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The Lullaby Trust London Marathon Blog – Training Schedules

I’ve found delving into the world of Marathon training schedules can be thoroughly confusing. Some say that you can comfortably complete a marathon with 3 quality training sessions a week over a period of 16 weeks. Some say that 4 sessions is optimal with extra run acting as a recovery jog after your weekly long run. The more advanced schedules say that 5 runs a week over a 20 week period should mean that you complete the race in a ‘good’ time and also keep you free from injury because the training is extended by 4 weeks allowing your body more time to adapt to the workload.

I’ve listened to members of my local running club, some say that following a training schedule can be a hindrance as it is easy to get wrapped up in the criteria laid out in front of you. In their opinion, training schedules can sometimes mean that you arrive on the day, over-baked, injured and downright jaded by the whole experience. A friend of mine recently suggested that there are just 3 important runs a week, the long run, the speed session and a tempo run. Anything else on top of that just registers as ‘junk’ miles. Miles for miles sake.

So I guess the only way you’ll truly know whether the training you are doing is working for you is to give it go and learn by you mistakes or your excellent judgement if all goes well. Unfortunately, there is not just one schedule that works for all of us and until that schedule is found (I’m guessing there is an ancient handbook buried somewhere in Greece with all the answers – Marathon Schedule for Dummies or the such like) we will have to figure out what is best for ourselves by pounding the streets in the hope of uncovering the answer.

I felt under prepared when I trained for a half-marathon last year and I’d been running 3 times a week for a period of 12 weeks, so before I began training for the marathon I knew that I would have to increase the number of days I trained. With a busy family life and working full time, I knew that I didn’t have that much spare time, but with a bit of juggling and discipline I would be able to find time for an extra run per week. In theory running 4 times a week is possible, in practice I am yet to find out.

Since my enforced lay off back in October I have gingerly crept back into a pattern. Physically, my body has been ok, but mentally I have been extremely conscious that an injury can creep up on you unexpectedly and with 16 weeks of physical exertions ahead of me it has made the process even more daunting than it already was.

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Going Long…Some Long Run Tips From a Beginner

Ever since I was awarded a gold bond place for The London Marathon, I’ve consumed running magazines/books/web articles with an insatiable appetite. I don’t think any of the information I have processed has made me a better runner, in fact, I am probably more confused than when I first started, but reading this material at least gives me the opportunity to sound like I know what I’m talking about when friends and family ask me how the training is going.

Some of that information has sunk in though and I thought that rather than suggesting you all do as I did and become a complete running bore, I would sort the wheat from the proverbial chaff and give you some of the tips that I have incorporated into my training regime which I think are useful. If you still want to become an anorak (in running parlance, become a hi-viz waterproof jacket) then I would certainly recommend reading Runner’s World ( the magazine and website) There is also a Marathon Training Guide available which is a collection of some of the best tips from the magazine. It’s actually quite hard to find a hard copy of this book anywhere, but you can download it via the Runner’s World app in the app store. It is also worth checking out publications such as Men’s and Women’s Running magazine as well. The following books have also been good resources and I would thoroughly recommend reading them.

The first two are very well written running manuals with lots of practical advice for varying levels of runners. The Marathon and Half Marathon training guide is a very well-rounded book which includes information on nutrition as well as running techniques. The Art of Running Faster, does what it says on the cover and focuses on technique, the author, Julian Goater, is a former world class athlete, so it is well worth heeding his advice. The other two books are certainly a lighter read. Charlie Spedding is also a former long distance runner and won the London Marathon in 1984 and represented Great Britain in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic games. So if you have any aspirations of winning the race, then I would certainly recommend reading Spedding’s autobiography! The last book by Phil Hewitt is very enjoyable, funny at times and easy to relate too as he is not a professional athlete.

The staple of marathon training I’m told is the long run. I’ve scoured my running library recently and talked to fellow runners to formulate my long run plan and have come across some great tips which I hope to implement into my training. I thought I would share some of these with you –

  1. It is important to know what pace your long runs should be run at for two reasons. Firstly it is important to have time on your feet and getting used to 3+ hours of running. Most long runs should be run at a pace equivalent to a minute – a minute and half  slower than the pace you intend to run at on the day. Secondly, identifying a comfortable race pace will allow you to practice running for a sustained period at that level during training.
  2. To help identify your race pace, you’ll need to think about a time that you wish to finish the marathon in. I’ve spoken to a few people about setting time goals, especially if it is your first attempt at this distance, which it is for me. The advice I was given was that I shouldn’t get too hung up on a specific time, but aim for a time window. For instance, I hope to finish between 4 hours and 4 hours 30 minutes. I’m hoping that this will take some pressure off me on the day and avoid being disappointed if I don’t reach my initial goal of 4 hours. Although, deep down, I know that just finishing the race and raising a load of cash for The Lullaby Trust will be satisfying enough.
  3. Once you’ve decided on that race pace, practicing this during your long runs will make you more confident come race day. When you start to feel comfortable running for long distances introduce a few miles towards the end of the run at this pace. This will increase your stamina and start to condition you for those grueling last miles.
  4. Practice refueling during these long runs and don’t stray from your routine on the day. If you have used certain gels or sports drinks, make sure you have a supply of them on the day. Using different supplements during the marathon is a recipe for disaster as there is no guarantee that your body will accept them as well as the ones you’ve conditioned your body to take.
  5. On long training runs consume a sports gel every 40-45 minutes or take a sip of sports drink every 15-20 minutes. This will insure that you don’t crash and burn. Leaving it too late to refuel could mean that it’s difficult to recover. Following these guidelines, I’ve managed to keep myself topped up and avoid the dip in performance. Another handy little tip that I have used comes courtesy of The Lullaby Trust email forum, unfortunately I can’t acknowledge the team member who imparted this pearl of wisdom as the email forum has grown to such as size I can’t find the original email. Rewarding yourself during training is a great motivator, this is a simple reward but I’ve found this extremely helpful. After every completed mile on a long run I now take a swig of water/sports drink, it’s amazing how I look forward now to completing miles, just so that I can take a refreshment on board. Very simple, but extremely motivating.

Until next time….keep on running.

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The Lullaby Trust London Marathon Blog – Oh I do like to be beside the seaside…

This week has certainly been a bittersweet one for me.

On Sunday I decided that I fancied a bit of a change to my regular running haunt, sometimes I feel the need to mix my routes up so they don’t become stale and routine. One of the great things about running is that you can just step outside the front door and be working out and building up a sweat in minutes, but I am also lucky that within 15 minutes I can jump in my car and travel to the coast and run along the sea front instead. My Dad also lives by the coast and I have him to blame for my compulsion to run. He has ran every week for the past 35 years come rain or shine, so without much persuasion he decided to join me.

Running along the coast can be liberating when the majority of my run routes take me around the large, urban sprawl of my home town. This particular morning I was joined by a few passers by, out for an early morning stretch of the legs, a couple of fisherman sitting on the beach, sheltered under their waterproof garments, a few plucky boats bobbing up and down in the English channel and a rather large, dead fish that had been washed up the previous night and had been laid to rest on the coastal walkway. I must admit, this did startle me somewhat, I was so engrossed in my run that I failed to notice it looking up at me forlornly until I was almost upon it.

Apart from the feeling of total freedom, I was also lucky to start my run whilst it was raining. This may seem like a strange statement, but I enjoy running in the rain. If it happened to rain in small doses on April 26th next year, I would be more than happy. Obviously I don’t wish to run for 4 hours + in a torrential downpour, but a light shower or some of that fine rain would be more than welcome. (Disclaimer – I take no responsibility for the actual conditions on the day if it so happens that we are all extremely soggy, my mere suggestion or request for a little precipitation has no bearing on the weather forecast, unfortunately I do not have any control in that respect).

Maybe I am an odd creature and I would love to hear from other runners in The Lullaby Trust team, but I seem to run better when it rains. In fact, when I look back at other physical activities I have taken part in over the years, I’ve always enjoyed playing/competing in the rain. I used to hope for rain on the day of a big football match, I wasn’t totally satisfied unless the pitch was a mud bath.

So the conditions were perfect. I decided I wanted to run around 6 or 7 miles depending on how I felt as I went around and after the first mile I knew I was going to enjoy this one. I had a surge of adrenaline at 2 miles and before I knew it I had beaten my previous 10k best and still wanted more, so I continued for a further mile. The feeling of beating my previous 10k pb was great, especially because the previous week, I’d hoped to beat my 10k time in a competitive race and ended up having an absolute stinker. I could blame it on the lack of rain, but I think I put too much pressure on myself and blew out rather early on in proceedings.

The rest of the week didn’t go particularly well…..

Two days after setting my 10k pb I went to the running club as normal for a Tuesday night speed session. Well, I say speed session, I could just about muster a jog comfortably but anything more strenuous than that had me in a bit of discomfort. The inner part of my left calf had been sore for a while, but I’d got used to the pain which normally disappeared once I had got into my stride. Tuesday night was different though, I now had an identical pain in my right calf. I continued to run through it uncomfortably for the duration of the session and decided that I would take a couple of days off to rest it and test it out again at the weekend.

I’d planned an 8-9 mile Sunday run which I was looking forward to after not running since Tuesday. My calves felt a little tight, but nothing out of the ordinary, so I felt confident that I could run the distance, but as soon as I had stepped outside the door and took my first strides I knew my calves were still complaining. It was as if I was running on hot coals, every time my foot struck the ground, a shooting pain traveled up from the bottom of the calf towards my knee. I managed about half a mile and decided enough was enough. Angry and frustrated, I trudged back home.

I have made some great progress with my running over the past two years and I really felt recently that I had stepped up a level in terms of speed and endurance, so it was an inconvenient time to develop an injury.

So it’s time for a break. From all the advice I have read online and gathered from friends, resting is the key to recovery, combined with some physio. It’s certainly going to be a frustrating couple of weeks for me.