Am I Ready for a Marathon?

Perhaps most of you who have hurdled the 10-km event now feels that the next goal to go for is the half-marathon or the marathon.

I do not have much details regarding the half-marathon for now, but for the marathon, it is recommended that you have a running history of at least a year with the frequency of three times a week. That is according to the Running for Fitness book. That makes me ineligible until August 2009. Though my husband thinks we should set our goal towards the half-marathon by middle of next year. This morning I ordered some books from Amazon.com which covers this topic but I will not get my hand on these precious treasures until December, when my sister-in law comes home from the US.

Anyway, for now, let me use the Complete Guide for Endurance Training as reference. According to this book, there are different periods for training: 1) Base training which is the preparatory building phase and the most essential foundation of the training which covers aound 8-12 weeks; 2) Speed training which is when you push your body to prepare it for the demands of the event which covers your next 4-8 weeks and finally, 3) Taper and Peaking which gradually reduces your training in 2-14 days.

So for the base training, the rule of thumb is to run slow for long distances. The goal is to build your endurance. You can start shedding unwanted weight at this stage. The speed training will initially deal more with training intensity rather than duration. So you decrease the length of time you run but you increase the speed. However, you should mix this with intervals of slow, long runs in order to maintain your endurance. Then towards the end of your speed training, you do the overtraining. This part is when you push your body to the limit but this should be done only during the third or second week before the competition. The most important part about the overtraining is that it should immediately be followed by the taper because it is during the taper when the adaptation occurs. Without the taper, the body will not be able to recover and this can lead to serious injuries or overtraining.

This kind of training can also be adapted for shorter races but this is more important for long races. A lot of people may get away with doing a 10-km without much training (that's me!) but the marathon is entirely a different thing altogether and should be planned carefully. That can mean looking at the Takbo.ph calendar and looking at the possible races for 2009 so that you can carefully lay out your training program.

Basic Training Concepts

Now that my husband and I have been monitoring the races that are being scheduled, I wanted to have a more laid-out plan for my running so I can improve my performance in races (in terms of personal best) as we go along.

I got this book by Jon Ackland, The Complete Guide to Endurance Training and I would like to share with you the 14 Basic Training Concepts that I found quite interesting:

1) Specificity

This simply means you have to be very specific in your training. It should simulate your racing performance as much as possible. So if your goal is to run a 5-km in 30 minutes, then that should be the pattern for your training. The closer you get to the day of the race, the closer should be the simulation. I think that really makes a lot of sense!

2) Frequency

This I find easy to do. It simply means being consistent with my running schedule. I usually run 3x a week now for 30-40 minutes with a day or two of recovery intervals. That is far better than running for 1 and a half hour once or twice a week. You cannot cram with running as you cram for your exams.

3) Overload

This simply means "do not baby yourself"! The only way that the body can adapt to greater stress is to increase your load each time your body has already adapted to the current workload. Nothing static about training for running here. It is increasingly dynamic.

4) Recovery

Do not kill yourself either! The best way to gain improvement is to provide for periods of recovery. It is said that the period of adaptation happens while the body is undergoing recovery. So if you do not rest, you will not improve!

5) Reversibility

What you gain now is not permanent. Once you stop training, you will lose what you have gained thus far because it is reversible. Do not expect to maintain those firm abs when you assume a couch potato profile.

6) Flexibility

Do not be obsessive-compulsive when it comes to your training schedule. Of course, typhoons will sometimes visit the country. Stay at home rather than risk being struck by a lightning or a falling tree. Try to weave your training into your schedule which will not compromise your work, family or your health.

7) Adaptability

It simply means your training should be gradual and continuous for more effective body adaptation. Do not rush! You will not run out of races anyway.

I shall continue with the remaining seven basic training concepts on my next blog, lest you get diarrhea and indigestion from information overload. Besides, my little one is already clamoring for my attention.