SPEED Part4: Marathon Speed and Final Thoughts (23-06-2020) The terms ‘speed’ and ‘ speed- work’ can mean different things to different athletes and coaches depending on the target race distance and the physical capabilities of the individual athletes Concluding my previous three ‘chapters’ on the various race speeds in running (up to half marathon pace) and their use in training, this final part will: - explain the integration of marathon pace in training; - outline the common approach to marathon racing used by many elites; - overview opinion on training zones; - and conclude by highlighting the need for ‘speed reserve’ for all runners Marathon Speed/Pace Whether you are a middle-distance runner (800m/1500m/3000m), a 5k/10k specialist or a marathon specialist, running segments or tempos at marathon speed should be a feature of some of your medium-hard workouts. Many middle-distance runners may never run a marathon, so this is really a theoretical marathon speed. This could be calculated as percentage of VO2max speed or 30s-50s per km slower than your best 5k pace. This pace is reasonably taxing, especially when an athlete may have residual fatigued from other (hard) training and is definitely not recovery pace. It is even harder than what many would describe as ‘steady runs’. Marathon pace is a speed that should not accumulate any debilitating bi-products of anaerobic energetics, but requires a reasonable amount of effort and will be difficult to hold long conversations at. Middle-distance runners may use this pace at the start of tempos (5-20mins duration) or at the end of a progressive medium length runs from easy-steady-Marathon-HM to finish. This type of run will count at least as a semi-hard workout and fits well in base-building phase that will have less interval sessions. Again, I’d reinforce the point that running a significant distance (2miles plus) at marathon or HM speed is not an easy-recovery run! For those aiming to race a marathon, then training at this pace in key workouts becomes more critical in the final stages of marathon preparation. Abridged guide to Marathon training planning Running a fractionally faster than your pb speed for marathon continuously tends to create insufficient glycogen around 2hours with often debilitatin g effects of ‘hitting the wall’ or at least some significant slowing of racing speed. We can consume easily digestible and fast acting carbohydrates during the race to counter some of this, but it may not be enough to prevent decline in the latter stages. Further help (or hindrance) can come from we train leading up to the marathon. Training in a way that improves the ability to burn more fat (at a higher rate) as a fuel source and preserve a bit more carbohydrate for later in the race is major consideration for an effective high performance marathon training plan. The drive for this adaptation (and to preserve it) will feature more in the mid to latter stages of marathon preparation. All race distance peaking stages can follow 3 broad training phases of: a base building period, a pre-competition period, and a competition period. (i) Marathon base building While not surprising that this phase should build a gradual increase in volume that is paramount for marathon racing, it is also the optimum period to build ‘speed reserve’ and include 3k-5k-10k ‘ speed work ’/energetics sessions that are less likely to be used in the middle training phase and very little used in the final phase (except in a relaxed strides fashion). How speed work is introduced in optimum marathon training is almost the opposite of middle distance training. The highest quality speed work is best done in the base period and early pre- competition phase, to enabling the athlete to improve their 5k/10k speed and ability. One downside to this training (in relation to marathon performance) is that while improving the overall power output, this comes at a cost of reducing the potential fat fuel burning rate. So the athlete has got faster, has a greater speed reserve (i.e. marathon pace feels more comfortable), but may be at more at risk of ‘hitting the wall’ as carbohydrate/glycogen is consumed slightly faster. The redress to this comes in the next 2 training phases. In this base building phase there may be only 1 to 2 hard workouts per week plus strides and short hills, supplemented by easy-steady running (the latter accounting for approximately 90% of total volume). (ii) Pre-competition phase This phase (which could be between 16 – 8weeks out from the marathon) is characterised by a tightening of paces used for key workouts ranging from 10k through to marathon, with the VO2max (3k-5k) training forsaken but still in the mix just as strides at this pace that do not stimulate VO2max kinematics, but do train the biomechanics of running at these faster than marathon pace speeds. This avoids detrimental impact on pure aerobic power and fat burning rate. Lactate threshold/Half Marathon pace workouts become a larger portion of the hard/key workouts. Typically, the hard workouts per week are an interval session, a tempo session and the long run. There are variations to this and using a 2 week cycle may be optimal for ‘covering all bases’ of key workouts required. Although there should be a general avoidance of speed work that incurs significant anaerobic contribution, some alternating pace runs may let lactate levels rise slightly on the effort but then be used (as fuel) - and lowered during the float recovery run between efforts - is well placed in this phase (e.g. 400m at 10k/ 800m at Mara pace float repeats). Another method used by elites to improve fuel efficiency (in burning more fat and preserving glycogen) is to do fasted long runs. This means skipping pre-run breakfast or snack and just hydrating with water or nil calorie isotonic before a long run. This carries risks if the run is too fast (you hit the wall in training!) or repeated too often (insufficient tissue/bone repair leading to injury), especially if post-run refuelling and nutrition is inadequate. One strategy is to run only every other long easy-st eady run ‘fasted’. For those with a significant injury history, like stress fractures, then perhaps this fasted training stimulus carries even more risk. The long run will build- up in distance without increasing pace beyond ‘easy’ initially. Once established, then some long runs will become more of a training stimulus with progressive build-up of pace over the latter stages of the run. (iii) Competition phase This may range from 6 to 8 weeks leading into race day. Race paces in medium-hard workouts will graduate ever more to marathon pace and paces close to it – described by some as a ‘funnelling’ periodisation approach, which is favoured by renowned and successful Italian marathon coach Renato Canova and seems to be the strategy for many other elites. This is where key sessions/hard runs become ever more marathon race speed specific leading up to the target peak performance. Avoiding any speed work that incurs significant anaerobic contribution becomes more paramount, but 5k-10k pace strides or short efforts with full recovery are used to maintain good biomechanics at faster speeds (as these do not compromise the fat burning adaptations made in all the build-up to this point). 2 or 3 medium-long runs will become marathon race pace specific, say starting with 12miles, then 14miles then 16miles at least 2 weeks apart (potentially longer for top elite). These are big efforts and training load around will need to be adjusted accordingly. This greater percentage of marathon pace running should theoretically fine tune running efficiency at the target race pace and also improve pace judgement. Enough training at the intended race speed in the 6-8week specific training period leading up to the peak/pb race target seems logical no matter what race distance is targeted. The conundrum is how much is enough to benefit the athlete and how much is too much to potentially over-cook the training load and not adapt or recover optimally for the big day. Tapering will involve gradual reduction in volume and intensity from 2-3 weeks out with race pace work and relaxed strides maintained. Training Zones Training zones can be described in ranges of intensity that generally span for from very easy to maximum effort. They can be set using heart rate (HR), running speed, % of VO2max speed or perception of effort or a combination of these. They all have their accuracy limits and, contrary to what some people think, there is no jump in stimulus or improvement across any boundaries/lines between these zones (as they are purely conceptual). Training stimulus is very much across a multi-layered continuum that can produce a range of adaptations that may not be accounted for in slavishly following strict training zones for whole or parts of sessions. For a example, a 12x60s hill repeat session may give a lower HR max than a 10min tempo, yet anyone doing the hill repeats will rate it harder. The HR is lower because it only peaks in the recovery, then drops before the next rep and 60s isn’t long enough to reach max HR anyway, so the average HR reads lower and the added muscular endurance load is not ‘picked up’ in the HR comparison (of ‘apples’ and ‘pears’) . The athlete doing those hill repeats will feel more tired the next day yet ‘the numbers’ said the tempo was in a more intense training zone. However, there is merit in using training effort zones. There is substantial evidence and logic that the bulk of training for endurance sport (80%-ish) should be easy-moderate effort and that hard intense training should be focussed on around 20% of training time (see 80/20 Polarised Training concept from studying elite endurance athletes by Dr Stephen Seilers). Making easy recovery runs harder often compromises how good the key workouts could be and leads to less improvement, sometimes stagnation and sometimes injury or illness with insufficient recovery. That is to say, sub-optimal training. Zones in training are a good guide and tool, but perception of effort, terrain, freshness, staleness and niggles need to be factored in. Also, the need to run at faster than race speeds sometimes on easy days (via relaxed strides) shouldn’t be missed by becoming too fixated by just the metrics used in training zone prescriptions. Otherwise this makes run training l ike ‘painting by numbers’ (and we haven’t even touched on mental train ing, pace judgement and tactics that don’t feature in the domain of training zones ). Bringing together all speeds For all runners at all race distances, there is a need to train at a range of speeds that are: faster than race pace to deve lop ‘speed reserve’; at race pace to stimulate and familiarise the body to the target pace; and slower that race pace for aerobic development and recovery. What range of paces and where and how they are used differs somewhat across middle to long distance events, but all athletes benefit from improving speed over shorter race distances. Andy Hobdell (coach to marathon runners Paul Pollock and Kevin Seaward, who both broke the NI record) said recently that; when he started coaching Kevin Seaward he assessed a weakness in ‘speed reserve’ and a need to improve his 10k ability to better his marathon potential. W hereas he felt Paul’s greater background in 800/1500 m racing in his teens and early twenties - plus subsequent 5k/10k racing - already gave reasonable ‘speed reserve’ to make elite marathon pace fell more ‘comfortable’....at least in the first half! Don’t be too rigid to your plans! Whatever training plans made, the coach/athlete need to flexible to feedback on how the athlete responds and how long it takes to recover from previous workouts. This will inform decisions on whether to stick to the plan or adjust, delay or skip a subsequent planned workout/training load, in order to avoid excessive overload and downside effects. We are all human and everyone responds differently to the same training load and this can also be affected by everything else going on in their lives! That’s all folks! Francis Twitter: @fmarsh_marsh1