By Lance Watson
Jan. 26, 2007 -- Winter is a great time for working on your running, and if you are a long-course triathlete, scheduling an off-season marathon will complement your endurance development for next season.
In putting together a 10-week marathon-training schedule for triathletes, I have maintained some swimming and cycling in the program to make sure you don’t get too far away from fitness and skill in those sports. Year-round frequency on the bike and swim is important for overall triathlon skill development. It is also an integral part of the cross-training component of this marathon build. Still, the following program gives top priority to your run sessions.
Hitting your zonesYou can use your heart rate as a guide to ensure you are training in the correct zones. Generally, the zones are listed as 1 through 5, with 1 and 2 being the easiest effort (used primarily for recovery and warm-up) and 5 being above your lactic threshold, similar to running a very fast 800 on the track. Endurance athletes do not spend too much time in zone 5, since it is highly taxing on the body, and too much work in this area leads to breakdown and over-training.
This marathon program focuses on zones 1-4 as the foundation for an endurance event. Pay attention to your heart rate and sense of perceived effort during your workouts. Note, however, that the heart is a muscle, not a machine, and heart-rate numbers can change from day to day as a result of stress, hormones, climate, hydration, fatigue, caffeine and a host of other factors. Learn to rely on pace, perceived effort and heart rate to train effectively. As you progress, note your pace at a given heart rate. It should improve over the course of the program. You should be able to set a relatively accurate goal time for the marathon by the end of this program, based on your consistent performance in heart-rate zone 3 for the long runs.
Heart-rate training zonesThe training schedule is heart-rate based, but with some reference to pace. The heart-rate zones of reference are as follows:
Zone 1: lactate threshold minus 15-22%
Zone 2: lactate threshold minus 9-14%
Zone 3: lactate threshold minus 4-8%
Zone 4: lactate threshold minus 0-3% (this is the heart rate you would race at for 10km of running or 40km of cycling)
Zone 5: lactate threshold plus 0-8%
Program overviewPrerequisites: You must be comfortable running for 75 minutes. This program is for the fit triathlete who would like to run at least a sub-4:30 marathon. The week prior to the start of this program should be a recovery week. Sessions labeled “Advanced” are optional and suitable for triathletes used to doing more swim, bike and run volume. It is important that these additional sessions are not done at the expense of your run workouts.
Keep it real: There is some range listed in the workout descriptions to account for your level of fitness and your marathon goals. Choose the volume level appropriate for you.
Stay on track: Swims are listed generally with reference to the best choice of swim session for that day. This time of year should be strength (i.e. pull with paddles sets) and technique-focused. Riding should be aerobic (riding on the small ring) and technique-oriented, with emphasis on higher cadence and a smooth pedal stroke plus cornering, braking and descending skills. The workouts should be done in the order listed in the day.
Structure: Overall, the training program progresses with two weeks of build followed by one week of recovery. Weeks three and six are lower-volume recovery-oriented weeks with long runs during those weeks occurring on Saturday to allow an extra day prior to the next two build weeks of the training cycle. The final two weeks, nine and 10, are for the taper.
Intervals: The recovery times for interval sets are listed in brackets, and the recovery consists of walking for the specified time. Intervals require a harder effort with higher heart and cardio output.
Fartlek: Pick-ups are done at your current 10K run pace, and recovery is at your marathon pace so your heart rate drops gradually.
Strides: Run at approximately 85 percent of your sprint speed for 100 yards. Take 30 seconds’ rest after each. Focus on building speed through increased turnover and stride length.
Over the past 20 years, Lance Watson has coached Ironman and Olympic champions. He would be happy to build a program specifically for you, and beginner and experienced triathletes are invited to contact LifeSport Coaching (coach@LifeSport.ca) or visit lifesport.ca
.This article appeared in the December 2006 issue of Triathlete.
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