Marathon Training Tips

I highly recommend using a heart rate monitor. Learning to run at correct efforts is very important for workout recovery and fast race times.
One disadvantage of a heart rate monitor is trying to get to the desired heart rate too fast. Learning to use perceived effort in addition to the heart rate monitor will improve you times quite a bit.
I have learned through trial and error what heart rates to use for each race distance. A good rule of thumb is to learn what the corresponding pace feels like and then find out the heart rate associated with this pace.
I try to start each race on the lower range of my desired heart rate and then as I reach mid point in the race I will pick up the pace to the higher end of my heart rate range. I save my all out effort for the last mile of a race.
Heart Rate Ranges for Selected Race Distances
5k Races
90% of maximum heart rate for the 1st mile
95% of maximum heart rate for the 2nd mile
95-98% of maximum heart rate for 3rd mile
100% effort for sprint to finish
10k Races
85% of maximum heart rate for the 1st mile
85-90% of maximum heart rate for 2nd-4th mile
90-95% of maximum heart rate for 5th mile
95-98% of maximum heart rate for 6th mile
100% sprint to finish
½ Marathons
80% of maximum heart rate for 1st mile
80-85% of maximum heart rate for 2nd-6th mile
85-90% of maximum heart rate for 7th-10th mile
90-95% of maximum heart rate for 11-13th mile
95-100% sprint to finish
Marathons
75-80% of maximum heart rate 1st – 13th mile
80-85% of maximum heart rate 14th-20th mile
85-90% of maximum heart rate 21st-25th mile
90-95% or above for 26th mile
95% or above to the finish (anything above 90% will cause extreme pain)
A common mistake when using heart rate monitors is the belief that you must give 100% effort right from the beginning of a workout or race. Learning to use a heart rate monitor and effort based training will actually cause you to train more effectively and race faster.

I would like to share a new idea that I have come up with. My idea is combining a hill workout with tempo paced running into one workout. Using this method can save time and add a little spice to your weekly workouts.
I have been training for an October marathon since the middles of May. For the past week I have been trying to think of away to make this work out a little harder and more effective.
I came across this idea while I was doing today’s hill workout. I have been doing the same hill workout for the past 4 or 5 weeks. This morning I was feeling good and I wanted to make things a little more challenging. I got the idea to add a tempo run to the end of my normal hill workout.
My usual hill workout has been a warm up of 1.5 miles. After the warm up run over to the hills begin to run the series of 12 hills. After the hill workout is finished I will cool down by running back to the start. The total workout is 7 miles.
This morning I warmed up and ran the hills as usual. After finishing the hills instead of cooling down I ran for 20 minutes at tempo pace. This made the total workout about 10 miles.
I must admit this workout is a lot tougher. I plan to rotate a ten mile tempo pace run with my new combination workout. My theory is that I will be able to keep the leg strength that I have gained and also improve my lactate threshold with this type of training too.
I have adapted this workout to my marathon training. This workout could also be adapted to different race distances. Runners training for a half marathon would have a great workout for finishing the race strong. By cutting the hill workout in half and still running the tempo pace portion runners could use this for 5 and 10k training.

Wearing proper shoes for different types of running is vital. There are three different types of shoes that should be worn. For easy days and long runs, daily trainers work fine. For tempo runs, hill workouts, and races longer than 10k light weight trainers are the best choice. For track workouts and races shorter than 10k racing flats work great.
Daily trainers are the shoes that you will run the most mileage in. Make sure that your daily trainers are comfortable. I believe that all shoes should be comfortable right out of the box. The daily trainers that I wear fit so great that I am not afraid to run a 20 miler the first time I wear them. Shoes that need to be broke in are probably not the right type of shoe for your feet. Find out what type of foot that you have and then only purchase shoes that fall into that category.
Light weight trainers are great shoes for faster paced training. For tempo runs and hill workouts light weight trainers are the ticket. Light weight trainers have adequate cushioning and support to protect your feet and still are light enough for faster paced running. Be careful when buying light weight trainers. Make sure that you purchase the correct type for your type of feet.
Another great thing about light weight trainers is that they are light enough and stable enough for longer races. I personally wear trainers for half and full marathons. My own experience has been that my feet never hurt after half marathons, finishing a full marathon everything hurts. I would still recommend wearing light weight trainers for these race distances.
Racing flats are very light weight, usually less than 9 0z. Be careful with racing flats, finding the correct fit is extremely important. Don’t always purchase the lightest pair that you can find. I prefer racing flats with some support and cushioning. A few ounces of cushion and support are always better than becoming injured just to save 10 or 15 seconds in a 5k.
I personally would not recommend wearing racing flats in races longer than 10k. I have worn racing flats in a couple of half marathons and my feet were sore for days afterwards. Since I have worn light weight trainers exclusively my feet never hurt afterwards.
The most popular time to wear racing flats is during track workouts. The feeling of wearing light weight shoes during fast paced workouts is what makes racing flats so popular. I personally like to wear racing flats during all of my track workouts. There are others who wear racing flats only for a race. Choose which time works best for you.
There is a lot of discussion surrounding a person’s body weight and shoe selection. I am 6′1 and weigh 180lbs, so being a larger runner I still wearing light weight trainers and racing flats. I would recommend that each person decide for themselves if they want to wear lighter shoes.

I have run 15 marathons and finding the perfect pace has always been a problem. I believe that I have a formula for marathon pacing that works. I will explain how to calculate your pace using a heart rate monitor.
The major problem running marathons for me has always been starting out either too fast or too slow. When I start out too fast, by mile 18 I am in serious trouble. With eight miles to go and my body in bad shape things get real ugly. When I start too slow by mile thirteen my legs will usually not respond to the faster paced. I believe this happens because as the legs become tired your stride length and turnover will not increase to a faster pace.
To determine your marathon pace run a half marathon at your best effort during the first week of your marathon training program. Wear a heart rate monitor during the half marathon and record your average heart rate of the entire race. By subtracting 5 beats from this number you will know your marathon pace heart rate.
Example: average heart rate of 150bpm – 5bpm = marathon pace heart rate of 145bpm
Training at this heart rate once a week during your marathon buildup you will learn to run at marathon pace and the correct effort. Start your marathon pace runs at 5 miles and build up to 15 or 20 miles in length.
Your long runs can be used as marathon pace runs as well. Every other week running a long run and adding marathon pace to the second half will improve you fitness tremendously. Once a month use one of your long runs exclusively as a marathon pace run. After a longer marathon pace run over 15 miles use the next week to recover.
At the midpoint of your marathon training run another half marathon and record your average heart rate. Doing this will allow you to monitor any changes in your average heart rate. If your average heart rate increases or stays the same you will know that your training is going well. If your average heart rate goes down, you will have an indication of over training.
As your marathon race date approaches run a half marathon at your best effort three weeks before race day. Use a heart rate monitor during the race to record the average heart rate of the entire race. After the race is over save this number for future reference. Take the average heart rate of your half marathon and subtract five beats from it. This number will be the maximum heart rate for running you’re upcoming marathon.

There seems to be so many theories about long runs during marathon training. How often should you run? How far to run? How many long runs? How fast? It is my turn to give some opinions and theories about this topic.
I believe that building mileage for a marathon is the biggest robber of performance. Training for weeks and weeks plus adding mileage leaves a person worn out. Weeks and weeks of long runs add to this exhaustion.
I consider a long run to be over 15 miles in length. When the length starts approaching 20 miles even more stress is added to your training. I prefer to run long runs two weeks in a row. Resting the third week and taking one additional day of complete rest.
Example: Week 1 – Sunday Long
Week 2 – Sunday Long
Week 3 – Sunday Rest, Monday Rest
The next controversial topic is how far to run? My own experience from running 15 marathons has taught me that I need to run one 23 or 24 mile long run in training approximately three weeks before the actual race. I recommend this because, of the confidence that I receive and the time spent on my feet. Every time I tried to run just 20 mile long runs I always hit the wall at 20 miles. Going beyond 20 miles and increasing to 23 or 24 miles always prevented the wall form happening.
Pacing for marathon long runs should be very comfortable. The reason for your marathon long runs is purely aerobic. Other aspects of your marathon training will address marathon pacing etc. I recommend using a heart rate monitor for all training, especially during long runs. Keep your heart rate below 75% of maximum. Going above 75% will lengthen the recovery time of your long run.
How many long runs? I prefer to train 20 weeks for a marathon. I don’t believe training plans less than this are very effective. The body needs time to adapt and become stronger. Most injuries incurred during shorter training plans are caused by adding to much stress in a short amount of time.
I will not begin my marathon training until I have finished training for a half marathon in the early spring. After running a half marathon my long runs will be over 15 miles. This is a good point to begin adding runs over 18 miles. I will try to run 6 or 7 long runs of 20 miles during marathon training. My last long run of 23 or 24 miles will be done three weeks before marathon race day. Then I will begin my taper.