Going Long
Frequently many wonder how they are going to get to their race distance from their current fitness level. Because of the complexity of training, this article is specifically written to help athletes who are going for their first marathon.
A few principles must be remembered when training for any endurance sport:
- Increase mileage not more than 10% per week
- Every 4th week, reduce mileage to allow for rest and consolidation of training gains
- Listen to your body, if its tired, rest
- Do not train when you are sick, or injured no matter how minor it may be
- Watch your hydration levels
- Watch your sleep or rest patterns (no sleep = no training)
- Improvement = Training + Recovery (rest)
- Do plenty of stretching pre and post activity
- Make sure your shoes and equipment are in good working order. Average shoe lifespan is 500km
The table below shows a recommended 20 weeks Base Training program for a marathon.
| Week No. | Long Run(km) | Short Run(km) | Short Run(km) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | 8 | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | 9 | 4 | 4 |
| 4* | 7 | 3 | 3 |
| 5 | 11 | 6 | 6 |
| 6 | 12 | 7 | 7 |
| 7 | 13 | 8 | 8 |
| 8* | 11 | 6 | 6 |
| 9 | 14 | 9 | 9 |
| 10 | 15 | 10 | 10 |
| 11 | 16 | 11 | 11 |
| 12* | 14 | 9 | 9 |
| 13 | 17 | 12 | 12 |
| 14 | 18 | 13 | 13 |
| 15 | 19 | 14 | 14 |
| 16* | 17 | 12 | 12 |
| 17 | 20 | 11 | 11 |
| 18 | 21 | 10 | 10 |
| 19 | 22 | 9 | 9 |
| 20* | 20 | 10 | 10 |
The science of training allows us to overload our bodies to increase fitness through adaptations, but every athlete must also recognize that in training there is an ‘art’ aspect. The art aspect can only come through experience and feed. Hence, it is important for us to think and explore different training methods and programs rather than just being slaves to any training program.