Today’s Ask A Coach question comes from Lior who is training for the Rock ‘N Roll Marathon in Phoenix.
Question: Will I lose time because of the low altitude (1350 feet) compared to all of my sea level marathons? Is it going to affect my performance (targeting sub 2:45) even by as little as one minute or so?
Run SMART Coach: Coach Daniels says the effects of altitude on endurance performance starts at an altitude of about 1,000 meters (roughly 3,000 feet). An altitude of 1,000 feet will have no impact on your performance. Stick to your normal game plan and good luck going after sub-2:45!
Run SMART coach Brian Rosetti offered up some important last minute marathon tips for the New York City Marathon at DNAinfo.com. Proper rest, nutrition, warm-up, settling nerves, etc. were just some of the topics covered.
Rest. “There’s nothing you can do at this point to improve your fitness in time for the race. At this stage, you can only hurt yourself by doing too much,” said Brian Rosetti, an Upper West Sider who founded of The Run SMART Project, a coaching service for runners.
Take a few days off completely this week, said Rosetti, and limit your running to a two or three mile run at your goal pace or a little faster on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Legendary coach Jack Daniels provides some insight on how far your marathon training long runs should be. Check out the video courtesy of Flotrack and Saucony’s Thirsty Thursdays with Jack Daniels Series.
Jack has a very different attitude than what most beginner runners are generally told or find on the Internet when preparing for a marathon.
During the next several weeks throughout this fall marathon season we’re going to post some important marathon recovery tips. How you approach the weeks following your marathon can make a huge difference when you start training towards a new goal.
Run SMART coach Mike Smith leads us off with his tips on long-term marathon recovery.
The Berlin Marathon has sold out almost seven months in advance but you can still get guaranteed entry by raising money for New York Road Runner’s Team for Kids. And on top of supporting a great cause and participating in one of the greatest marathons in the world, you’ll receive a personalized 18-week training plan and coaching support from The Run SMART Project.
Question: I would like to know your recommendation for integrating hill training into a marathon program. Specifically:
When to start/end training (at what point in a typical 24 week cycle?)
What format of hill training (true Lydiard hill circuits (bound up, recover @ top, stride down, 3X150M strides, repeat), normal :60-:30 second hill reps with short rest (VO2 workout), uphill tempo runs, etc).
Run SMART Coach Jack Daniels: I like to think of hill training as another form of resistance training, and certainly resistance training can benefit a runner. Resistance training could be hill running, or squats in the gym or circuit training, bounding, or deep-water running, etc. In other words, training that may be overall beneficial for the development of a runner in terms of holding off injury or developing muscles that may normally become fatigued in races of various distances.
A question I get many times from the runners I interact with is “What place does speedwork have in training for a 26 mile race, Mike?” The question is a good one; in a race so far, wouldn’t you want to just get good at running for a long time? Why would anyone need to practice running fast? It turns out that faster workouts don’t only have to be performed because you want to be a sprinter. These types of workouts can play an important part in preparing for longer races as well. (more…)
Question: Should I get new running shoes for the marathon, and if so – when?
Run SMART Coach Vince Sherry: This question is a good one (as well as a common one) that marathoners often ask me about one week before the big day. It is most often part of the final pre-marathon panic. In the quest to make sure everything is perfect for race day, runners will look to their shoes at some point. Unfortunately, it’s often when the race is right around the corner, which leads me to my first tip; never purchase running shoes in a pressured state. A rushed decision is not usually a very good one. Try to plan ahead and get your marathon race-day shoes at least two weeks prior to the race. You should be lining up with around 20 to 40 miles on your trainers (less if your wearing racing flats).
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