Since the last New York City Marathon, we've been giving you marathon training tips. If you've just joined us, please glance back through our
¢Ñ previous topics.
At this point, first-time casual marathoners have worked up to a base of 15-20 miles per week. Competitive marathoners are probably running 30-35 miles per week. Hold this mileage for the month of June. We will begin specific marathon training in earnest in July.
This month we will focus on changes you can expect during marathon training. There are loads of physical and mental benefits to marathoning. Our toned bodies boost self esteem; we are more relaxed, less anxious; and we have more energy than our sedentary counterparts.
The following are tips experienced marathoners exchange and chuckle about. I am sharing them as reassurance that all marathoners go through the same phases while training. I've added a few additional tips on sleep, immunity, injuries, weight control, and reproduction to clarify some of the running lore. Read on -- have fun.
Marathon training is fatigue training: it's inoculating your muscles and mind against a deep tiredness that finds every fiber of your body over the course of 26.2 miles. Fatigue seeps into the runner's body on a daily basis. Sleepiness is only one of its symptoms. Listed below are a few reactions found in marathon trainees.
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Example: These are the days the keys end up in the freezer and the formerly frozen vegetables hang on the key rack. The good news is that you'll be so satisfied with your long run that the drippy vegetables won't bother you much.
This commonly occurs two days after a race or a hard workout. It usually coincides with the max DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). Maybe it's the peak of soreness that drives a runner to distraction 48 hours after a race. Lag seems to be more pronounced after a disappointing race. Symptoms are very mild after a successful race.
This is the snack attack made famous by the likes of Dagwood Bumstead, Fred Flintstone, Yogi Bear, Garfield, the Trix Rabbit, Hagar the Horrible, etc. . . . It's that uncontrollable urge to eat non-stop. This calorie craving can be a sign of overtraining, undereating, or poor nutrition habits.
Advice: Plan ahead for nutritious snacks. Determine if you are eating out of hunger or for other reasons (sometimes runners are tired, not hungry). Put not-so-nutritious snacks out of sight and out of reach. Take a nap.
Marathon training takes tremendous time and energy. The miles eat away at one's schedule, as does recovery (not to mention the exponential amount of laundry produced from the extra running!). Many runners manage to fit everything into their schedules. Other runners develop Repetitive ATM Syndrome, constantly uttering the phrase "After The Marathon . . . " throughout the training cycle. A variety of things can finish off this oath, from "cleaning," to "vacation," to "I'll never run another marathon!"
Your significant other begins making ATM lists for you
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Advice: Prioritize. Do what absolutely must get done to keep marathon training as uncomplicated as is possible. Don't do or not do anything you can't live with after the marathon.
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A preponderance of evidence indicates training does not affect male fertility. Female fertility may decrease. Women may experience an attenuated menstrual cycle with an abbreviated menses. Continuous absence of ovulation or menstrual cycle can lead to decreased bone density and increased risk of osteoporosis over time. The majority of elite female marathoners, despite the reported high rate of occurrence of menstrual cycle irregularity, have normal to above normal bone density. Intense exercise and abrupt changes in training can initiate a missed cycle.
Regarding the affect of s*x on marathoning, Casey Stengel, former Yankees and Mets manager, said it all: it's not s*x that's the problem, it's staying up all night looking for it . . . Do try to get a good night's sleep when marathoning - with or without s*x.
Increases in fitness raise a runner's level of immunity. However, some phases of marathoning can decrease a runner's ability to fight off invading organisms.
Hard workouts - long runs, races, and speed training sessions - temporarily impair immunity for 6-12 hours. Racing increases a runner's risk of upper respiratory tract infections due to these negative changes in the immune system.
Expect to get a cold the week after the marathon. This piece of running lore was recently supported by a study of Los Angeles marathoners. To reduce your chances of illness from reduced immunity follow the advice below.
Advice: Susceptibility to infection may be reduced with proper nutrition, adequate sleep, appropriate recovery between vigorous workouts, and minimal exposure to sick people during periods of heavy training.
It's not unusual during marathon training for a muscle to ache and a particular spot to be tender and to have a blister here and there. Like all sports, sometimes athletes get injured. It's part of the sport and you can expect some discomfort. The key is to know the difference between discomfort and injury, and to recognize when you need to adjust your training.
The first cure is prevention, so do not increase total mileage by more than 5-10 percent per week. Increase long runs by about two miles every other week.
Ice areas of concern after workouts. Try icing for 5-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of tissue. Initially, the skin feels cold, and that sensation is followed by pain relief, then a burning sensation, then pain in the skin, and finally numbness. Stop the icing once the numbness starts. Applying too much cold for too long can cause frostbite or nerve damage. Ice should be applied at regular intervals throughout the day. Allow a few hours between applications. Ice therapy should continue for up to 48 hours. (Runners with Raynaud's phenomenon, diabetes, or other conditions that diminish blood flow should consult a doctor before icing.)
Is it an injury? All runners experience aches and pains from time to time. Try my grandmother's Three Day Rule (No, Grandma wasn't a coach or a runner): if, with icing and rest, an ache or pain doesn't become increasingly better each of the succeeding three days after its onset, it is an injury and probably time to see a sports physician.
Adjust training by reducing training and replacing the missed miles with cross training. Cross train with activities of similar effort level and heart rate to running. Be careful not to overdo it in your new activity (you don't want cross training to cause new injuries). Add cross training activities slowly. Once you are back to running, cross training should comprise no more than 10-25 percent of your total training.
For more tips on hand injuries, cross training, and comebacks see The Runner's Handbook and The Competitive Runner's Handbook by Bob Glover and Shelly Glover.
Casual marathoners usually sleep deeply and awake feeling rested. Competitive athletes often find they fall asleep quickly, but have difficulty staying asleep and easily awake.
This is more than a nuisance to athletes. It can impair recovery. Studies show recovery hormone levels are highest during REM (rapid eye movement cycle) sleep. This deep sleep is a sensitive index to exercise induced recovery effect. This may inhibit the recovery process and performance.
Advice: Most runners need 6-8 hours of sleep each night. Some need more during marathon training. Try napping when possible. Try to maintain regular sleeping hours. Continued sleep disturbance may be a sign of overtraining.
Many runners marathon train to lose weight. If you are one of these runners, you've just made 27,000,000 of your fat cells very nervous. Exercise combined with good eating habits is the most effective method to lose weight and keep it off.
Typically, a runner drops five to eight pounds during marathon preparation, depending on the volume and quality of training. Besides melting away the pounds, running trims away the inches.
Have you noticed your clothes fitting a little looser? That's because muscle is more compact than fat. It takes up less room in your body as well as in your clothes.
A 170 pound, a 30-something-year-old male runner burns about 100 calories per mile. A runner must burn 3,500 calories to lose one pound of body weight. So, a 35-mile week will burn about one pound of body weight. This is very rough math - slower, lighter, older, and female runners burn fewer calories per mile.
On the other end of the equation, training accelerates metabolism by adding muscle mass. This muscle mass is metabolically more active than fat. That's why fit runners burn more calories per minute than their sedentary counterparts - even at rest!!
Over a 16-week training schedule, a runner could theoretically lose at least 16 pounds. That's if there is absolutely no increase of food intake during training.
BUT, the body likes fuel in the form of glycogen, also known as stored glucose. The more we train, the more glycogen the body needs and can store. However, supplies are limited to about 90 minutes. Glycogen must be replaced during and after each workout.
When trying to lose weight, some runners try to do without these extra carbs. Runners who consume fewer that 60-70 percent of their food in carbohydrates will likely find themselves running very slowly and unable to complete workouts. It is especially important not to skimp on carbohydrates during long runs; to keep going, consume 40-60 grams of carbs during each hour of a long workout. This still creates a negative energy balance and allows a marathoner to maintain a steady pace and feel relatively good throughout the run.
So, in the body go the sports drinks, the convenient sports foods - gels and bars, bananas, carbo loading meals and . . . those all important little food rewards. With a little planning, a runner can still maintain a negative calorie balance.
It's asking a lot of your body to push its limits and at the same time restrict food. To train, your body needs fuel. Provide it with enough fuel to train. After the energy needs are meet, a runner can choose to maintain weight or lose it for a lighter chassis.
Marathon training is not a good time to diet. Instead, sharpen your nutrition knowledge. Wise food choices make marathon training an enjoyable experience. For further guidelines consult The Runner's Handbook by Bob Glover and Shelly Glover or Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook.
SHELLY GLOVER has a master's degree in exercise physiology from Columbia University. She co-authored The Runner's Handbook and The Competitive Runner¡¯s Handbook [both available in the online bookstore] and is a veteran road runner and marathoner. She also coaches Mercury Masters and The Greater New York Racing Team. Shelly-lynn can be reached with specific questions by e-mail.