Boston Challenges Part 2: Winter Training
Training for the Boston Marathon offers a lot of unique challenges. If you have a winter where you are dealing with poor footing, sub-freezing temps, windchill factors, and snowy routes, then that's just another set of wrenches thrown into the mix.
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Boston Training Plan Guide
Alright, you got the coveted acceptance email and now it is time to start making your preparations for your Boston Marathon training! We have got you covered!
Training Group: https://bit.ly/459jiYk
18 Week Plans
55-60 MPW: https://bit.ly/46ltfn6
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14 Week Plans
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Jumping back into marathon training after a poor race.
Sometimes, after a poor marathon performance, the urge to jump right back into marathon training is high. Depending on the situation, that's not always a great idea. Often it can set you back even further from reaching your goal than if you took a step back and switched gears into something else.
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Navigating vacations during your marathon training
Going on vacation during your marathon training segment might seem like destiny with fitness derailment, but it doesn't have to be. In this video I explore ways you can maintain your marathon fitness, but still compromise with the family.
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Marathon Speed: At my equivalant or actual race pace?
For those following the Hansons Marathon Method plans, this question seems to come up a fair amount. Most people will plug in a marathon goal time and then get all of their training paces. When it comes to speed work, we do at 5k to 10k pace. So, do you use what the calculator says, or do you use what you have actually raced at? I explore a couple different scenarios in this video.
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#hansonsmarathonmethod #lukehumphreyrunning #marathon #marathontraining #running #runtraining #halfmarathon #halfmarathontraining
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Overtraining or Underfueling
As runners start ramping up their marathon training, they obviously become tired. Often times they first look at the training. While that certainly can be part of the problem, many times overtraining for the marathon stems not from doing too much work, but by under recovery and, even more so, underfueling. In this video, we explore the symptoms (why it is easy to confuse overtraining and underfueling), the effects, and then some practical fixes. A lot of times it does not have to be a major issue, but just some tweaks along the way.
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How to go into your marathon plan
Someone asked about how they should enter their marathon program, or how they should treat the few weeks leading up to the start of the marathon program. I provide some thoughts on what I do with my athletes.
This is something we discuss in the fall marathon program. Check it out:
https://www.finalsurge.com/coach/lukehumphreyrunning/training/programs
Another blog post that might be of interest: https://lukehumphreyrunning.com/hansons-marathon-method-should-i-reduce-my-mileage-at-the-beginning/?no_frame=1
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Luke Humphrey Running: Guide to Coaching Levels
A little while ago, we did a webinar on the different coaching levels that we offer.
Training Plans
Run Club Lite
Run Club
Run Club Premium
Personal Coaching
I explain the differences, the practicality of each level, and who would benefit from which level. Stay to the end for some nice deals!
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5 Strategies for a successful marathon taper.
5 quick tips for a better marathon taper. These are the things I have learned from 25years of running and over 15 years of coaching.
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Two Tweaks for customizing your plan in Final Surge
Two quick tweaks here- adjusting the pace zone of a workout and also switching from distance to lap button press for track workouts.
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Changing from a pace range to known pace in Final Surge
Say you set a marathon time goal, but it wasn't necessarily what was projected using a race equivalency chart. If you need to adjust faster workouts to fit your actual race times, it's super easy to do in Final Surge. You can adjust in the workout builder and then push the workout right to your Garmin. Take a semi custom training plan and make it your own without changing the framework of the plan.
Superscompensation and the "short" long run
The marathon long run is always a center of training. We advocate, not on a set distance, but rather a long run that fits a percentage and time frame for your training. In other words, we don't want the long run to be the primary focus of the training. We want to keep it in check so that we can do other marathon specific work and keep training in an overall balance.
One thing that I think makes it work, is utilizing the timing of super-compensation. If we time what we are doing right, the long run, even though shorter than most, is still highly effective in bringing that fatigue you would feel in a traditional 20 mile, but allow you to recover faster for the next week.
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Tempo Terrain
Let’s look at what we are trying to accomplish with the marathon tempo.
1) learn pace. Some will argue that you aren’t in the right “zone” but to purposely skip out on learning what your race pace feels like to be in a certain zone, I feel like you are flirting with disaster come race day.
2) Learn how to take fueling and fluids in at a race pace. This is a skill that doesn’t seem important at the surface level but will pay dividends on race day.
3) Be comfortable with being uncomfortable.
4) Learn patience
In essence, from a nonphysiological standpoint, we are learning how to navigate the marathon. We are learning how to be patient early on and how to keep pace when we are tired.
From a physiological standpoint, I have a big argument that the marathon pace creates physiological gains.
1) running economy. You become the most economical at the pace you train for. So if you want to be economical at a marathon pace, do some training at a marathon pace. You also learn to be more efficient metabolically.
2) Specific Endurance. Daniels states that there aren’t a lot of benefits physiologically that differ from what you would gain from easy running. I would argue that the more fit you become, the less benefit you will get from really easy runs and that stimulus has to change. For marathoners, you are looking at both general endurance (easy days) and pace endurance (mp tempos). A number of coaches echo this sentiment. Easy runs are viewed more as regeneration runs and don’t necessarily aid in physiological gains to performance. Keep in mind that we are referring to athletes with years of moderate to the high volume under their belts. Anyway, the point here is that marathon pace is doing a great service for your specific endurance in the event while staying below your lactate threshold.
Continuing with the Boston theme, the emphasis is always on getting on hills by doing hill workouts and hilly long runs, which we prescribe as well, but what about marathon-pace runs? Let’s say in Boston you want to run 8:00 miles. I would bet you that you would have 0-5 of those miles at a range of 7:57-8:03 per mile, but still might very well average an 8:00 pace for the race! In 2006, I ran a PR of 2:15:22 about a 5:10 pace. Ironically, the only mile split that was 5:10 (or close to it) was miles 20-21 up Heartbreak Hill! Given that, you should put some tempos in that are going to simulate what you are going to be doing in the race.
For a race like Boston or something like a Revel race where they drop you off a helicopter and you land at the bottom, I have a few guidelines. No more than 1-2 hill-based workouts in a week, maybe even less when just starting out the segment or you don’t do a lot of hills. So, if you have dedicated hill repeats on Tuesday, then stay flat for your next workout. Early on, you might not do any more dedicated hills for 10-14 days later. Assuming you are rolling along, then it might be Tuesday hills, flat for the next few days, including the tempo on Thursday. Then, if the runner wants, they can go out and get some hills in on their long run. The following week would then be flat for the first few days and then maybe the tempo could be on some hills, followed by a fairly flat long run on the weekend.
To summarize
No more than two dedicated hill workouts (in some capacity) a week. If you live in a hilly area, there is an exception as you’d probably be better prepared anyway.
No back-to-back hill workouts in a row. No hill repeats then a tempo or strength workout on hills. If comfortable, you can do tempo and long runs back to back because the intensity isn’t as high on either of these runs. Let muscle soreness be your guide on that.
Allow at least 2-3 days between bigger efforts that involve hills.
These guidelines have helped our athletes for a number of years thrive on courses like Boston and other bigger net downhill races, but the same protocol is useful for overall hilly courses, as well. The biggest thing is to recognize that hills create extra stress, particularly on muscle structure and it needs time to adapt and heal after each session. If you allow that to occur, then you’ll be extremely resilient on race day. You’ll also be comfortable with effort and overall pace when individual mile splits may cause someone else to freak out. In short, you’ll know what to expect!
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Letting a bad race decide your next goal time
I saw a post in our Facebook group about a runner who trained for a half marathon with a certain goal time, but it didn't work out. Now she is trying to figure out what her goal marathon time should be. A poor performance doesn't necessarily mean you aren't as fit as you thought you were. I zoom out and try to ask some questions we should all explore before choosing that goal marathon time.
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Are racing flats right for me?
I have had a few questions about whether or not a runner should go with a racing flat. Over the last couple of years that has translated into a carbon-plated super shoe, but there are a number of options out there for all types of runners.
Back in the day, racing flats were not made with any specific foot type in mind, just flat-out weight and speed. Now, with new midsole technology and material, it is possible to get into a faster shoe, even if you need something with a little more support. Whether you are chasing a Boston Marathon Qualifier, or simply trying to max out your current fitness, there's probably an option for you.
Here are my thoughts on getting into a racing flat.
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Ketone Esters
The idea of using ketones as an energy source for endurance performance is nothing new. The idea of supplementing with ketones is a newer idea, that tried to combat the whole low carb part. The jury is out, but where I am most interested is the new idea that ketone ester supplementation could actually support natural EPO production. Now that could be a mind changer on ketones! Here's my thoughts in today's video.
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Treadmill running vs. outdoor running
If you live where winter can mean cold, snowy, and dark mornings, then you know well the debate of treadmill running vs. outside running. This video isn't to convince you one way or the other. However, if you do run on a treadmill I want to discuss with you some of the differences between the two.
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Using a gel flask for marathon fueling
We try to get our athletes to be able to take in at least 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour for the marathon. Our faster runners, even more! When you start doing the math, that's anywhere from 6-10 gels! Where is that all going to fit? How are we going to carry that. Well, a few gel flasks and a good pair of shorts with 2-3 solid pockets, and you can do it pretty comfortably.
In today's video, I show you how I use one, how to know how much you are taking, and the advantages to using these in training and in racing.
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Identifying a true training weakness for the marathon
When we begin the coaching process with a new athlete, one of the things we try to do is identify existing and potential training weaknesses. Many times an athlete will say that they need "more speedwork" or that they need to get faster. However, when we dive in a little more, we recognize that this isn't truly the case. Why is that? We explore this in today's video.
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Off season for runner
I remember in high school everyone had had these team shirts with “motivational” quotes. My favorite was “Runners have no offseason!” Soooo tough! Looking at it now and then seeing what goes on now, that’s probably not my first choice for a shirt. In high school and college, We went from cross country to indoor, to outdoor track. If you qualified for State Finals in High School or the National Championships in college, then you went all the way to mid-June. Then turned around and went right into cross country. Now, luckily I had a college coach that wouldn’t let the better runners race until October for XC and we never really trained for indoor track. We used it as a block to get ready for outdoors, but a lot of coaches just pushed it to the max 24/7 and it’s an easy way to burn kids out. When I started coaching adults in 2006, we didn’t really have year-round marathon races. Sure, they existed in the winter but they were not nearly as popular as they are now. I feel like there were two marathon seasons- April and May, then October and November. Now it’s pushed to late December and into January/February with races. June is becoming more popular with races in the Northern part of the US, or people start traveling to the southern hemisphere to find some races. When we first started, there were natural periods for off-seasons- summer and winter. Now, I feel like there truly isn’t an off-season. So today I want to discuss the off-season and what it means to take one.
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Chicago Course Review
A Quick look at the course map for the Chicago Marathon. I have finished in the top 20 at the Chicago Marathon 3x over the course of my running career and I share with you my thoughts on the course itself.
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Berlin Marathon Results
Berlin kicked off the fall marathon season. I personally had two athletes run and finish with great results. I talk a little bit about these athletes and how their buildup to the fall was less than perfect. The takeway- you can have an incredible race without an incredible buildup. Now, that doesn't mean not doing the work, but doing the work and wondering how you are going to make it that far at that pace.
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Boston Training Plan Guide
Now through the end of September 2022, Luke Humphrey running is offering 25% off of our Boston Marathon Specific training plans. This quick guide will cover our plans and everything you get.
All Boston plans can be found here: https:finalsurge.com/coach/LukeHumphreyRunning
Hit the filter button and type "Boston" and all of our plans will be filtered out for you.
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Marathon Taper Advice
Fall marathon season is right around the corner and the marathon taper can really make or break your whole training segment. In this video, I give some advice to runners after I see the same posts by different people in our Facebook group. Don't let the taper madness ruin your marathon!
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Headwind and how much it affects your pace.
In our Facebook group, someone asked why running felt so hard to run into a headwind, but the feelings weren't as mutual when running with a tailwind. Well, it just so happens I found some data to back that feeling up. Knowing this should help a runner who's dealing with a headwind situation during a race.
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