13 weeks to NYC + 10 week to Chicago + 8 weeks to Berlin

Hello team,

It’s a recovery week! At last!

You’ve been collecting miles, testing paces, and grappling with new challenges week after week. Even if you’ve stayed perfectly on top of recovery, your body has inevitably picked up bits of microdamage and fallen behind on restocking and rebuilding. We’re on an adventure and we’re a little banged up. That’s why it’s time for a recovery week!

In a recovery week, our goal is to decrease training load just enough to redirect extra resources toward rebuilding, while continuing to work hard enough to stimulate new adaptation. Rest a little, but not too much. Marathon fitness is build on compiled fatigue, but we don’t want to delay recovery beyond what our bodies can safely handle.

How much should you rest? Depending on your mileage and where you are in your marathon cycle, you should run between 10-25% less mileage this week than last. Use the mileage guides in the back of The noname Program manual, or use a percentage-based technique in Coach + Coffey’s manual. You can also check out this spreadsheet to see how your marathon aligns with other fall marathons, and how we’re tweaking training so all marathoners can share training as much as possible.

In addition to cutting miles, you should be extra soft with yourself this week: replace one easy run with a bike or a swim if that feels nice. Take all of your runs eeeeextra easy, and do them on soft surface like grass or dirt if you can. If you have access, take a run on a treadmill to escape the heat. This is a good week to splurge on good quality food, a massage, extra sleep and as much lazy lounge-around time as possible. Any way you can treat yourself like a baby this week, do it. You’re working hard, even when it doesn’t feel like it.

Be warned: Many people feel quite sluggish during recovery week. If this is you, that’s great! Give into it. You’re tired because your body is still working just as hard, only the work is microscopic and it’s happening while you’re at rest. For the same reason, you may be very hungry or thirsty. The answer: feed + water + rest + trust your genius body, and thank it being such a sophisticated and perceptive partner.

Next week, you’ll feel that recovery boost.

Coach + Coffey 

Fall Marathoners, this week you will run 3-6 times:

These runs may be done on any days, with two caveats: 1) Run the Speed Run earlier in the week than the Long Run, and 2) if you’re running 3-4 days a week, try not to run them all back-to-back-to-back. Your efforts will be safer and more effective if separated by rest. 

Speed Run: 10 x 1:00 hill

Method:

1.    Run 5-20 minutes of easy warmup running.

2.    Do 5-10 optional minutes of dynamic warmups + strides.

3.    This workout is simple: Find a hill. Run up hill hard for 1:00. Turn around. Walk or jog back down. Repeat for a total of:

12 x 1:00 hill — Berlin, Chicago, Wine Glass, St George, Twin Cities, Milwaukee, Portland

10 x 1:00 hill — New York, Amsterdam, Columbus, Detroit Free Press, Baltimore, Great New York State, Toronto Marine Corps, Dublin, Indianapolis, Athens

8 x 1:00 hill — Richmond, Philly, Valencia, CIM, Honolulu, Kiawah

Hills are magic. When you run hard up a hill, your body shifts into its most dynamic, powerful posture. Without even thinking about it, your knees will come up higher, your arms will pump more powerfully, and you will push the earth away with more athletic control. It’s really a beautiful think to watch an athlete open up into their true form over the course of a few hill reps.

To run this workout well, start slower than you think you need to, and with :20 to go in each rep, try to **shift** into a faster gear. It doesn’t really matter how much speed you get out of this shift; the form-building is in effort.

If you start to lose focus, rely on these cues: STRONG ARMS. HIGH KNEES. POP POP POP. Then, listen to the sound of your feet and hear them respond.

4.    5-20 minutes easy cooldown running + dynamic cooldown, just like at the start. 

Aerobic Runs: 1-4 easy runs for aerobic development 

Find your aerobic pace in the noname manual. This wide pace range is determined by your prospective Marathon pace, and is the pace at which your system is fueled primarily by aerobic metabolism. That means at this pace your energy comes almost entirely from oxygen; any faster and it start to rely on chemical reactions within your muscles which produce byproducts like lactate. The majority of your training miles should be run in this pace window in order to develop your body's reliance on oxygen-based metabolism and limit the production of leg-burning muscular byproduct.

Long Run: 1:30 - 9 miles

Berlin, Chicago, Wine Glass, St George, Twin Cities, Milwaukee, Portland, Twin Cities, Amsterdam, Columbus, Detroit Free Press, Baltimore, Great New York State, Toronto—

1:30-2:00 run with 4-5 miles @ Goal Marathon Pace

Start in your Aerobic Pace window, which you can find in The noname Program manual. For the last 4-5 mile shift into Goal Marathon Pace. Hold that pace as smoothly and gracefully as possible. Your goal here is not to run as fast as you can, but to really feel marathon pace. Get it into your muscles, into your movement patterns, and into your sense memory.

Decide between 1:30 and 2:00 based on energy levels. There’s no wrong answer here, and you don’t have to make the choice before you start running.

For most of you, this is the first time I’m assigning a time-based long run rather than a distance-based long run. I do this for two reasons:

1)    To isolate variables. Whenever we’re taking a step forward with one variable, we want to take a step backward with all the others. That way, we focus our attention and make more rapid changed and stay healthy by making sure we’re keeping the stress contained to a specific system. It’s not so different than alternating leg day + arm day, only we’re thinking about energy systems, movement patterns and tissue classes rather than body parts.

Last week, we pushed the distance of the run but kept the pace easy. This week, we’re running shorter but pushing the pace with marathon miles.

2)    To limit time on feet. Whenever I’m coaching the marathon, I’m thinking about two measurements: time and distance. Everyone runs 26.2, which is why we all climb up in distance all the way to 20 miles. But, every person runs that distance in a different time, and different amounts of time in effort place different demands on the tissues of the body, and use different energy systems. In this way, we’re all running the same race and our own entirely unique one. For that reason, you’ll see both speed runs and long runs bounce back and forth between distance and time in order to make sure everyone gets enough training, the right types of training, and not too much training for timely adaptation.

For some of you, this will mean that you’ll ran less distance than some of your teammates. But, that means you ran more time than them in last week, and you will next week too, right?

New York, Marine Corps, Dublin, Istanbul, Indianapolis, Athens, Richmond, Philly, Valencia, CIM, Honolulu, Kiawah—

9 miles

Just a simple recovery long run for you! A little less mileage than last week, at the some aerobic pace. You’re still building the foundation to your Marathon, waiting for your body to adapt to these demands so you’ll be more prepared for the specific work ahead. Keep the run easy and bouncy and chatty.

As always, hydrate with varied liquids, including fruits and electrolyte drinks Plan a relaxed night. Eat a colorful, nourishing dinner the night before. Go to sleep early. Get up with an eye on finishing your run before the heat peaks. Eat breakfast, even if it’s just a little. Pack gels if you’re running longer than 1:30 and take one at :45—more on this soon! Plan water stops. Visit this hot weather readiness post for tips on running in the heat.