The 20 miler
MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2016
Runners training for marathon races are usually doled out a training schedule that includes one or more 20-mile runs. The theory is that this distance offers the runner enough "time on your feet" for the conditioning needed to be able to complete a 26.2 mile marathon while not extending the run to the point of risking injury in training.
My more aggressive training schedule for the Baltimore Marathon in mid October (based in part on what Coach Mike Plumb prescribed to first get me to the Boston Marathon and on the insight offered in Advanced Marathoning) served up a 20-mile run on Saturday morning, 2 miles longer than most of the 80 runners participating in the Annapolis Striders' marathon training group were running. This was the first of four 20-22 mile runs planned for me over the next six weeks.
Turns out the prescribed course, which included a new street loop off of the B&A Trail - with a big hill, was longer than our coaches thought, for me 21.2 miles. Not a concern: I soldiered through, running past the cutoff to our finish point at the high school for a 1.5 mile out-and-back down the trail to get in what I thought was the last leg for the 20 miles.
Back at the finish Coach Tim kidded me about my longer run with the 1.2 mile over-distance on top of that: "Here's Lee, he ran his 94th marathon this morning!"
Marathoners have been raised to view the 20-mile mark as a barrier to be hurdled, the point where we can "hit the wall." Indeed, in my many marathons I have often found 18-22 miles a difficult point, typically because despite taking in Gatorade and gel on the course I become depleted of ready energy and my legs, especially when I am under-trained, start to feel like tree stumps and can cramp badly, especially in hotter weather.
In training we marathoners typically run our 20 milers slower than we will race; we are out there for the distance not the pace. The likelihood of cramping and crashing and even "tree stump legs" is reduced.
To their detriment, I think, that's where most runners in marathon training leave it.
I'm not talking about new marathoners training for their first race, who just want to "get through it" to the finish medal. I strongly believe these newbies should be be very conservative and not run too many miles nor run at too fast a pace. They are most susceptible to injury when pioneering such longer distances without multiple years of longer distance training.
But for the runner who has already run a marathon or several and who aspires to get faster and finish in style (and maybe cop a Boston Marathon qualifying time), just "getting in the 20 miler" and running most everything slower than their target marathon race pace is unlikely to be sufficient to get them to their goal.
Here's what has been shown to contribute to faster marathon finishes and for which my own training has provided evidence:
Multiple training runs in the 20-22 mile range. As I already said, my schedule has three more listed.
Longer interval training, which means 400 meter to 1 mile intervals at faster than marathon race pace. For example, this week's track workout contains nine 400-meter intervals, 6 at slower than 5K race pace and three faster, and next week I have an 8 mile run with five 6 minute intervals at 5K race pace (with 90 seconds in between each one).
Marathon race pace tempo run segments within longer runs. For instance, in the next few weeks my schedule shows a 10 mile run with 6 miles at marathon pace or a little faster, and then the following week a 12 mile run with 7 miles at marathon race pace or a little faster. Toward the end of my training I have a 17 mile run with 14 miles at marathon race pace. (That will be a challenge for a training run!)
I am just entering this "get faster" phase, except that I have been doing a weekly track workout for the past five weeks. I am looking forward to this up-tempo work - too many miles slogging slowly through the heat and humidity makes me feel like I have lost all my speed.
Time to shift gears and accelerate!
