Hello London Marathoners,
This is PEAK WEEK. In these next 7 days, you’ll run your most weekly miles and your longest run, plus an hour-long grind of a workout. And, you know what? We’re not worried at all. You show up. You put in the work. You’ve been diligent, disciplined, focused and measured for months now, so why would this week be any different? You’ve built the strength to make this week possible, now it’s time to do it.
Now, athletes. Look at me. You have two very important, non-negotiables this week:
#1 Your body needs a lot. The way you treat yourself outside of your run is just as important as the time on your runs. As best you can, put yourself in an easy chair and respond to your body’s every passing need. You’re working so hard, you’re adapting so fast, and you’re equal parts as powerful and fragile as you’ve ever been. Take care of you!
#2 This long run is one of your two closest replicas of Marathon Morning—this week you’ll run your longest run, then next week you’ll run your most miles at marathon pace within a long run. THIS run is your best opportunity to enact a full-dress rehearsal of Marathon Morning. Considering the gear, fuel, timing, and the mental game. Tell yourself what you’d like to be thinking on the start line, at miles 13, 20, and 25. Then, practice.
LFG
Coach + Coffey
This week you will run 3-6 times, with 1-2 Speed Run(s) and 1 Long Run
These runs may be done on any days and in any order, with two caveats: 1) The Speed Run should be earlier in the week than the Long Run, and 2) follow the hard-easy-hard principle, which means never run back-to-back hard days. Instead, separate hard (speed or long) runs with at least one easy run or rest day.
This week, increase your total weekly mileage by 10%, based on your previous weekly high. For help planning your mileage, check out pages 22-33 of The noname Program manual for examples of weekly mileage breakdowns and progression.
Speed Run: 60:00 800 in-and-outs
Method:
Run 5-20 minutes of easy warmup running.
Do 5-10 optional minutes of dynamic warmups + strides.
This is your second time running this adapted version of Yasso 800s, created by the great coach Bart Yasso. Six weeks ago, you ran 48 minutes. This week, you’re taking a 25% jump up to 60. This is a right-of-passage workout, and it represents the peak of your mileage via speedwork. From here on out, every speed day will be shorter than the last. Expect this to be hard, and get it done.
Here’s a refresher:
First, figure out your pace for the fast 800s—you will run each 800 in minutes:seconds that correspond to the hours:minutes of your marathon goal time, then recover for that same amount of time. That’s a little bit of a tricky instruction, so let’s pause there:
If your goal is a 4 hour marathon, you’ll run a 4:00 800—8:00 pace. If your goal is a 6:30 marathon, you’ll run a 6:30 800—13:00 pace.
Then, you’ll move directly into a run/walk that matches the time of your interval:
If your goal is 7 hours you’ll run/walk 7:00 easy. If your goal is a 3:00 marathon, you’ll run 3:00 easy. The recovery should be on the slower end of your aerobic pace—it’s important to keep the momentum moving forward, even as you recover. This is a continuous workout.
Got that? All your times should match each other. X:XX marathon, X:XX 800, X:XX rest interval.
A word on the space between your ears: This is a grind. Some workouts, like last week’s hills, require intense focus and total effort. Others, like this one, require a moderate, unrelenting effort. It’s not glamorous. It’s not a day for your fastest time. It’s quietly tough, made of that same gradual and insistent fatigue that will be waiting for you at mile 18 in the marathon.
Keep in mind that it may not be a feel-good day. It may not be triumphant. It will, however, help you build the strength you will need on marathon morning. Come with your head on straight and your mantras, songs, and self-talk prepped and ready.
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 on page 19 in The noname Program manual. This wide pace range is determined by your prospective Marathon pace, and is the pace range at which your system is fueled almost exclusively by aerobic metabolism. That means at this pace your energy comes from an oxygen-based system; any faster and it start to rely on chemical reactions within your muscles, which produce byproducts that are measured by lactate. The majority of your training miles should be run in this aerobic, oxygen-powered pace window. This will develop your body's reliance on oxygen-based metabolism, build out the capillary “infrastructure” for delivering oxygen-rich blood, and coax your body away from the production of leg-burning muscular byproduct.
Put a different way, at this pace your body can both recover from your hard runs and develop your endurance at the same time. Some people refer to these days as recovery runs or easy runs. We like to use the technical term: aerobic—adj, relating to, involving, or requiring free oxygen, to keep at the front of our minds that even though these miles are easy, they are just as purposeful and essential as any speed day.
Optional Tempo:
Experienced runners running at least four days a week may opt for a second speed workout most weeks. This workout will always complement the primary Tuesday speed workout and will typically, but not always, be based on Tempo pace. This week, because your primary Tuesday workout includes near-threshold pace and this is a recovery week, you have a different stimulus:
Within a run that reaches your mileage goal for the day, incorporate 10x1:00 accelerations in the 2nd half of the run. After a few miles, introduce your accelerations (aka surges) as waves of faster running within your aerobic-pace run. These accelerations should be separated by at least 1:00, and as much as 5:00. They may be anywhere from 5k-marathon pace, and it's best if you play around! See how different paces feel in the body, how your footsteps and breathing change, and how quickly you recover.
Long Run: 20-24 miles @ Aerobic Pace
This weekend, you’re running your LONGEST RUN.
It’s going to be hard and you’re ready for it.
We know you’re nervous. That’s good. Feel what you’re feeling. It’s evidence that you care. It’s also good practice—from now until the Marathon, everything you do is an experiment: the music you wake up to, the clothes on your back, what you eat and drink, and the words you say you tell yourself. This 20-24 miles is significant not as a test of whether you can finish the Marathon (you can), but because it’s a chance to mimic marathon morning as closely as possible.
If you haven’t gotten out a calculator and figured out your gel strategy, do that now! Plan on taking at least 60-90 grams of carbs, and 500-1000mg of salt (electrolytes), and 16-30oz of water per hour—we suggest taking a gel + water every 30 minutes!
Get ready for your 20-24 with the same attention to detail that you will apply to your marathon. After this run and guided by your experience, you can make strategic changes where necessary. These are the skills of preparation, and they will orient you when the fatigue of the miles sets in. Take full advantage of this opportunity: mimic every element you can in terms of food, water, music, mantras, feelings, timing, etc etc etc. Write your mantras across your mirror in eyeliner. Journal on your why. Set up a full dress-rehersal, internally and externally. Then, recognize that there will be elements you can’t control, both tomorrow and in the race—and that’s when you’ll practice gracefully letting them roll off your back. It may be a smooth day, and it may not. Either way, you can handle it.
Lastly, If you have trouble falling asleep, that’s ok! Many, many, many (most?) PRs are set after sleep-deprived nights. Even if you’re not sleeping, have a calm night.
How to decide between 20-24?
You should run 0-3 miles more than your longest run so far this season.