In the Long Run

As the Rock'n'Roll San Antonio Marathon begins to rise on the not too distant horizon I suspect I'm not the only one wondering if I've really trained thoroughly enough for the 26.2 miles waiting in less than a month. I envy the runner who gets on a program and stays on it through the entire course. One of these days I will try to become one of those runners, maybe work my way through one of Carroll Voss' training programs which are so comprehensive when adhered to from start to finish. I do use Carroll's training parameters, with his permission, in order to gauge exactly where I am, and I believe I have just about caught up, at least in terms of distancing my weekly long run.

Marathon training is not something you can do at an accelerated pace. This only invites injury and makes it near impossible to achieve one's goals. You do have goals, don't you? The goal of my first marathon was to finish. If you're a first timer that might be your goal as well. But as marathoning gets into one's blood, you graduate to more ambitious hopes, at the same time learning that these more challenging ambitions require a more rigorous preparation. At the heart of the distance runner's training is the weekly long run. This must be approached in a graduated manner. To ignore this is to open the door wide to disappointment, if not debilitating injury.

At the start of a 25 week training program such as the one used by Carroll Voss' Fleet Feet group, a long run might be 3 or 4 miles. Of course, if you are a year round runner as many of us are, you might be good for 5 or 6 miles when you first begin a regimen with a race date as the goal. I once met a runner who told me his intention when between races was to always be ready to run a 10K. That's a good way to approach it. But back to a long and thorough marathon program, the long run each week gradually becomes longer. By the midpoint, about 12 weeks out from your marathon, you'll be at 14 or 15 miles. I guess you could conclude from this that from this point on you simply add a mile per week. But this is not the smartest approach. Looking at the Fleet Feet program (or most of the other legitimate regimens which are out there), you will find a sort of ebb and flow pattern. This allows the body to better adapt to the increasing demands you are putting on it, thus minimizing the risk of injury. Truthfully, this also gives a little wiggle room which allows for those weeks when life gets in the way of training and your running temporarily takes a back seat to other concerns. Nevertheless, it is imperative to adhere as much as possible to the ritual of the weekly long run.

I began my summer with surgery, thankfully not for an athletic injury, but nevertheless for a condition which impacted my passion for running. The doc had me on a short leash for a month and then allowed me to resume pre-surgery activities. This meant that I didn't get into a groove until late July. If you know South Central Texas, you know that the severity of the summer is challenge enough. On top of that, I was playing a game of catch-up. Thankfully, years of running put me on a bit of a fast track, though I definitely exercised caution as week by week I extended my weekly mileage while observing the necessity of a long run. By early September I was up to 14-15 miles; that's when vacation and a couple of other distractions forced me into a holding pattern. My intentions were to creep on up to 17 or 18 before undertaking a 20 mile race near the end of September. Unfortunately, I ended up going into the 20 miler without the incremental long runs in anticipation and as a result I found a solid wall at about the 16 1/2 mile mark. I ground out the final mileage but came away well aware of the training I still needed to accomplish before marathon race day on November 15.

Improving running conditions and my stubborn nature have come together now to stabilize my preparation. A couple of weeks ago I pounded out a 17 miler and this past weekend I got in a 20 miler. This has cleared some of my apprehension about the race ahead and has also given me the possibility of another substantial long run before easing off the throttle for the final two weeks before the marathon. This is known as tapering and is another essential element to making race day a fun experience rather than an ordeal.

As we catch our collective breaths and measure the weeks ahead, we focus upon a reasonable approach to our remaining long training runs. If you have fallen behind in your preparation, I hate to tell you that there is no catching up at this point. Find a reasonable distance for your long runs and make do with those. Also, revisit your goals and revise them where necessary. Your intended 3 hour 45 minute finish might need to be reexamined and rewritten as 4 hours, or more. Whatever you do, don't put yourself in a bind on race day by demanding more than your body has been conditioned to deliver. This is where trouble begins. For my part, race day weather conditions permitting, I think I'm on track for a PR of around 4 hours 45 minutes. This is reasonable, given the holes in my prep. It's also incentive for me to really test myself next time round by getting with Carroll's program and sticking to it for the entire 25 weeks. Will this make me a Boston Marathon qualifier? Likely not, but it will put me on track for achieving increasingly more ambitious personal goals and that, for me, is quite enough.

Happy running and best of luck with achieving your personal fitness goals.