TrainingConverting Science into Performance |
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Successful Marathoning on Just 3 Running Days per Week If you are planning on running a marathon in the coming months there are a lot of proven marathon programs out there to choose from. And most are pretty similar in that they generally follow the same format. This format consists of increasing the distance of the long run up to about 20 miles or so, increasing the volume and distance of easy runs, increasing total weekly mileage, and adding in some amount of speed work in the form of tempo runs and/or intervals. What would happen if you only ran the key workouts from one of those popular marathon programs? What if you only ran the long runs, tempo runs, and intervals, but eliminated the easy runs? Could you successfully complete a marathon on such a minimal training type of program? Would your performance suffer? These same questions were asked by Exercise Physiologists at Furman University in South Carolina. They put together a training study in 2004 to see what the result would be from just such a program (1, 2). They recruited 25 subjects, 12 females and 13 males, and put them on a 16 week training program that culminated with the running of the 2004 Kiawah Island Marathon. 17 of these subjects had run marathons before and 8 of the subjects were marathon novices. The purpose of the training program was “achieving as much as possible on a minimum of training”. Each subject was given a battery of laboratory tests prior to beginning the program, including VO2max, lactate threshold, running economy, and body composition. The program, as noted above, consisted of just 3 runs per week – one long run, one tempo run, and one interval workout. It also included 2 cross training days per week. Weekly mileage was approximately 20 – 35 miles per week. Long runs were conducted at goal marathon pace plus 30 – 45 seconds per mile. Tempo runs were conducted between 10k and marathon pace. Intervals were run at about 5k pace. An example interval workout is a 10-20 minute warm up run, followed by 10 x 400m with 400 m recovery intervals, and then a 10 minute cool down at an easy pace. A sample training week looked like this: Sample training week Monday – cross training Tuesday – Interval workout Wednesday – cross training Thursday – Tempo run Friday – off Saturday – Long run Sunday – off Twenty-three of the subjects completed the entire training program – one subject dropped out due to a family emergency and one dropped out due to injury. Twenty one subjects ran the marathon, while 2 subjects ran an alternate half-marathon due to minor injuries earlier in the program. Of the 21 who ran the marathon, 15 established personal best times. Obviously the 8 first timers set marathon PRs, but note that 7 of the experienced marathoners also set PRs. 4 of the 6 experience marathoners who didn’t set PRs ran faster than their most previous marathon. The average finishing time for the men was 3:49:23 (range of 2:56 – 4:51). The average finishing time for the women was 4:20:42 (range of 3:56 – 4:44). One of the researchers, Bill Pierce, chair of Furman’s Health and Exercise Science department and experienced marathoner with 31 marathons under his belt and a PR of 2:44:50, had this to say about the results. “Our people didn’t get hurt, and most ran their best-ever marathon. I think we showed that you can teach people to train more efficiently.” Is this high intensity program a recipe for injury? Pierce noted, “I had expected we would lose at least five runners to injury so I was very happy with this outcome (author’s note: only 1 dropped out due to injury, 2 sustained minor injuries that affected their training enough that they dropped down to the half-marathon instead). It seemed to prove our workouts, which were harder than most of the runners were accustomed to, didn’t lead to a rash of injuries.” Feedback from the subjects was very positive. Here are some of their comments: “I LOVED running only 3 days/week. I’ve always felt that typical marathon training always recommended too much running (junk miles). I also liked the variety of running fast, medium and slow for the 3 runs per week. I do think that cross- training is useful and I love doing many different activities (that’s why running three days per week is so great). Overall, this was a fabulous program and I am VERY happy with the results.”
“I REALLY liked running just 3 days/week. It was soooo much easier psychologically than other marathon training programs. I found myself looking forward to the next run and feeling like I wanted to run more often than allowed.”
“If (this) training is offered again, I absolutely will be there!” The bottom line is this program was very successful in preparing these runners to complete their goal marathon. Additionally, all but 2 of the experienced marathoners were able to set PRs in the marathon or beat their most previous marathon performance. The results were so encouraging that the researchers are conducting a follow on marathon study that will culminate in the running of the 2005 Kiawah Marathon. If you are planning on running a marathon in the near future and want to follow a proven training program, albeit one that is a little different from most standard programs, this program could be a good choice. Reference:
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