Marathon Training

From Pete Pfitzinger’s Advanced Marathoning.

1. The Six Key Performance Factors in Marathon Running

Factors You Can Change

1-1. High Lactate Threshold

• The lactate threshold is the point at which lactate accumulates faster than the body can clear it.
• Aerobic respiration vs. anaerobic respiration.
  • Aerobic respiration: glucose → pyruvate → large amounts of ATP. Occurs in the mitochondria.
  • Anaerobic respiration: glucose → pyruvate → lactic acid. Produces only 2 ATP; fast but occurs in the cytoplasm.
• Effective aerobic respiration requires an abundance of mitochondria and capillaries to transport oxygen.
• The lactate threshold represents your current aerobic capacity and is also related to FTP.

How to Improve It

• It can be improved by running at or slightly below lactate threshold pace.
• Training typically involves a single continuous tempo run or long intervals at LT pace.
  • LT pace is generally the speed you can sustain for about one hour.
  • It is similar to your pace in a 10K race run at a hard but not all-out effort.
• LT Tempo Run
  • 10–20 minutes of warm-up
  • 20–40 minutes of tempo run
  • 15 minutes of cool-down
• LT Intervals
  • Run at LT pace for 8–18 minutes
  • 2–4 minutes of recovery
  • Repeat 2–3 times

1-2. High Glycogen Storage and Fat Utilization Capacity

• Once glycogen is fully depleted, the body must rely solely on fat metabolism for energy.
• However, fat metabolism is very slow, making it impossible to sustain explosive energy output for long periods. Therefore, it is important to improve fat metabolism efficiency during training.
• Fat metabolism occurs in the mitochondria, fat transport occurs through the capillaries, and a higher concentration of fat-metabolizing enzymes increases fat utilization capacity. This is why the number of mitochondria and capillaries matters.

How to Improve It

• Long runs of 90 minutes or more are required. This is the bread and butter of marathon training.
• Progressively increasing distance to reach a maximum of 34–35 km is optimal. If you are experienced and not prone to injury, you may extend up to 39 km.
• The ideal pace is 10–20% slower than your target marathon race pace.
• Start slow, and after 8 km, do not run more than 20% slower than race pace. Gradually increase speed so that with 8 km remaining, you are running at 10% slower than race pace.
• Running this way means that by the time you reach 35 km, a similar amount of time will have passed as in an actual marathon race.

1-3. High Running Economy

• The speed you can achieve using the same amount of oxygen.
• The main determinants of running economy are slow-twitch muscle fiber ratio, biomechanics, and training history.

How to Improve It

• Consistently accumulate training mileage without getting injured
• Resistance training (weights, plyometrics)
• Hill training (short hill intervals of 10–12 seconds)
• Short speed repetitions (70 m acceleration, 30 m deceleration × 10)

1-4. VO2max

• The amount of oxygen that can be delivered to the muscles.
• VO2max = Heart Rate × Stroke Volume × Arteriovenous Oxygen Difference
  • Heart rate = Maximum heart rate cannot be changed.
  • Stroke volume = Can be increased through prolonged aerobic exercise.
  • Arteriovenous oxygen difference = The muscles’ oxygen utilization capacity. Can be increased by improving mitochondria, capillaries, and oxidative enzymes.

• Run at 95–100% of the velocity at which VO2max occurs (vVO2max).
  • The optimal pace is similar to your 5K race pace.
• Marathoners should perform long intervals. 800–1600 m is recommended.
  • The time spent at optimal exercise intensity is longer than with short intervals.
  • 15 × 400 m intervals = approximately 45 seconds at optimal exercise intensity.
  • 5 × 1200 m intervals = approximately 11 minutes at optimal exercise intensity.
• Interval training volume should be between 5,000–10,000 m. Typically 6,000–8,000 m.
• Recovery time between intervals should be about 50–90% of the interval duration.
  • If you ran 1,000 m in 3 minutes 20 seconds, recovery time is 1 minute 40 seconds to 3 minutes.

Factors That Are Difficult to Change

1-5. High Slow-Twitch Muscle Fiber Ratio

• Genetically determined. A higher proportion of slow-twitch muscle fibers — which can sustain steady force output over a long period — compared to fast-twitch fibers — which produce explosive force in a short time — is advantageous for marathon running.

1-6. Fast Recovery Ability

• The faster your recovery capacity, the more high-intensity training you can perform.
• The determinants of recovery ability include genetics, training program structure, lifestyle, age, and training history.

2. Integrated Training

• The success or failure of a marathon ultimately comes down to whether you can sustain your target race pace for 42.195 km.
• The best way to prepare for any event is to simulate the conditions of that event (the principle of specificity). Therefore, the best integrated training for a marathon is to run a marathon.
  • However, doing so places too great a load on the body and limits subsequent training.
• The most appropriate approach is to run 13–23 km continuously at your target marathon pace.
• It is also beneficial to practice consuming energy gels and fluids as you would in an actual race.
• A track is convenient, but it is best to do your sustained-pace runs on terrain similar to the course of your target race.

3. Structuring Marathon Training

• Marathon training is structured and approached in three broad tiers.
  • Largest tier (Macrocycle) = A period lasting several months
  • Second tier (Mesocycle) = Training blocks lasting several weeks
    • Each has 1–2 characteristic goals (lactate threshold improvement, tapering, etc.)
  • Third tier (Week) = Hard sessions + general training
    • It is appropriate to perform hard sessions 3 times per week
• Training is typically organized into five blocks:
  1. Building endurance: increasing weekly mileage and long run distance
  2. Improving lactate threshold
  3. Full race-specific preparation
  4. Tapering
  5. Post-race recovery

4. Running Form Drills

• Running style is determined by a runner’s biomechanics
  • Bone length, muscle flexibility, strength and endurance, muscle contraction patterns
• Everyone’s running form is different, and there is no single ideal running form.
• Rather than copying a specific form, it is better to progressively improve your own running form through flexibility, core, and strength training.

• Running form drills
  • Improve running form, reinforce form maintenance, and increase stride consistency
  • They involve “exaggerating” various movement elements of actual running and “maintaining” precise movements even when fatigue sets in
  • Best performed after a warm-up and before a workout, when the muscles are not yet fatigued
• Skip march walk, kick out, fast feet

5. Schedule

Category	% Max HR	% HRR	My HR (Max HR 178, Resting HR 40)
VO2max pace (5K pace)	93–95%	91–94%	165–169
LT pace	82–91%	76–88%	145–161
Marathon pace	82–88%	76–84%	145–155
Medium-long/Long pace (Medium-long, Long)	75–84%	66–78%	131–147
General aerobic running pace (General)	72–81%	62–75%	125–143
Recovery run (Recovery)	<76%	<68%	<133

5-1. Types of Workouts

• Long run
  • A run of 26 km or more, aimed at building the endurance needed to cover 42.2 km.
  • Approximately 10–20% slower than marathon pace. (In my case, target HR is 131–147.)
  • Should be harder than a general aerobic run (jog), but clearly easier than a marathon.
  • Start slightly below the target HR range, then run the final 8–16 km at 10% slower than marathon pace.
• Medium-long run
  • A run of approximately 18–24 km, psychologically similar to a long run.
  • Ideally run at a pace similar to the long run.
  • However, considering the next day’s training, lower the target HR if the session might interfere with subsequent workouts.
• Marathon-pace run
  • A medium-long/long run performed at marathon pace.
  • Begin the medium-long/long run at an easy effort, then finish at marathon pace.
  • For example, in a 26 km run, run the final 19 km at marathon pace, gradually building from a medium-long run pace over the first 7 km.
• General aerobic run
  • A straightforward run of up to 16 km.
  • The key is the total training volume; this run serves to fill that volume.
  • If the next day’s training session is affected, the general aerobic run is being run too hard.
• LT run (Lactate-threshold run)
  • A tempo run; run at LT pace for a minimum of 20 minutes.
  • Run 6–10 seconds per km slower than 10K race pace.
  • 3–5 km warm-up, 6–11 km tempo run, 3 km cool-down (10–15 minutes)
• Recovery run
  • Should be noticeably slower than other runs during the week
  • Should feel like you are recharging your energy
• VO2max intervals
  • Run at 95–100% of the velocity at which VO2max occurs (vVO2max).
  • The optimal pace is similar to your 5K race pace.
  • Marathoners should perform long intervals. 600–1600 m is recommended.
    • The time spent at optimal exercise intensity is longer than with short intervals.
    • 15 × 400 m intervals = approximately 45 seconds at optimal exercise intensity.
    • 5 × 1200 m intervals = approximately 11 minutes at optimal exercise intensity.
  • Interval training volume should be between 5,000–10,000 m. Typically 6,000–8,000 m.
  • Recovery time between intervals should be about 50–90% of the interval duration.
    • If you ran 1,000 m in 3 minutes 20 seconds, recovery time is 1 minute 40 seconds to 3 minutes.
• Speed training
  • Training such as 100 m sprints aimed at improving form

5-2. Training Session Length

• Whenever possible, complete sessions in one continuous effort rather than splitting them into two.
  • Run 19 km in one go rather than splitting it into 11 km and 8 km.
• Endurance is critical for marathon runners.
  • That is why it is important to secure time for long, uninterrupted training sessions.
• If you are running fewer than 121 km per week in marathon preparation, you should not split your runs into two sessions.