Marathon Q & A
Jason Karp is a running coach and a doctoral candidate in exercise physiology at Indiana University who specializes in distance running. Elisabeth Andrews, IU Media Relations, talked with him about marathon training and how to improve her marathon time.
EA: Most people think they could never run a marathon. But after I ran one for the first time, I was convinced that anyone can cover 26.2 miles with proper training. Is the marathon for everybody?
JK: There are a lot of programs out there that say anyone can run a marathon -- but it's not necessarily the case. Certainly there are a lot of recreational runners who can do it if they are ready to put in the work. But you have to ask whether your body can take the pounding that comes with running all that mileage. I'd tell someone to go ahead with a marathon training program if he or she has been running consistently for some time and can run eight to 10 miles without stopping. You need to get to that point first to see how stressful it will be on your body and whether your joints can handle the impact.
EA: That sounds like I'm putting my joints in danger. Is my mother right? Am I going to get osteoporosis from all my training?
JK: No, the evidence shows that there's no difference between runners and non-runners in developing osteoporosis or osteoarthritis. Running can be hard on your body in the short term, but it hasn't been shown to lead to long-term problems. But my mom worries about me, too.
EA: What makes for a good training program?
JK: You want to replicate the conditions of the race as much as possible. Marathon training is mostly about mileage. The idea is to run the most amount of mileage with the least amount of stress to your body. You should increase your mileage gradually and plan on running five to six days a week with a long run on the weekend. More competitive runners will add on tempo runs at race pace and eventually some interval training. But in the beginning, you want to focus on mileage. I strongly recommend you have a program written specifically for you to address your strengths and weaknesses as a runner. But if you go with a "cookie-cutter" program, I recommend Jack Daniels' book, "Daniels' Running Formula."
EA: Along with a good training program, are there other essentials for preparing for a marathon?
JK: Recovery is absolutely essential, and it's often overlooked. You may need to sleep more -- elite marathon runners sleep nine or 10 hours a night and take naps. Eating is another big part of recovery. You have to replace your carbohydrates after a long run. The optimum time to do this is 30 to 60 minutes after your run. Start eating or drinking carbohydrates right away and keep eating snacks for the next four to six hours. I start with a giant glass of chocolate milk that I take with me into the shower!
EA: What if someone is hoping to lose weight as a result of the marathon training? Should he or she still be replacing carbohydrates, or will that add back any calories that were used during the activity?
JK: You should still be replacing your carbohydrates to keep your muscles fueled for your training. To lose weight, you need to be sure there is a calorie deficit when you balance your overall intake with your activity, but you can do both. To maximize the storage of carbohydrates in their muscles, marathoners should ingest 1.2-1.5 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight per hour for the first 4-6 hours of recovery. For most workouts, it doesn't matter too much if you don't get this maximal rate of re-synthesis, as glycogen will continue to be re-synthesized and stored over the next 24 hours until you run again. However, if you do a lot of mileage or if you run twice a day, the maximal rate of recovery obviously becomes more important. The most important workouts for replacing carbs as fast as possible are ones that severely diminish your glycogen stores -- long runs and long-tempo workouts. So it is possible to replace your carbs after long, intense workouts and still have a calorie deficit at the end of the day, but you need to plan for it.
EA: I ran my first marathon just to finish. Now I'm racing to improve my time. What are the best ways to do this?
JK: The first step is to increase the mileage you run during your training. If your peak week was 40 miles, start adding on and aim for 50 or 60 miles at the peak of your training. Beyond that, you want to do more tempo runs where you press the pace, particularly towards the end of the run. Aim for a pace that's comfortably hard -- you want to hit a rate that you can maximally sustain for about 30 to 45 minutes. This will help you prepare for the dead-legged feeling of running a marathon.
EA: Is it okay to strength train while training for a marathon?
JK: It's probably not going to hurt you, but if your goal is to run faster, then your time would be better spent getting in additional mileage. The longer the race, the less important muscular strength is going to be. Distance running is primarily dependent on the delivery of oxygen to your muscles, which is most improved by running. When you look at elite runners, you don't see a lot of muscle mass. It would just get in the way of running, because the heart has to pump even harder to get oxygen to all the muscle cells.
EA: I noticed this year that the runners around me didn't have much mass at all. I finished in 3:53, and it seemed like everyone near me was leaner than I am.
JK: Everyone has a different ideal weight for racing, but honestly there's a direct correlation between lower finishing times and lower body weights. It's just easier to run if you don't have to support a lot of mass. Of course, when you're running 70 or 80 miles a week you are probably going to lose weight without trying to, due to all the calories you are burning.
EA: So now marathon number two is behind me. When can I start training again?
JK: How much time you should take off is going to vary for each individual. You want to go with how you are feeling and first let any muscle damage heal before you start running again. For many people I would say two weeks of no running. The first week is total rest and the second week you can do anything except run. After that you want to ease back into a program, but you won't need to start from scratch. If you want to train for another marathon, you shouldn't go right back to the peak mileage, but you can capitalize on your training base to jump back in somewhere beyond the beginning level. Don't wait too long unless you are prepared to start over. If three months go by before you run again, you have to go back to square one.
EA: Your research has looked into why U.S. athletes rarely win marathons. It seems strange that with so many marathons in U.S. cities drawing thousands of runners, we don't turn out more Olympic winners.
JK: You have to look at the economics of the situation. Many of the winners in distance running are from Kenya and Ethiopia. For these athletes, running may be a way out of poverty. In the U.S., running is a way into poverty! It's not like golf or tennis, where you can rank 20th in the world and still make a fortune. Unless you are first or second in the world, you may be running to win $20,000. That can go far in some countries, but if you are growing up in the U.S., you can probably find ways to make that kind of money that don't depend on being one of the fastest runners on the planet.
Editor's note: Elisabeth and her friends trained four days per week using Hal Higdon's novice marathon training program, available free online at http://www.halhigdon.com .
