I want to proudly
cross the finish line of a marathon. I
don’t want to stagger and stumble across the finish line. I don’t want to see
the finish line as blessed relief. I do expect to be aware of every aching muscle
in my legs. I want people to congratulate
me and ask me how I feel.
What is a marathon?
The marathon is a long-distance running
race with an official distance of 42.195 kilometers (26.219 miles, or 26 miles
385 yards), usually run as a road race.
The
modern Olympics began in 1896. The organizers were looking for an event that
recalled ancient Greece. They decided on a race from the town of Marathon to
Athens. The race was to commemorate a local Greek fable. The fable was that in
490 BC a Greek messenger soldier ran from Marathon to Athens to announce that
the Persians had been defeated in a battle. When he arrived in Athens he ran
into the political assembly; shouted, “We have won”; collapsed and died. The initial race commemorated the fable and
says nothing about the fable being historically accurate.
Why such an odd distance?
In 1896 the first modern marathon was won by a Greek water
carrier. The distance from Marathon to Athens, going the chosen way, was about
40 kilometers. The length of the first few Olympic marathons varied. In 1908
the Olympic Games were held in London. The organizers decided on a marathon
course from Windsor Castle to the stadium in White City followed by a lap of
the stadium. The course that was used was
26 miles and 385 yards and after 1908 this became the standard length of any
marathon race. Johnny Hayes from USA won
the 1908 Olympic marathon. His victory
popularized the event and led to cities hosting Marathons.
There was
an aura, a mystic associated with running a marathon. The word marathon entered
our language. With phrases such as “like
running a marathon”, “the final steps of a marathon”, “a marathon effort”. A marathon tends to symbolize something that
is difficult to achieve; something that requires a long sustained effort; perseverance
and determination and the dogged ability to keep going. Not intelligence or luck or skill or
creativity.
What does a marathon mean to me?
To me a
marathon means self-knowledge. Self-awareness. To me it means something that is
not for everyone. Definitely for a certain type of person. Certain type of physic.
Certain type of personality.
In
Australia we are blessed. We often have
the right environment for a marathon. We
often have the right places to train. And multiple well run and organized
marathons are available everywhere. In this country we are lucky runners.
I need a
reason for attempting this marathon. I need motivation. Going back 30 years, my
motivation for running my first marathon arose from fun running. I would enter
a race of a certain distance, finish and then think that I could run further. “I
can go further. How much further? What is my limit?” My motivation was to find
out what I was capable of doing. I would
not think of time. I would only think of finishing.
I would
listen to other runners. They would talk about marathons. I would listen to a
guy talk about his marathon and I would think, “If he can do that then so can I.”
Other runners only reinforced my motivation. If he can do that then what can I
do?
Finishing
marathons gave me confidence. It gave me confidence to do other things. There
was a slight change in the way people treated you. I thougt some were impressed
to a slight extent. Maybe some were unimpressed. Nowadays my goal is the same.
My goal is to finish. But my motivation is different. My motivation is to prove
to myself that I am not old and ill. To prove to myself that I am fit and
healthy. It’s all about me. I don’t care what other people think.
My previous
experience tells me finishing a marathon will not occur serendipitously. I will
need a training plan in order to finish a marathon.
For me every training run should be about enjoyment
I don’t want
my training to feel like a chore. I want to look forward to my training
runs. Every run should be an aim in
itself. Not done because it leads somewhere else. My training runs may begin because the body
is telling me to run. I may become addicted. I may run because of my hormone
levels; maybe for relaxation or for social reasons. I don’t care. Maybe a form
of mindfulness or meditation. Once again I don’t care.
I want my training
to involve slow, steady and gradual increases. From my view the initial
increase should be of distance. I will increase my weekly distance until I
reach what I think is the right distance. I will then increase the speed or
intensity of my running. For my body to adapt it takes time. I am expecting that training will result in
changes in my muscles, nervous system, blood vessels and hormones. It takes time for blood vessels to grow; for
muscle cells to change; for hormones to become more efficient. Any of the
changes I am expecting will take months. I am also expecting changes in my
brain. I am expecting to learn.
Every training run has to be either pushing the body, resting the body or maintaining the body.
A lot of
experts advise against over training. The other problem is under training. My
aim is to arrive at the start line at my absolute peak. Everybody needs different training and
recovery. Every body’s life is different.
Amount of incidental exercise outside of training varies. Amount and
quality of rest varies. And every year for every marathon my training has
varied. This is what I love. I have
constantly monitored myself and adjusted my training. I have never taken pleasure out of correctly following
someone else’s plan. I take pleasure out of adjusting and changing my training
plans and keeping within my guidelines.
Under
training will mean body adapts insufficiently. Overtraining means illness or
injury or mentally tired. My aim is to find the right balance between over and
under training.
Every
training run requires self-assessment. Do I have a cold or flu or a systemic
illness? Do I have any local problems such as tenderness, swelling or pain on dysfunctional
movement? The weather, social engagements, work commitments, shoes and training
gear all influence my training. My marathon training is not an island separate
from my life.
My training involves a period of intense quality training.
Internet
experts suggest 8, 10 or 12 weeks of quality training. My previous experience
tells me I need ten weeks of quality running which is consistent with the
experts.
I cannot
suddenly start quality running from zero.
I need a period of poor quality running prior to the period of quality
running. The amount and quality of physical
exercise in the lead up period will depend on my lifestyle. My lifestyle will vary year to year and
within the one year.
The aim of
training is to build up the body or adapt the body so that it can run from 30
to 42 kays. All of my training is aimed at running the last ten kays.
How many kays a week?
My previous
experience: 60 kays a week resulted in
better performance than 47 kays a week. 60 kays a week is my target at the
moment. I can do this easily without any adverse effects on my life style and
it seems to be enough to give me the necessary endurance.
What do the
experts suggest? They all suggest
something different which is good. I love this diversity of opinions.
What type of training?
My previous
experience says that the average speed of training had little effect on race
time. My experience says my average speed in training went up from 6.78 to 7.52
min/kay. My final race time decreased. Other factors were involved.
A speed
session or a time trial once a week had little effect. It does give me an
indication of general fitness and keeps training interesting.
Experience and
all the experts and most runners tell me one long slow distance run a week is
crucial. Nothing but empirical evidence. I haven’t seen much scientific
evidence or studies which proves long runs are an essential part of training. I
have found that the long runs allow me to adapt psychologically. I know every
time I do a long run it becomes easier emotionally.
The experts
always recommend endurance first and speed second. I attempt to build up endurance by running
long mileages per week. I record my weekly mileage. I don’t care how it is achieved. I find my race time is related to my weekly total.
Once I can do my targeted weekly mileage easily then I try and introduce speed
sessions. I have found that this basic idea works for me. Speed comes second and
is built on top of the endurance foundation.
What speed sessions? I try a variety. Depends on my mood or the weather
or what others are doing or the stars.
Taper?
Conventional
wisdom is that after a period of quality running you need a taper. The aim of a taper is to arrive at the start
line in peak condition. The taper is a
period of decreased running. The taper should
allow my body to rested and recover from all the hard training while
maintaining all the adaptations from training.
My recent experience
is:
In 2014 2 week taper
Week I ¾ of
normal mileage
Week 2 ½ of
normal mileage
In 2015 4 week taper
Week 1, 2,
3 ¾ of weekly mileage
Week 4 ¼ of
weekly mileage
Race in
2015 was 15 minutes faster. Taper in 2015 was associated with better result. My conclusion is that there are more
important variables than the taper.
But the
taper is still important and I treat it seriously. I have a few guidelines which
I attempt to follow:
Training
changes the physiology of my body. Training alters red
blood cell numbers, the oxygen carrying molecule haemoglobin, blood capillary
density in muscles and muscles cell mitochondria and oxygen carrying myoglobin.
These changes last for around 8 weeks.
These changes will outlive most tapers.
Speed
decreases quicker than endurance. I
maintain some sprints up to the day before. The closer the race the less the sprints.
Lethargy
and sluggishness can occur during a taper. Which I treat by doing some sprints.
The
taper should eliminate any muscle damage or muscle tenderness.
Taper
is also a time to prepare mentally. Rest and meditate on the race. Calm my
mind.
Taper
needs to be very flexible. I will monitor myself constantly and try and react
appropriately.
Food and drink and race tactics
Only
a small amount of carbohydrate (about 600 gm) is stored in muscles as glycogen.
This is enough to get the average person between 20 and 30 kays or about ninety
minutes. Not enough to finish a marathon.
After
all the glycogen in the muscles has been used the extra energy either comes
from carbohydrates ingested during the race or fat stores.
Energy
gels are largely carbohydrate based. These are the conventional method of
getting energy during exercise. Some people train with gels.
Some
experts are recommending a low carbohydrate diet so that the body adapts and
uses more fat and less carbohydrate as an energy source. They are recommending
this diet as a permanent life style change. This is one of the debates in our society.
Should energy come from fat or carbohydrates?
My
habit is to train without carbohydrates. The body shifts to fat as a fuel and
becomes more efficient. On race day I will use a carbohydrate gel.
I
have seen this regime called the train low, race high regime. Not my idea. It
gives me confidence knowing it is an established regime with a name and
proponents who have won Olympic medals.
23 February, 2017
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