In most of my articles I promote the benefits of walking, jogging, and running. For most fitness people, that is the message they want to hear. Exercise has many benefits for health reasons and overall well-being. For the average walker or jogger, a daily routine of putting in a regular distance of a mile or more is something they can do every day.
There are a few exceptions to a daily workout for those individuals that are trying to run faster or to enter a marathon. The one key element that needs to be added is a period of rest from a hard or long run.
I read a number of books on the benefits of running and a few on how to run a marathon and a few more on running faster. It was helpful information but the real learning came from experiencing the consequences of not following the advice written in the books.
The first came when I was training to run my first marathon. There were two programs offered to run a marathon. One was to run a distance of 30 miles so that you knew you could run 26.2 miles in a marathon. The other program said the longest distance only needs to be 18 – 20 miles and if you have several of those distance runs the last six miles of a marathon will be covered.
I did the 20 miles program and had about four 20-mile runs in my training program. I was going to do one more 20 miles the week before the marathon. I was told by a runner who had several marathons under his belt that the last week you only do a 10– 12 mile run the week before and the last three or four days you don’t run at all. You can do some stretches but no running. He said you have been putting in a number of 70 miles a week and that takes a toll on the muscles of the body and they need to recover. It felt strange to not run the last four days but I did notice that I felt stronger as the marathon day approached. My first marathon wasn’t fast but I broke that four hour mark I was shooting for. The rest period definitely paid off.
The other learning from experience came when I wanted to break 40 minutes in a 10K race. I was running 40:54 and 40:45 races but breaking that 40 minutes mark was something I was aiming for. The logic to run faster was to train faster. I went to the track and ran four miles of 440 yard intervals at 1:25 minute pace. I did this about three times a week. After three weeks I tried another 10K race and the results were a 40:35 time. I did this for about five weeks and my time was still that :30 to :45 seconds over 40 minutes. I gave up on running under a 40-minute 10K. I quit running intervals and went back to normal running. Two weeks later I entered another 10K and ran a 38:48 time. I had pushed my body too hard and didn’t give it a chance to recover. The two weeks of regular running and not running hard was a rest period for me and gave my body time to recover. The key was the rest period.
When I trained individuals to run a marathon I recommended a 12 weeks training period. I thought a gradual build up of long distances and some speed work in that time period would make that first marathon a success and the runner would finish strong. I included a week of slower and shorter running every two or three weeks. The rest week was essential for recovery so that the following weeks when the distance and speed increased the body was ready for the effort.
Most first-time runners set a marathon goal to finish the 26.2 mile distance. The goal was to run a marathon and finish. Their second and third marathon can be for a time. The training becomes a little different when you include a faster time to finish but the rest period stays the same. When a runner wants to get faster or run farther a rest period is needed.
