, a local track will be your best friend during this phase because it is marked, consistent, and flat. If you are driven by numbers, you can even check your pace every 100 meters to give you nearly constant feedback. This means owning a watch is a must. While your pacing will likely require some trial and error at the beginning, the watch and marked track will help you keep your workouts at the right speeds until pacing becomes second nature. for 5K or 10K and run the designated interval as close to that pace as possible. Remember, each session should include a 1- to 3-mile warm-up and cooldown.

Week 1 | 400 Repeats
12 脳 400 with jog recovery for 50鈥�100% of interval time

Week 2 | 600 Repeats
8 脳 600 with jog recovery for 50鈥�100% of interval time

Week 3 | 800 Repeats
6 脳 800 with jog recovery for 50鈥�100% of interval time

Week 4 | 1K Repeats
5 脳 1K with jog recovery for 50鈥�100% of interval time

Week 5 | 1200 Repeats
4 脳 1200 with jog recovery for 50鈥�100% of interval time

Week 6 | Ladder
400-800-1200-1600-1200-800-400 with jog recovery for 50鈥�100% of interval time

Week 7 | 1600 Repeats
3 脳 1600 with jog recovery for 50鈥�100% of interval time

Adapted from听听by Luke Humphrey with permission of VeloPress.

https://www.velopress.com/books/hansons-half-marathon-method/

The post Speed Workouts for the Half Marathon appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

The long run garners more attention than any other component of marathon training. It has become a status symbol among runners in training, a measure by which one compares oneself against his or her running counterparts. It is surprising, then, to discover that much of the existing advice on running long is misguided. After relatively low-mileage weeks, some training plans suggest backbreaking long runs that are more akin to running misadventures than productive training. A 20-mile long run at the end of a three-day-a-week running program can be both demoralizing and physically injurious. The long run has become a big question mark, something you aren鈥檛 sure you鈥檒l survive, but you subject yourself to the suffering nonetheless. Despite plenty of anecdotal and academic evidence against such training tactics, advice to reach (or go beyond) the 20-mile long run has persisted. It has become the magic number for marathoners, without consideration for individual differences in abilities and goals.

While countless marathoners have made it to the finish line using these programs, I believe in a different approach. Not only will it make training more enjoyable, it will also help you cover 26.2 more efficiently. While my long-run approach may sound radical, it is deeply rooted in results from inside the lab and outside on the roads. As I read through the exercise science literature, coached the elite squad with Kevin and Keith Hanson, and tested theories in my own training, I realized that revisions to long-held beliefs about marathon training, and in particular long runs, were necessary. As a result, a 16-mile long run is the longest training day for my standard program. But there鈥檚 a hitch: One of Kevin and Keith鈥檚 favorite sayings about the long run is, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not like running the first 16 miles of the marathon, but the last 16 miles!鈥�

What they mean is that a training plan should simulate the cumulative fatigue that is experienced during a marathon, without completely zapping your legs. Rather than spending the entire week recovering from the previous long run, you should be building a base for the forthcoming long effort. For example, if you have a 16-mile Sunday long run on your schedule, leading up to it, you should do a tempo run on Thursday and easier short runs on Friday and Saturday. Don鈥檛 take a day completely off before a long run because recovery occurs on the easy running days. Since no single workout has totally diminished your energy stores and left your legs feeling wrecked, you鈥檒l feel the effects of fatigue accumulating over time. This allows for partial recovery, but it is designed to keep you from feeling completely fresh going into a long run. Following the Sunday long run, try an easy day of running on Monday and a strength workout Tuesday. This may initially appear to be too much, but if your long run鈥檚 pace and mileage are tailored to your ability and experience, less recovery is necessary.

The Physiology of Long Runs

Long runs bring with them a laundry list of psychological and physiological benefits, many of which correlate with the profits of easy running. Mentally, long runs during marathon training help you gradually build confidence as you increase your mileage from one week to the next. They help you develop the coping skills necessary to complete any endurance event. They also teach you how to persist even when you are not feeling 100 percent. Since you never know what is going to happen on marathon day, this can be a real asset. Most notable, however, are the physiological adaptations that occur as a result of long runs. Improved , increased capillary growth, and a stronger heart are among the benefits. Long runs also help to train your body to utilize fat as fuel on a cellular level. By training your body to run long, you let it adapt and learn to store more glycogen, thereby allowing it to go farther before becoming exhausted.

In addition to improving the energy stores in your muscles, long runs also increase muscle strength. Although your body first exploits the slow-twitch muscle fibers during a long run, it eventually begins to recruit the fast-twitch fibers as the slow-twitch fibers fatigue. The only way to train those fast-twitch fibers is to run long enough to tire the slow-twitch fibers first. By strengthening all of the fibers, you鈥檒l avoid bonking on race day. By now the majority of these adaptations are probably starting to sound familiar. You can expect many of the same benefits reaped from easier work from long runs too.

Long-Run Guidelines

Advice from renowned running researcher and coach Dr. Jack Daniels provides a basis for our long-run marathon training philosophy. He instructs runners never to exceed 25鈥�30 percent of their weekly mileage in a long run, whether they are training for a 5K or a marathon. He adds that a 2:30鈥�3:00-hour time limit should be enforced, suggesting that exceeding those guidelines offers no physiological benefit and may lead to overtraining, injuries, and burnout.

Dr. Dave Martin, running researcher at Georgia State University and a consultant to Team USA, goes one step further, recommending that long runs be between 90 minutes and 2 hours long. While he proposes 18鈥�25-mile long runs for high-level marathoners, one must take into consideration that a runner of this caliber can finish a 25-mile run in under 3 hours. This highlights the importance of accounting for a runner鈥檚 long-run pace. Dr. Joe Vigil, a Team USA coach and scientist, further supports this notion, advising that long runs be increased gradually until the athlete hits 2:00鈥�3:00 hours. Certainly a 25-mile run completed in less than 3 hours by an elite runner will provide different physiological adaptations than a 25-mile run that takes a less experienced runner 3:30 hours or more.

According to legendary South African researcher and author Dr. Tim Noakes, a continual, easy-to-moderate run at 70鈥�85 percent VO₂max that is sustained for 2 hours or more will lead to the greatest glycogen depletion. Exercise physiologist Dr. David Costill has also noted that a 2-hour bout of running reduces muscle glycogen by as much as 50 percent. While this rate of glycogen depletion is acceptable on race day, it is counterproductive in the middle of a training cycle, as it takes as many as 72 hours to . When you diminish those energy stores, you can end up benched by fatigue, missing out on important training, or training on tired legs and potentially hurting yourself. Instead of risking diminishing returns and doing an arbitrary 20-mile run, look at your percentage of mileage and total time spent running. (I often suggest a maximum of 16 miles, but we are more concerned with determining your long run based on your weekly total mileage and your pace for that long run.)

It may sound unconventional, but you鈥檒l find that it isn鈥檛 random; these suggestions are all firmly based in science with proven results. As stipulated by Dr. Noakes, it is widely accepted among coaches that long runs shouldn鈥檛 exceed 25鈥�30 percent of weekly mileage. Even so, that guideline manages to get lost in many marathon-training programs in the effort to cram in mileage. For instance, a beginning program that peaks at 40鈥�50 miles per week and recommends a 20-mile long run is violating the cardinal rule. Although the epic journey is usually sandwiched between an easy day and a rest day, there is no getting around the fact that it accounts for around 50 percent of the runner鈥檚 weekly mileage. Looking at the table below, you can see how far your long run should be based on your total mileage for the week.

The numbers illustrate that marathon training is a significant undertaking and should not be approached with randomness or bravado. They also make apparent the fact that many training programs miss the mark on the long run. If you are a beginning or low-mileage runner, your long runs must be adjusted accordingly. What is right for an 80-mile-a-week runner is not right for one who puts in 40 miles a week.

In addition to running the optimal number of miles on each long run, you must also adhere to a certain pace to get the most benefit. Since we don鈥檛 all cover the same distance in the same amount of time, it makes sense to adjust a long run depending on how fast you鈥檒l be traveling. The research tells us that 2:00鈥�3:00 hours is the optimal window for development in terms of long runs. Beyond that, muscle breakdown begins to occur. Look at the table below to see how long it takes to complete the 16- and 20-mile distances based on pace. The table demonstrates that a runner covering 16 miles at a 7-minute pace will finish in just under 2 hours, while a runner traveling at an 11-minute pace will take nearly 3 hours to finish that same distance. It then becomes clear that anyone planning on running slower than a 9-minute pace should avoid the 20-mile trek.

Ask the Coach

At what pace should I do my long run?

We generally coach runners to hold an easy-to-moderate pace throughout a long run. Instead of viewing your long run as a high volume easy day, think of it as a long workout. If you are new to marathoning, err on the easy side of pacing as you become accustomed to the longer distances. More advanced runners should maintain a moderate pace as their muscles have adapted to the stress of such feats of endurance.听In the long run (literally and figuratively), when you avoid overdoing these lengthy workouts, you reap more benefits and avoid the potential downfalls of overtraining.

Adapted from , 2nd edition, by Luke Humphrey with Keith & Kevin Hanson with permission of VeloPress.

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When you鈥檙e right in the middle of training, it鈥檚 easy to go on autopilot for a while. But as race day draws near, runners often begin to feel the full weight of their marathon goal. It鈥檚 that moment when you recognize you鈥檙e really going to do this: run 26.2 miles on foot, preferably without stopping.

Rest assured, you aren鈥檛 alone if you experience fear, uncertainty, and maybe even dread. These feelings are completely natural, and you can make it to race day with confidence by paying attention to the milestones and issues you鈥檒l face in the final month or 6 weeks.

6 Weeks to 2 Weeks Out from Goal Race

This 4-week block is a critical time in your training. It is also the point when runners begin to question if their goals are attainable. This is totally normal. At this point in your training, aches and pains, accompanied by cumulative fatigue from training, are beginning to add up. You may ask yourself, 鈥淗ow am I going to manage 26.2 miles at this pace?鈥� This question can set into motion a cascade of self-doubt and negative self-talk. And, as self-fulfilling prophecies go, the less we believe in our abilities, the more likely we are to fall apart on race day.

Why do we get this way? This cycle is usually triggered not by our minds, but by our bodies. Four common culprits can leave a runner feel wholly worn out going into the final block of training.

Shoes

Most shoes are good for 300鈥�500 miles. Let鈥檚 assume you start your training off with a brand-new pair of shoes. You proceed to put 12 weeks of training on that pair of shoes. That could easily be 400 miles鈥攐r more, depending on your plan鈥攁nd you still have six weeks to go! So if you feel aches and pains starting to pop up, first check the mileage on your shoes.

Training

This four-week block is the toughest part of the training. The key workouts you鈥檙e doing these days are the hardest and the mileage is the highest. It probably is the most running you have ever done. You are bound to feel a few new aches and pains. Reassure yourself that this is normal and part of the adaptation process鈥攖o a point. Be watchful that those part-of-the-process aches and pains don鈥檛 turn into injuries.

Intensity

Some runners have the mindset, 鈥淚f fast is good, faster is better,鈥� and they run too aggressively early in their training. Over time, this adds up, and at some point, something鈥檚 got to give. Remember, you aren鈥檛 going into every workout 100 percent recovered, so if you make it harder than it needs to be, you simply dig a hole of fatigue deeper and deeper. You can鈥檛 go back in time and run with less intensity, but you can focus on the now. Let your new challenge be to listen to your body and pull back as necessary, especially on easy days.

Recovery

If you haven鈥檛 mastered the yet, now鈥檚 the time you will really feel the lack. Put energy into your recovery, making sure that sleeping, rehydrating, and refueling are priorities from here on out.

2 Weeks from Race Day: The Taper

Much of the last two weeks of training is mental. The hay is in the barn, so to speak, and now it鈥檚 all about trusting that the magic will happen. Your fitness is there, so you just need to recover from the cumulative fatigue. That is where .

Tapering can be scary. The final two weeks before your race involves reduced mileage and intensity, and brings along with it a fear of the unknown. It鈥檚 easy to get spooked. You鈥檝e invested significant time, money, and effort into this event. If it doesn鈥檛 go well, then it鈥檚 not like a 5K, where you can just find another race the next week. There鈥檚 a lot riding on marathon race day. Some common thoughts during the taper period include 鈥淚鈥檓 going to get fat!鈥� or 鈥淚鈥檓 going to lose all my fitness!鈥� or 鈥淲here did all these aches and pains come from?鈥�

The truth is, you鈥檙e probably not gaining weight, you aren鈥檛 losing fitness, and you鈥檙e not injured. Our minds play tricks on us during this time.

The weeks of training that you did up to now have left your body feeling fatigued. The taper is designed to allow you to fully recover from all your hard training and reap the fitness that you鈥檝e gained. Tapering is all about adjusting the frequency, intensity, duration, and type of running that you do. And it鈥檚 an art as much as a science. Decrease too much at one time and you get sluggish. Decrease too many of the variables for too long and you pass the point of recovering fully and go into detraining, losing those hard-fought fitness gains.

A good taper should be gradual, not drastic. A well-design program should gradually step you down in mileage and intensity so that you don鈥檛 shock your body by radically decreasing workload. Here are the taper鈥檚 basic guidelines:

1. Keep the taper between 10 days and 2 weeks. Longer than that and you get sluggish and risk losing fitness.
2. Do your last really hard workout about 7鈥�10 days out.
3. Keep the frequency of training days up.
4. Reduce your volume by about 25 percent of peak mileage during the first week of the taper and then 40鈥�50 percent the second week (not including the race).

A properly executed taper can yield a performance increase of 0.5 to 3 percent. For a 4-hour marathoner, that puts you at about 3:58 to 3:52. Does this mean that if you are training for a 4-hour marathon that now you can run 3:55 because you tapered? Unfortunately, no. But it will make a pace that felt hard during your tempo runs feel doable in the race. A proper taper that balances workload and rest can leave you feeling like a superhero come race morning.

The Last Few Days

Over the years, the Hansons coaches have adopted the saying 鈥渨orry early.鈥� What we mean by that is that it is important to tend to race-day details in advance to limit unnecessary stress on the big day. You鈥檝e committed to 18 or more weeks of hard training, early mornings, skipped social events, and other sacrifices; don鈥檛 blow it by neglecting to iron out the particulars of the race well in advance.

There is no strategy that will completely eliminate race-day nerves, but there are certain steps that can put you ahead of those who aren鈥檛 prepared. From your pre-race meal to where you鈥檒l meet your family at the finish to what shoes you鈥檙e going to wear, planning ahead will go a long way toward keeping you calm when it matters. Going into race weekend, your plan should be rehearsed and ready to be put into motion. When you鈥檙e relaxed at the start line, you鈥檙e less likely to make mistakes in the early stages of the race, keeping you focused and ready to follow protocol.

Don鈥檛 underestimate the amount of planning a marathon requires. Consider the following factors as you make your arrangements prior to race morning, remembering that your marathon will only be as good as your pre-race preparation, whether that is the training itself or getting to the start line on time.

Spectators (a.k.a. Support Crews)

Most marathoners welcome a friendly face along the course. Not only does it break up the monotony, it also gives you something to look forward to as you grind through the miles. Review the course map and figure out the best plan for friends and family to view the race. Not only do you want your fans and supporters to see you as much as they can, but it can also be a help to you. When my wife ran the Boston Marathon, I took the train out to the 16-mile mark. Ahead of time, we鈥檇 figured out where I鈥檇 stand so she knew what side of the road I鈥檇 be on. When she saw me, she tossed me the empty fuel bottles she was carrying and I gave her two new ones. This allowed her to get the fluids she wanted without carrying more than necessary, in addition to a few important words of encouragement.

Study the Course

Know the course. If your race is local, consider running sections of the course so you know what to expect come race day. Training on the route lets you learn the turns, the hills, and other details. With familiarity comes calm and control. The elite athletes in the often travel to the location of an upcoming race in order to run the course a few times before the big day. Doing this early in the training segment allows us to alter what and where we do our training to be fully prepared for the course. If you don鈥檛 have the luxury of running the course prior to competition, check the official marathon website, YouTube, and the blogosphere for course tours, an elevation profile, and other insights.

Before Bed

Use the evening before the race to get organized. Your race bag should be packed and ready to go, the timing chip already fastened to your shoe-laces, your clothes laid out, and your water bottle full. When you head to bed, sleep may be fairly hard to come by. Don鈥檛 fret if you are tossing and turning; you should have banked plenty of rest over the past 10 days.

If you do find yourself awake, consider grabbing an evening snack, like a meal replacement bar or protein shake with carbohydrates in it. While this isn鈥檛 necessary, the body burns through about half of the glycogen stored in the liver during the overnight hours. By eating a late-night snack, you further reduce how much you need to replace in the morning, potentially avoiding stomach upset. If you tend to get especially nervous right before a race, this is a good way to consume calories before the jitters set in. Instead of needing 300鈥�500 calories in the morning, you may be able to reduce that to just 100鈥�200 calories to top off glycogen stores.

Adapted from听听by Luke Humphrey, with permission of VeloPress.

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Prior to any structured training, many runners are fairly haphazard in their approach to running, putting in varying amounts of volume and intensity depending on mood, weather, and the like. While any exercise is obviously good for your body, training requires more focus and strategy. Herein lies one of the greatest challenges in following a structured training program: scheduling conflicts.

For instance, your child鈥檚 T-ball games are on Thursdays, the same day you are supposed to do your tempo workouts. Or maybe you have to work every Sunday, which is also the scheduled long run day. As coaches, we find ourselves reassuring runners about these issues every marathon cycle. By giving you three simple guidelines for working around life鈥檚 obligations, we offer you the tools to tend to your responsibilities without letting your running get off track.

Guideline 1: Maintain Regularity in Training

If you decide to switch your workouts around, stay as consistent as possible. For instance, if you trade Thursday鈥檚 workout for Friday鈥檚 one week, try to do the same every week moving forward. The key is to avoid constantly swapping different days every week.

If you move your strength workout to Friday one week, but then do another strength workout the following Tuesday, you鈥檝e done two strength workouts within a 5-day period. This not only upsets the training balance but also can lead to injury and overtraining. If you know something is going to regularly conflict on a certain day of the week, make sure the changes are uniform across weeks and months. If you work all day Sunday, switch your long runs to Saturdays throughout the entire training cycle. Routine is the key here. The more you can maintain it, the better.

Guideline 2: Ensure Rest Days and Easy Days Remain in Place

Put simply, you should always take either an easy day or a rest day between speed, strength, and tempo (SOS: something of substance) workouts. If you miss your speed workout on Tuesday and complete it on Wednesday instead and then go right into your tempo run on Thursday, you鈥檙e asking for an injury.

In this situation, the best bet is to move the tempo run to Friday, leaving an easy run on Saturday and a long run on Sunday. This shows that you can adjust for certain obligations and disruptions without upsetting the entire balance of training.

Guideline 3: Something Is Always Better Than Nothing

Consider the previous example in which an SOS workout was missed on Tuesday. What鈥檚 a runner to do if there is no other possible day to reschedule the workout later in the week? One option is to just move on. That鈥檚 right, cut your losses and move on to the next SOS workout. In some circumstances, there may be no way around this scenario.

If you don鈥檛 have time to get in the full workout, however, the other option is to consider sneaking in a quick run, or abbreviating the workout, getting in what you can. Even a 25-minute run is better than forgoing a workout altogether.

Adjusting for Illness or Injury

Illness and injury are certainly the most frustrating reasons you may need to adjust your training around. Over the weeks to months you spend preparing for the 13.1-mile distance, you are likely, at the very least, to catch a bug. The chance of injury, on the other hand, is largely avoided through smart training, but it is not entirely eliminated. Even when you鈥檙e doing everything right, you can trip on a curb and take a spill or roll an ankle on uneven terrain. Here is how to navigate these potential running layoffs, depending on the number of days missed and when these days are missed.

1 to 2 Days Missed

Maybe you tweaked your knee or were sick in bed for a couple of days. If you come out unscathed after a day or two, training can resume normally without scaling back mileage or intensity. You just lose a couple of days of running鈥攏o harm done. For example, if you took a wrong step at the end of your long run on Sunday, causing you to miss training on Monday and Tuesday, simply jump back in on Wednesday.

If you are feeling 100 percent, complete Tuesday鈥檚 SOS workout on Wednesday and move the Thursday tempo to Friday. This allows you to still fit in all of the week鈥檚 SOS workouts, but it also adheres to the rule of scheduling an easy or rest day between hard runs. However, if you aren鈥檛 able to reschedule your SOS days to fit within those parameters, then just forge ahead with your tempo run on Thursday and let go of the missed SOS workout. While a number of missed workouts can spell doom for your marathon goals, a single lost workout will never be your demise.

3 to 6 Days Missed

Physiological regression will be minimal, even if no running at all takes place within this time frame. Usually, a person who misses this many days has something more than a 24-hour flu or a simple ache or pain. With that said, if you are feeling healthy enough to get in a couple of short, easy jogs while you recuperate, by all means do so. If instead you鈥檙e truly laid up, rest assured that the consequences of a few days off won鈥檛 deter your end goal.

After 3鈥�4 days of missed training, come back slowly by running easy for 2鈥�3 days, then pick the schedule back up and follow it as usual. If you have missed 5鈥�6 days, run easy for 3鈥�4 days and then revert to the previous week鈥檚 training regimen. After that week, jump ahead and catch back up with the training program. For instance, if you miss Week 3, run easy through Week 4 and then return to Week 3鈥檚 workouts during the 5th week. After that, jump to Week 6 and follow the training as it was originally prescribed.

7 to 10 Days Missed

At this point the body starts to lose some of those hard-earned physiological gains you have made. You鈥檝e probably heard the saying 鈥淵ou lose it twice as fast as you gain it.鈥� It always seems that it takes a lot more time and effort to gain fitness than it does to lose it. Taking a week and a half off from running definitely necessitates serious schedule modification; however, that modification depends on the point in the plan at which the missed block occurs. If it occurs before the strength portion of the training program, then the runner won鈥檛 have to make any major adjustments to race goals.

If the setback happens after the strength workouts begin, the runner will probably need to adjust race goals because there may not be enough time to get in all the normal training. Keep in mind that if you can still manage to run some short, easy runs during this period and have the go-ahead from your doctor, the time it takes to return to normal training will be significantly less. If running isn鈥檛 possible, commit to crosstraining to prevent a drop-off in fitness. The hope is that fitness will remain high enough to allow an easier and faster transition back to healthy running. Always remember in these situations to consult a physician who is familiar with runners before diagnosing yourself and prescribing your own treatment. In either case, you don鈥檛 need to abandon your plans to run the half-marathon, but adjustments are necessary.

Upon your return to running, you should run easy for the same number of days that you missed. If you lost a week, then run easy for a week. After that, go back to the last training week that you were able to complete and repeat it, then run the week that was originally missed, and from there pick the schedule back up. So, with a week missed, it takes 3 weeks to get back on track. If you are able to run easy during your time off, subtract a week from that time frame.

This advice applies throughout the training program, but once strength workouts have begun, you may do the math and realize, 鈥淲ow! I don鈥檛 have enough time.鈥� Unfortunately, this happens. While many people can rebound quickly enough to run the race, their goal time will be compromised. Once you get into that final 4鈥�6 weeks of training, the pros and cons of racing should be weighed. If you are really looking to run that goal time and you miss 10 days of running with 5 weeks to go, you could choose to look at other race options. If you are comfortable with potentially missing the mark, then go for it.

More Than 10 Days Missed

Unfortunately, if you are forced to miss this much time, you are faced with a serious decision. After 2 weeks of lost training, the decreases in physiological gains are quite significant鈥攁s much as 3鈥�5 percent. While this might not seem like much, consider this: For a runner attempting a 2:00-hour half-marathon, a 4 percent loss means an increase of nearly 5 minutes for the overall finishing time. The slower the race goal time, the more time gained. Even worse, after 21 days away from running, 10 percent or more of fitness is forfeited. This means that VO₂max and blood volume can decrease by up to 10 percent, anaerobic threshold decreases significantly, and muscle glycogen decreases by as much as 30 percent.

These are all important to endurance performance, and if you miss 2 weeks of running, it may take more than 2 weeks to even get back to your previous level, setting you far off course. In particular, if this happens during the strength portion of the program, there simply may not be enough time to regain your fitness levels and get ready for the goal race. If you don鈥檛 have a designated strength portion, you will still be in the hardest part of your training at this time, so the guidelines here are still applicable.

Although you won鈥檛 run your best, advanced runners in this situation may be able to sneak in shorter training segments and still complete the race, albeit likely falling short of the original time goals. However, beginners and first-time half-marathon runners should be cautious when it comes to losing substantial amounts of training time and forging ahead to the goal race. For runners in this situation, consider choosing a new race or at least revising time goals. In all our years of coaching, we鈥檝e seen too many people rush back from illness or injury to make a race deadline, often forgoing proper recovery and in the end having a poor race experience.

If you are set on running the originally scheduled race, be sure to step back and understand what the time off from running means for you physiologically. If you鈥檝e taken 2 weeks off, adjust your race goal by 3鈥�5 percent. If you鈥檝e missed closer to 3 weeks, adjust your expected performance by 7鈥�10 percent. For example, if Runner A missed 2 weeks of training and was shooting for a 2:00 half-marathon, she should adjust her goal by 3.6 minutes (120 脳 0.03) to 6 minutes (120 脳 0.05). The new time goal would then be 2:03鈥�2:06. Any more than 4 weeks off, and we suggest choosing a new race altogether.

Downtime Discretion

Although we have just presented a number of ways to modify your training schedule, we contend that it is best to avoid taking unscheduled days away from training if at all possible. This applies even when your legs are tired and sore, since soreness and injury are not inextricably linked. There will be times during training when your legs are achy, fatigued, and nonspecifically sore; it just comes with the territory. Many of the adaptations that happen during training occur as a result of running on the days you just don鈥檛 feel like running.

If you have an injury, however, your response should be different. For less severe injuries, make sure that you are not only taking time off but also using that time to identify the root cause of the problem. Otherwise you may continue to run into the same issue upon returning to training. For instance, if you are experiencing shin splints, figure out what you need to do to reduce the pain, like getting new shoes or implementing a strength routine.

If your body will allow it, reduce the volume and intensity, but continue running short and easy through the healing process. While training may need to be reduced, it doesn鈥檛 necessarily have to stop completely to allow for recovery, that is, if the cause of the injury is identified and treated. When you can maintain some fitness, downtime is significantly minimized, and regular training can be resumed much sooner.

Adapted from by Luke Humphrey with permission of VeloPress.

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Tempo runs have long been a staple of all good endurance training plans, so the majority of experienced runners have encountered them before. Tempo runs have been defined in numerous ways, but in the Hansons Marathon Method, they are marathon-pace runs. Over the course of training, your tempo runs will span a number of months, requiring you to maintain race pace through an assortment of challenges and circumstances.

Teaching Control

Internalizing pace is one of the most difficult training components for runners to learn. If you feel great at the start line and go out 30 seconds per mile faster than you planned, you鈥檒l likely hit the halfway point ready to throw in the towel. No significant marathon records have ever been set via a positive split (running the second half slower than the first half). If you want to have a successful marathon performance, you are better off maintaining a steady pace throughout the entire race rather than following the 鈥渇ly and die鈥� method.

Tempo runs teach you an important skill: Control. Even when the pace feels easy, these runs train you to hold back and maintain. Additionally, tempo runs provide a great staging ground for experimenting with different fluids, gels, and other nutritionals. Since you are running at marathon pace, you get a good idea of what your body can and cannot handle. The same goes for your gear. Use the tempo runs as dress rehearsals to try various shoes and outfits to determine what is most comfortable. Regardless of training, these things can make or break your race; tempo runs provide perfect opportunities to fine-tune your race day plans.

Tempo Workout Guidelines

In the Hansons Marathon Method, the tempo run is completed at goal marathon pace. For many other coaches, a is much shorter, at paces closer to strength pace, but for our purposes, tempo and marathon pace are interchangeable. Your pace should remain at goal pace, even early on when it may feel easy.

It will take a good number of tempo workouts before you fully internalize the pace and can regulate your runs based on feel. What does change throughout training is the distance of these workouts. Tempo runs are progressive in length, adjusting every few weeks, increasing from 5 miles for a beginner and 6 miles for an advanced runner to 10 miles over the last few weeks of training. As an advanced runner begins to reach the heaviest mileage, the total volume of a tempo run, with a warm-up and cooldown, can reach 12鈥�14 miles and approach 90 minutes in length.

Sample Tempo Workout

For this workout, let鈥檚 assume you鈥檙e training for your first or second marathon and you鈥檙e in week seven of training (the base period).

1鈥�3 mile warmup

5 miles at marathon goal pace

• Goal marathon finish time of 5 hours = Tempo run pace of 11:27
• Goal marathon finish time of 4 hours = Tempo run pace of 9:09
• Goal marathon finish time of 3 hours = Tempo run pace of 6:52

(Hansons Marathon Method includes paces for a wide range of 5K finish times.)

1鈥�3 mile cool-down

The Cutdown Workout

The Cutdown is a variation on a tempo run. Between 10 and 12 miles in length, this workout starts at a pace of 6:00 minutes per mile for the elite men in the program, which is within our easy range, and decreases by 10-second increments to half-marathon pace. A typical cutdown workout looks like this: 6:00, 6:00, 5:50, 5:40, 5:30, 5:20, 5:10, 5:00, 4:50.

From experience, I can tell you that this workout often feels easy at the beginning, but it becomes increasingly challenging with each passing mile.

1-3 mile warm-up

Start with a mile at your Easy Day pace. Each mile, drop 10 seconds from your pace and hold on until you hit your marathon goal pace.

1-3 mile cool-down

Adapted with permission from , now available in bookstores, running shops, and online.

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Training for a marathon takes people to the edge of their ability. It’s a balancing act to fit everything in and get the right intensity to succeed, without overdoing it.

The , which I have adapted to my own coaching style, really consist of four major pillars. I call them pillars, because without one of these principles, the rest can no longer hold the weight of the sum of the training. When one begins to break down, the whole system begins to break down. All too often, runners lose track of one or more of these pillars in the process of training for a mararthon. Here are the mistakes that lead to weak pillars and collapsed training.

Mistake #1: Obsessing over the long run

The first pillar of marathon training is a manageable long run. The long run is incredibly important. People tend, however, to overemphasize the length or duration of their long runs. If you are new to the marathon community and tell a marathon vet you are running a marathon, chances are they鈥檒l ask you something to the effect, 鈥淗ow many 20 milers are you doing?鈥� This hyperfocus assumes the other 6 days in a week are unimportant. The truth is, the long run should fit the schedule and the person.

Ideally, the long run should be about 25鈥�30% of the total weekly mileage and not over three to 3.5 hours in length. This means if you鈥檙e training 50 miles a week, the long run shouldn鈥檛 exceed 15 miles.

Let me say again, the long run is important for marathon training, for obvious reasons. You do still have to cover 26.2 miles.听But you also have to be able to train the other days of the week. By keeping the long run managable, we allow ourselves to hit different areas of training and not just the endurance that the long run develops. Long runs are one piece of the puzzle, and nobody likes trying to put together a puzzle with missing pieces. The main reason to limit the long run is so that we can maintain a balance in training, which is where the other three pillars come in.

Mistake #2: Training at inappropriate intensities

The second pillar is running at appropriate intensities. Often, runners think that if fast is good, faster is better. As a coach, I see it across the spectrum of paces. It will start with doing easy runs faster than needed. Then it will push into doing workouts faster than necessary.

When I say too fast, I am not referring to naturally settling into a pace that鈥檚 a few seconds per mile faster than prescribed because it is a nice day and you feel good. Rather, this is intentionally forcing the issue, running 15, 20, 30 seconds or more per mile faster than what is called for.

Going faster鈥攚ay faster鈥攖han what is on your schedule creates a number of problems. Mostly it鈥檚 a gateway to injury as it puts another stress into an already stressed body. For most people training for a marathon, they are jumping way up in their normal training already. Adding the stress of exceeding necessary paces only adds to that stress, and for a lot of people, it鈥檚 what pushes them over the edge. When that happens, they start missing workouts, cutting out easy days, and generally become less consistent. This cycle puts a runner鈥檚 fitness in a constant catch-up mode, which usually puts them in a constant injury and recovery cycle.

Mistake #3: Inconsistent training

The third pillar is to train consistently and avoid yo-yo training. As just discussed, yo-yoing is often the result of inappropriate pacing. When we are constantly racing our watch, need more off days, we have to adjust workouts, and end up taking more time off to recover from injury. If you keep your long run in balance and your paces appropriate to the day, however, then being consistent is the natural outcome. Something I often mention to our athletes: With training, it鈥檚 not a single workout that gets the job done,听 rather, it is a lot of pretty average days strung together that is the secret.

Mistake #4: Unbalanced training

The fourth pillar is balance, the culmination of the first three. If you keep the long run manageable you allow for more balance in training. More balance in training allows you to do workouts at a variety of speeds, so you鈥檙e going fast and hard some days, and recovering on others鈥攖here is less of a need to push the pace on every single run. If you can keep your paces appropriate to what you are doing for that particular day, then you can start to string together several days, then weeks, and finally months of well balanced training.

The result of that is fewer missed days, the ability to add more training days per week, and then more miles per day. The outcome? You can now handle鈥攅ven thrive鈥攔unning more daily and weekly volume.

There will always be folks who are successful on the other side of the training coin. They will be the ones who can qualify for Boston on 30 miles per week. Other people need to train above and beyond what I recommend in order to run the exact same marathon time. There are always two ends of the spectrum, but the vast majority of us are somewhere in the middle. I have learned that if I can coach a person to buy into the first three pillars, the fourth comes naturally. Then they start becoming extremely successful in comparison to what they originally thought possible.

Let me put it this way: To be successful in a 5k, running 20 miles per week is perfectly acceptable. To run 8 times longer than that in the marathon, you鈥檒l probably have to double that. To do that and maintain a balanced variety of runs requires the other three pillars鈥攑illars that sustain your training.

I won鈥檛 sugar coat it, training for a marathon is hard. My goal isn鈥檛 to just get you to cross the finish line, but to do so and maximize your personal effort. Whether that鈥檚 5 hours or qualifying for the Olympic Trials, 26.2 miles is a great equalizer of humility and deserves the utmost respect. However, the feeling of accomplishment, the camaraderie, and community is unmatched anywhere (in my completely biased opinion). You鈥檒l be glad you embarked on the marathon journey.

—

is a professional distance runner who has qualified three times for the U.S. Olympic Trials, head coach of Hansons Coaching Services, and听the author of听

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Before you embark on a marathon training program, figure out where you鈥檙e currently at with running and where you鈥檇 like to go. This flow chart from听Hansons First Marathon听can help get you started.

5 Questions to Ask Before You Start Marathon Training

While there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all training plan, there are several questions you should ask yourself to ensure a greater chance of success. Ask yourself the following questions prior to beginning your marathon training in order to help guide yourself toward the smartest way forward.

Q1: Am I running on a regular basis?

Runners generally answer this one of three ways.

No. I鈥檓 new to running.

If this is you, your smartest, safest approach will be to first take the time to build your strength and endurance. You can do so by starting your training with our 鈥淐ouch to Marathon鈥� (C2THON) program, designed for brand-new runners. The plan first takes you through an 8-week training regimen that is aimed at slowly and safely building your mileage and fitness from scratch. It includes a run/walk progression to help you work your way up to 30 minutes or more of continuous running.

When you combine our 8-week 0鈥�5K plan with an 18- to 20-week marathon plan, you鈥檙e looking at 26 to 30 weeks of structured training. This may sound like a lot, but it ends up far more time-efficient than if you were to go directly into marathon training, get injured, spend time recovering, and then start over.

No. I used to run regularly, but injuries/illness forced me to take time off.听

If this is you, just bouncing back from a period of time away from running, we strongly advise you delay your comeback until your body is fully ready. Injured runners often get overzealous in their return to training and as a result, end up taking two steps back for every step forward. Not only should you be confident that you鈥檙e healthy and recovered before you start training, it鈥檚 also important that you identify whatever it was that put you on the bench in the first place. Were you running too many miles? Do you have a strength imbalance? Was it an old injury rearing its ugly head? Whatever it may be, address the issue so it doesn鈥檛 come back to haunt you during marathon training. While you don鈥檛 need to ease in with a 0鈥�5K program, be sure to log at least a few weeks of easy mileage before beginning regular marathon training.

Yes. I run several days a week and have been doing so for a number of months or years.

If this is your answer, you are most likely ready to jump into marathon training immediately. If you are handling at least 15 miles per week and you have 18鈥�20 weeks to devote to your marathon buildup, you鈥檙e in business.

Q2: Have I run any races recently?

Having real data from a recent race to inform your goal setting is extremely helpful. However, if you do not have that data, fear not. You have a few options. You can launch into your training by running a local 5K or 10K to gauge your current fitness; races are fairly easy to find on any given weekend. If you don鈥檛 want to jump right into a race, that is OK too. It just means that the first several weeks of training will be a bit of a guessing game in terms of establishing paces, and it may necessitate tacking on several extra weeks to the beginning of the schedule to determine where you are. As your training progresses, it makes sense to sign up for a shorter race or two to test your fitness and help you pinpoint a marathon time goal.

If you do have some recent shorter races under your belt, then you have much of the information you need to set an appropriate marathon goal.

Q3: Why do you want to do a marathon?

Marathon training is a significant undertaking. And a lengthy one. In order to stay motivated, it鈥檚 important to know why you鈥檙e doing what you鈥檙e doing. When you ask yourself, What do I want to get out of this experience?, you should have an answer (or answers) to that question.

Runners respond to this question in a variety of ways. Some are looking for a lifestyle overhaul, and taking on the challenge of a marathon feels like a good way to jump-start that process. Others are driven by some kind of competitive goal, such as qualifying for the Boston Marathon. Some are drawn by the allure of the bucket list. These are all perfectly valid reasons to take on the marathon distance. Where you might run into trouble is if you see yourself in either of the following descriptions.

No goal:听The lack of an identifiable goal can undermine your training. The marathon is a long-term undertaking and without a guiding goal, you鈥檙e less likely to stick with the plan. Some runners鈥攏ew ones in particular鈥攁re hesitant to set a goal because a part of them doubts they can do it. If this sounds like you, consider first taking on the 0鈥�5K plan.

Goal without commitment:听You have big goals, but you don鈥檛 have the time or motivation to train adequately. Training for a marathon is hard. No matter what numbers you鈥檇 like to see on the clock as you cross the finish line, training requires day-in and day-out commitment and effort. What鈥檚 more, the faster you get, the more training you have to put in to continue to see progress. Lofty goals will require more mileage, harder workouts, and a greater amount of recovery. If you aren鈥檛 realistic about this and you set a goal that requires more time and effort than you鈥檙e able to put in, you鈥檙e likely to flounder. It鈥檚 good to be confident and optimistic about your goals, but also be sure to be reasonable.

Q4: How much time can you dedicate to marathon training?

Marathon training is going to require a good amount of your time. Before you sign on the dotted line of the race registration form, consider whether now is the right time to make training the priority it needs to be. Remember, training will probably involve some compromise in other areas of your life.

It is difficult to adhere 100 percent to a training schedule. Some flexibility is required. However, while we all have days when we fall of the training wagon, if you are able to complete only, say, 70 percent of a program, it isn鈥檛 going to help you successfully finish a marathon and achieve your goals.

Step back, asses the larger landscape of your life, and envision where training will fit into the topography. It may require significant changes or shifts in your daily schedule. Or perhaps you will find that simply becoming more efficient in other areas opens up the time you need to train.

Keep in mind that all training days are not created equal. With our system, there are typically 2鈥�3 days in the week that require a fair amount of time for training. On other days, the time commitment is less. In terms of overall time commitment, you can expect training to take about 10鈥�12 hours per week at the peak of training. Ask yourself,听Do I realistically have that time to devote to the marathon?

Q5: Are you injury prone?

Consider carefully before you answer that. Many athletes we coach initially tell us that they can鈥檛 run high mileage because they have found that they get injured easily. We鈥檝e discovered, however, that many of these folks aren鈥檛 all that injury-prone when they are subscribing to a smart, quality training plan. Some simply haven鈥檛 been taught how to safely and effectively approach a running program. Others aren鈥檛 sure how to tell the difference between the discomfort that inherently accompanies training and an ache that signal injury and requires medical attention. That said, some runners truly are injury-prone. Keep in mind a few common root causes of running injuries.

Inconsistent training:听We don鈥檛 expect you to do every single workout and run every single mile in our plans. The reality is, life happens. Kids get sick, work schedules change, and cars unexpectedly break down. To assure success, however, you will need to do the large majority of the workouts. Missing several days of training and then trying to play catch-up by piling on the miles almost always results in injury and illness.

A mix-and-match approach to training:听Some runners attempt their first marathon by piecing together a plan from various bits of advice they鈥檝e garnered from the Internet and suggestions from friends. The problem with this approach is that the training consists only of what the runner wants to do, rather than what he or she needs to do. This can not only thwart your goal time, but also upset the proper balance of training and cause injury. The Hansons training plans endeavor to keep you from falling victim to the less-than-satisfying results that such a haphazard approach to training can produce.

Previous injuries and ailments:听Whether you鈥檙e an experienced runner or a complete novice, if you鈥檝e had chronic injuries, it鈥檚 important to get clearance from your physician before starting to train for a marathon. He or she may suggest that you keep your running mileage low and gain fitness through other means鈥攕omething that certainly can be accommodated but it is vital to get advice from an expert if you hope to reach your marathon goal. If you have suffered training injuries in the past, take care not to jump to conclusions about the culprit. The injuries may not be the running itself, but rather improper footwear, poor training practices, or other issues.

After considering the ins and outs of training, injuries, and motivation, one important fact should be clear: At no point did we suggest that certain people aren鈥檛 good candidates for running a marathon. Even if you鈥檙e starting from scratch, there is a way for you to successfully complete the 26.2-mile distance. The only instance in which we would advise against starting to do some sort of training are if you鈥檙e injured, sick, unmotivated to put in the time and effort, or a combination of these factors. You can work around hurdles such as lack of experience or past injuries if you鈥檙e currently healthy and motivated. All it takes is the right plan adjusted to your particular needs to put you on a successful journey toward the marathon.

Hansons First Marathon听has four training plans to accommodate the variety of runners coming to the marathon distance for the first time. Whether you need the From Scratch Plan, the Just Finish Plan, the Advanced First Timer Plan, or the Express Plan, this guide will help you determine the right plan for you so that you are confident and prepared for race day.

Adapted from听by听听and听.听Hansons First Marathon听will help any runner who is new to the marathon train smart and find success at the marathon distance.

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There is an all-too-common misconception that one can prepare sufficiently for a marathon by simply running three days per week, provided one of those days includes a grueling 20-mile (or more) long run. That sounds simple, but the truth is that there鈥檚 a lot more to successful preparation than that. All runs are not created equal, and the long run, while key, is merely one component of a larger system that prepares you for success in the marathon distance.

The Hansons program has become known for the 鈥�16-mile long run鈥� and a six-day-per-week running schedule that includes several types of workouts. Our approach has sometimes been perceived as renegade when compared with status quo programs on the market, and some runners have had their doubts when we promise they鈥檒l PR with our program. In fact, in the first edition of our book Hansons Marathon Method, we shared the story of Kevin Hanson鈥檚 wife performing marvelously using our method, albeit all the while intending to prove the method wrong.

Since then, I鈥檝e gotten similar e-mails, with runners who had been fired up to write a scathing 鈥淚 told you so鈥� instead thanking us for their PR and confessing that they never should have doubted the process. I don鈥檛 write these stories to gloat, but rather to show by example that there is more to successful marathon training than a few runs a week plus a long run. And while people tend to have laser-focus on our 16-mile long run, they really have to embrace the whole picture of what the method entails.

Let鈥檚 take a look at the long run the Hansons way.

The Long Run

The long run garners more attention than any other component of marathon training. It has become a status symbol among runners in training, a measure by which one compares oneself against one鈥檚 running counterparts. It is surprising, then, to discover that much of the existing advice on running long is misguided.

After relatively low-mileage weeks, some training plans suggest back-breaking long runs that are more akin to running misadventures than productive training. A 20-mile long run at the end of a three-day-a-week running program can be both demoralizing and physically injurious. The long run has become a big question mark, something you aren鈥檛 sure you鈥檒l survive, but you subject yourself to the suffering nonetheless. Despite plenty of anecdotal and academic evidence against such training tactics, advice to reach (or go beyond) the 20-mile long run has persisted. It has become the magic number for marathoners, without consideration for individual differences in abilities and goals.

While countless marathoners have made it to the finish line using these programs, the Hansons Marathon Method comes to the table with a different approach. Not only will it make training more enjoyable, it will also help you cover 26.2 more efficiently. While our long-run approach may sound radical, it is deeply rooted in results from inside the lab and outside on the roads. As I read through the exercise-science literature, coached the elite squad with Kevin and Keith, and tested theories in my own training, I realized that revisions to long-held beliefs about marathon training, and in particular long runs, were necessary. As a result, a 16-mile long run is the longest training day for the standard Hansons program. But there鈥檚 a hitch: One of Kevin and Keith鈥檚 favorite sayings about the long run is, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not like running the first 16 miles of the marathon, but the last 16 miles!鈥�

What they mean is that a training plan should simulate the cumulative fatigue that is experienced during a marathon, without completely zapping your legs. Rather than spending the entire week recovering from the previous long run, you should be building a base for the forthcoming long effort.

For example, let鈥檚 take a look at the Advanced Marathon Program in Hansons Marathon Method. The program includes a 16-mile Sunday long run. Leading up to the Sunday long run, the schedule calls for a tempo run on Thursday and easier short runs on Friday and Saturday. You don鈥檛 get a day completely off before a long run because recovery occurs on the easy running days. Since no single workout has totally diminished your energy stores and left your legs feeling wrecked, you鈥檒l instead feel the effects of fatigue accumulating over time. The plan allows for partial recovery, but it is designed to keep you from feeling completely fresh going into a long run. Following the Sunday long run, you will have an easy day of running on Monday and a strength workout Tuesday. This may initially appear to be too much, but because your long run鈥檚 pace and mileage are tailored to your ability and experience, less recovery is necessary.

Long-Run Guidelines

The Hansons Marathon Method long-run guidelines are based both on years of experience and on the research by Dr. Jack Daniels, Dr. Dave Martin, Dr. Joe Vigil, Dr. Tim Noakes, and Dr. David Costill. Instead of risking diminishing returns and prescribing an arbitrary 20-mile run, the Hansons Marathon Method looks at percentage of mileage and total time spent running. While 16 miles is often the suggested maximum run, we are more concerned with determining your long run based on your weekly total mileage and your pace.

The Hansons Marathon Method will call for a long run that does not exceed 25-30 percent of your weekly mileage. Breaking this cardinal rule risks too much: injury, overtraining, depleted muscle glycogen, and subpar workouts in the following days or even weeks.

Yet a typical beginning marathon training program might peak at 40鈥�50 miles per week and then recommend a 20-mile long run. Although this epic journey is usually sandwiched between an easy day and a rest day, there is no getting around the fact that it accounts for around 50 percent of the runner鈥檚 weekly mileage.

It may sound unconventional, but you鈥檒l find that the Hansons Marathon Method long run is firmly based in science with proven results.

Risks of the 20+ Mile Long Run

• Muscle damage
• Long-lasting damage to mitochondria
• Long-lasting damage to capillaries
• Depleted muscle glycogen for up to a week

Let鈥檚 take a look at what science says about long-run mileage.

Long-Run Mileage Based on Weekly Training Volume

What do these numbers show us?

• Marathon training is a significant undertaking and should not be approached with randomness or bravado.
• They also make apparent the fact that many training programs miss the mark on the long run.
• If you are a beginning or low-mileage runner, your long runs must be adjusted accordingly.
• What is right for an 80-mile-a-week runner is not right for one who puts in 40 miles a week.
• A Hansons 16-mile long run might be too short or too long for you. Before we make a conclusion, we must also consider your running pace.

Long-Run Duration Based on Pace

In addition to running the optimal number of miles on each long run, you must also adhere to a certain pace to get the most physiological benefit. Since we don鈥檛 all cover the same distance in the same amount of time, it makes sense to adjust a long run depending on how fast you鈥檒l be traveling. The research tells us that 2:00鈥�3:00 hours is the optimal window for development in terms of long runs. Beyond that, muscle breakdown begins to occur.

Look at the table below to see how long it takes to complete the 16- and 20-mile distances based on pace. The table demonstrates that a runner covering 16 miles at a 7:00-minute pace will finish in just under 2:00 hours, while a runner traveling at an 11:00-minute pace will take nearly 3:00 hours to finish that same distance. It then becomes clear that anyone planning on running slower than a 9:00-minute pace should avoid the 20-mile trek.

Long-Run Durations Based on Pace

This is where the Hansons 16-mile long run comes into play. Based on the mileage from the Hansons marathon programs, the 16-mile long-run fits the bill on both percentage of weekly mileage and long-run total time.

So what does this mean for you? The science shows that a 20-mile long run might, in fact, be right for you, but only if your weekly mileage is around 65 miles per week and if your long run workout pace is faster than 9:00 minutes per mile.

Everyone else should consider the long run the Hansons way, by factoring in weekly mileage and pace.

Adapted with permission of VeloPress from by Luke Humphrey

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