Marathon Training Overview

The key to marathon training is structure. A structured training program will prepare both your mind and your body for the hardship of the race. It doesn’t matter how fit you are, to be properly prepared for a marathon you should have at least six months of training. If you have only a few weeks of training it will not be enough to run well in a marathon. Without the proper training attempting a marathon can result in severe injuries. You need to follow a well-organized training program.

Here is an example of a weekly marathon training schedule where each activity could be running, cycling, swimming or some equivalent gym exercises.

Monday – Off day
Tuesday – Medium activity
Wednesday – Easy activity
Thursday – Medium activity
Friday – Off day or easy activity
Saturday – Medium or easy activity
Sunday – Long activity

There are established principles which govern all training methods. They are just different applications of the same basic principles. The most important ones which are the mainstay of all training programs are:

1. Athletic Recovery

When setting your weekly routine, it is important to alternate stress and recovery. Your body copes better with hard work if it has a chance to recover and repair itself. Whenever stress builds up it inevitably culminates in breakdown. If sufficient time to recover is not allowed, then the body’s resources become depleted.

Always follow a hard session with light running the following day. This helps prevent injury and gets blood circulating in your tired muscles and helps remove the accumulation of waste products. You can also consider light activities after a hard run which might include cycling, swimming or even just walking.

When you first draw up your monthly schedule, try and alternate 2 or 3 weeks of hard training with 1 easier week where you might reduce your work load by a quarter. This will give a mix of stress and recovery which will help the body to cope and, ultimately, improve your running.

2. Adaptation

Slowly build up your training work load to increase your aerobic endurance. As you get near to the target you have set for your race, adjust your training with speed workouts. This will help you peak for your race. Follow this with a recovery and then start again with some endurance running.

The increasing levels of stress allow the body and mind to improve. Be careful though as overstress does cause the possibility of breaking down. Getting the right balance of stress is difficult. It should be intense enough and regular enough to allow you to progress to a higher level of racing fitness. Use the 10 percent rule which is,

‘Do not increase your distance, time or speed by more than 10 percent from one month to the next. Also, no more than 10 percent of your running should be done as racing.’

3. Consistency

Training should be consistent work. No matter what the weather or how you feel you need to follow your training schedule. Training needs to be done continuously and consistently for good results. Regular running in small amounts is better than ad hoc days of hard slog only when you feel like it. It’s much easier to get out of shape than to get into shape.

Training is all about discipline. We have all had times when we want to take a day off just because things get a little tough. Always try to do at least half as much training as the previous week. Rather than not having a run at all, try cutting back on the distance, vary the pace or reduce your exercises to maintain your consistency.

Regular training in manageable amounts leads to consistency. There will always be unavoidable times when you miss a day or two. Don’t try to make it up all in one go. Add a kilometre or two to your schedule each day for a while to make up some of the lost distance.

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