It's that time again: marathon training. This will be my 15th marathon. Last year I utilized the Hansons Marathon Method with much success: I ran the Montreal Marathon in 3:50:01 which I consider a PR (personal record). Before I started the training, I read the book and was surprised to see that 16 miles would be the longest long run that I would do. What?! No way! I am from that old school mentality that dictates three 20-mile long runs before the taper. The Hanson brothers explain that their training plan is based on the principle of "cumulative fatigue" which is "the accumulation of fatigue over days, weeks, and even months of consistent training." (from Chapter 1 of the Hansons Marathon Method). So that 16 miler I mentioned won't mimic the first 16 miles of a marathon, instead it will simulate the last 16 miles of a marathon due to the running you would have done the week before that Sunday long run. That's the difference.
I really wanted to explain in a simple way how the Hansons Marathon Method works, but there's just so much scientific details that my mind shuts down and I just stare at the screen trying to figure out what to write next. I will leave that particular detail to you, reader, if you want to venture into that realm. I don't want to mislead you with what I think the method is. You just need to read it "from the horse's mouth", so to speak.
Given my last race performance in the Banque Scotia Half Marathon, the race predictor chart showed that I could run a marathon in 3 hours 39 minutes. I had to think this through because my fears automatically came up to "defend" me: "Oh my God, that's too fast!"; "You'll never make it!"; "You know how slow you are." I had to override my ego and tell myself to have faith: "Just train for it and see what happens." As I have read before in other books and articles, the marathon will show you where you skimped in your training. With my training schedule already planned out in my calendar, the only thing missing was the intensity. It's the same training schedule as last year's:
Monday - easy
Tuesday - intervals
Wednesday - off
Thursday - tempo
Friday - easy
Saturday - easy
Sunday - long run/easy
The intensity will have to follow my goal of a 3:39 marathon finish. So here's how my intensity has changed:
2014 marathon paces
Long run - 9:18/mi
Tempo - 8:35/mi
Strength - 8:25/mi
10k speed - 7:52/mi
5k speed - 7:33/mi
2015 marathon paces
Long run - 8:53/mi
Tempo - 8:01/mi
Strength - 7:51/mi
10k speed - 7:21/mi
5k speed - 7:03/mi
These training schedules and paces can be found in the book.
I really wanted to explain in a simple way how the Hansons Marathon Method works, but there's just so much scientific details that my mind shuts down and I just stare at the screen trying to figure out what to write next. I will leave that particular detail to you, reader, if you want to venture into that realm. I don't want to mislead you with what I think the method is. You just need to read it "from the horse's mouth", so to speak.
Given my last race performance in the Banque Scotia Half Marathon, the race predictor chart showed that I could run a marathon in 3 hours 39 minutes. I had to think this through because my fears automatically came up to "defend" me: "Oh my God, that's too fast!"; "You'll never make it!"; "You know how slow you are." I had to override my ego and tell myself to have faith: "Just train for it and see what happens." As I have read before in other books and articles, the marathon will show you where you skimped in your training. With my training schedule already planned out in my calendar, the only thing missing was the intensity. It's the same training schedule as last year's:
Monday - easy
Tuesday - intervals
Wednesday - off
Thursday - tempo
Friday - easy
Saturday - easy
Sunday - long run/easy
The intensity will have to follow my goal of a 3:39 marathon finish. So here's how my intensity has changed:
2014 marathon paces
Long run - 9:18/mi
Tempo - 8:35/mi
Strength - 8:25/mi
10k speed - 7:52/mi
5k speed - 7:33/mi
2015 marathon paces
Long run - 8:53/mi
Tempo - 8:01/mi
Strength - 7:51/mi
10k speed - 7:21/mi
5k speed - 7:03/mi
These training schedules and paces can be found in the book.
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