Training for the L.A. Marathon XV

The Pause that Refreshes

Jacqueline Hansen
Special to the Mirror

   Planning your training schedule in a methodical progression towards a pre-determined goal is called “periodization.” It applies to all events in Track & Field and Cross-Country, and to your road-racing goals, too. The most basic explanation I’ve ever heard was years ago, while participating on a panel with well-known marathoner, Gary Tuttle. He stated that it was not difficult to plan your own training, outlining a typical week in this pattern: “every other day hard, every other day easy, two days of speed work, one long run, and recovery days in between.” How simple.
   Obviously, you’ll need information about the progression and type of speed workouts and long runs. But what I like about Gary’s formula is the reminder to all runners that you need to take time to recover in order to benefit from the hard workouts. It’s a commonly known but usually ignored fact that you “build” the most during time of recovery. You allow your body to adapt to hard work through periodic rest. If you try to progress your training too quickly, it backfires on you every time. Looking at the overall picture, training schedules can be broken down into periods or cycles in terms of year, months and weeks. There are mini-cycles within those time frames as well. So, you not only need rest days during the week, you need to factor rest weeks into the bigger picture.
   Judging by the inquiries I’m currently receiving, some runners are suffering fatigue or injury from not training smart. At this point, you have six weeks to go until the marathon, so you need to be clear about your workouts and make every one count. If your body is trying to tell you to rest or heal, do so, and seek aid where needed. Get evaluated for physical therapy if you’re injured. If you can’t run, find a suitable cross-training workout. By the way, a “rest day” is 20-30 minutes at 60 percent the effort of your normal workout. It’ll be the pause that refreshes.
   Jacqueline Hansen is the director of coaching education at the Amateur Athletic Foundation. If you have questions about marathon training, email Jacqueline at coachjqhansen @aol.com, or write to her in care of the Mirror.