Prepare for Fall Marathon Training With These 3 Steps
I love fall marathons, but one downside is training in the summer. Not only is it hot, but there’s travel (and preparing for travel and recovering from travel), neighborhood hang outs, baseball and world cup games and just generally more distractions.
But then, before you know it, the kids are back at school, and you’re 10 weeks away from your marathon or half marathon and you feel like there’s not enough time to do it all. So you do what has worked before…
Today I want to talk about 3 simple things you can do NOW to be better prepared for fall marathon or half training.
Get Blood Work Before Marathon Training Starts
- Get your blood work done. Up to 15% to 35% of female runners experience iron deficiency. However, in highly competitive distance runners, that number can surge anywhere from 50% to over 80%. And it takes time to catch up if you are iron deficient (and no, you shouldn’t take a supplement “just in case” as it can be dangerous if your iron gets too high). Ask your doctor to test both hemoglobin and ferritin or do a test like Function like I did (it also gives you a fun “inner age” score and tests a ton of other things. Signs that iron may be low are sluggish workouts, breathlessness climbing stairs, persistent sleepiness and apathy about training. I recommend all female runners do blood work annually.
Practice Your Marathon Fueling Strategy Early
2. Start increasing your carbs/hour during long runs. New guidance suggests marathoners should consume 60g carbs/hour during the race to increase performance and avoid hitting the wall. And in training, consuming more carbs also helps you run faster and push harder in long runs AND recover faster. But, most gels only have 22-25 grams…so that’s 3 gels/hour. I can bet you’re not doing that, especially if you’re “only” running 75-90 min for a long run. But your stomach doesn’t magically get used to taking in 60g/carbs an hour. You need to build up to it. And even though your marathon might be 16 weeks away – that’s actually not that many long runs to practice. So don’t wait! Start by increasing the carbs/hour on long runs by just a little bit and slowly work your way up. I have all my fall marathoners letting me know how many grams of carbs they eat on every long run already, because it’s THAT important. This is also a great time to practice some new gels (including many of the new higher carb gel options) – you can order individual gels on the feed.com.
Increase Weekly Mileage Before Your Training Plan Begins
3. Increase your weekly mileage now (slowly). Most runners think they need to increase mileage consistently week after week throughout the entire training cycle, starting when the plan begins. But ideally, you will reach your peak weekly mileage 8 weeks before the race, and then keep it mostly steady from there. Instead of adding mileage in the final 2 months, a good marathon plan will be adding intensity – meaning that a higher percentage of the miles will be run at marathon pace or faster. If you’re able to train your body to handle the mileage FIRST then the workouts become even more effective. This also applies to half marathons! How to do this? You can start by simply adding one extra 2-3 mile run to your week (if you’re not already running 5-6/days week) or 1 mile to 1-2 runs each week. Don’t just add mileage to the long run – studies show increasing long run distance too quickly causes injury far more often than weekly mileage increases.
What are you racing this fall? Half marathon, full marathon, or something else? I hope that this helps with your planning!
Happy running,
Nicole Dobransky