The Running Shoes

A load of marathon training schedules set you multiple runs per week, a few even getting up to 10 or more runs per week. However, it is budding to reduce this to only the core 3 sessions every week and if you compare such a plan to a more fuller plan, you would see that a lot of the dropped sessions are just gentle plodding runs, that do not really help.

I tried it myself for the first time some years ago. After a couple of marathons with 10 scheduled training runs per week I tried a couple of races with far less runs each week. The difference? Well I was less tired, completed the planned sessions and didn’t pick up a single injury, whereas in the ‘full’ plan I had suffered several injuries.

So, how does it work? Well the three core sessions exist whether you train 3 or 10 times each week. The rest of the sessions are on the whole, just wasted effort. In fact, surveys and personal experience show that you would be better off doing something else.

Your three weekly sessions are quite straightforward. First and foremost is your weekly long run. Yes, that dreaded session of several hours of running. For faster runners this can be in the region of 20 – 21 miles. For all runners, a maximum of a three hour run is over enough. Build this run up slowly, adding around 10 minutes or a mile to the session a week until you reach the target. And you just need to run the full distance a few times, so if you are well organised, alternate weeks of a full long run with a week of a half length long run.

If your first run is to improve your endurance then the other two sessions are to improve your speed. Sandwiched between a 10 minute warm up and a 10 minute warm down, tackle one of the many different interval sessions on each of these runs. From fartleks to long intervals or short intervals, there are a whole variety of speedwork sessions to try out. Variation is the key here, both to keep you from being bored with the sessions and also to keep your training working on different areas.

But, what about the rest of the week? Well three fitness sessions every week is not enough so something else is needed, both to keep you fit and to train your properly. And this is where cross training comes in to play. Probably a good hard cycle ride or a swim, or possibly weights or kettlebells. Pick at least 2 other sessions every week to keep the fitness up, whilst not straining the same muscles that you are using for running.

Hopefully, you will then see your next marathon time quicker than your last and possibly even a PB?

Written by Keith Lunt. If you want to find where to buy kettlebells, call into NWKettlebells.co.uk

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