Female Marathon Athlete
Female marathon/endurance athletes will typically run anywhere from 2-4 marathons a year. Here, I have developed a one-year training plan for a female marathon runner participating in the New York City Marathon on November 4th and the Boston Marathon on April 17th. Since there are two marathons to train for, I am including two macrocycles, 10 mesocycles (5 each), and several weekly microcycles. The program will begin in the off-season with the basic preparatory phase (BP). Our athlete will focus on a variety of exercises to build a strong base and improve overall motor capabilities and coordination (Taff & Triplett, 2021). Next, is the specific preparatory phase (SP) where basic strength will be the focus. I will begin adding in additional HIIT-like runs into the running program as well. The combination of resistance training and HIIT runs will help improve running economy and V02max (Boullosa et al., 2020). Our athletes precompetitive season will include strength and power, continuing to build on our race pace and duration. This section of power training will increase muscle power production, improve overall endurance and running economy (Karp et al., 2010). Finally, the precompetitive period is typically about three weeks, where our athlete will begin to taper, by lowering the overall volume of running distance and resistance training. Lastly, the final phase, which is the restoration phase, will include two weeks of none-sport specific, light intensity activities to fully recover and heal any potential or current injuries. However, our athlete is not done yet - the second macrocycle is 2.5 weeks after the NYC marathon, and is a few weeks shorter than the first macrocycle. For this second macrocycle, I will make slight adjustments with the timing of growth (volume), since each mesocycle is a little shorter. However, the first mesocycle will be the longest to ensure we gradually bring our athlete back to performance level, while avoiding side effects of overtraining or fatigue. The graph attached breaks down the 2 macrocycles, 10 mesocycles and several weekly microcycles.
For the GP phase included in the offseason, we are mostly focusing on developing a strong base of strength and aerobic capacity; the athlete must be prepared for longer, more intense runs and exercises in the next phase. I am introducing several different exercises to enhance neuromuscular efficiency, build coordination and discover any weaknesses that the athlete is struggling with. Since we are in the beginning of the training program, I will include a high volume with light to moderate weight. This format will increase lean body mass and overall endurance (Haff & Triplett, 2021). After week 2, our athletes will begin to increase their intensity by 5-10%, followed by a recovery week in week 8. Also, to establish a strong aerobic capacity for the next phase, 3 runs a week will be included in the plan. One of these runs will be a long distance slow run, and the other two will be recovery runs or light tempo runs, depending on the athlete's energy level. The long runs for the first four weeks will stay around 5-6 miles, and the recovery or interval runs will be maximum 20-30 minutes.
By week eight, our athlete should start showing an improvement in overall strength, coordination and aerobic capacity. Hopefully, we have identified any weaknesses, and will include additional balance/mobility/flexibility exercises into the program if needed. The SP phase will include sport specific resistance exercises, along with higher intensity intervals and longer runs. Improvement in running economy (RE) is essential, so several lower body exercises will be included, leading to greater leg strength and positive motor unit recruitment patterns (Johnston et al., 1997). Exercises included will be determined based on the kinematics of running. The hips, knees and ankles work together throughout the entire running gait cycle, by flexing and extending, in order to absorb one's body weight at initial contact with the ground. Therefore, we’re going to see a lot of activation from the glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, iliopsoas, and gastrocnemius, to name a few. Also, the upper body plays a role due to the repetitive motion of the arms moving through the sagittal plane. Here, we are in the basic strength phase as well, so the intensity is going to get higher and the volume will decrease to 2-6 sets of 2-6 repetitions. Our athlete should be comfortable running approximately 8-10 miles at this point, which will be the distance of the long run. This will continue to increase by 5-10% each week. We will also include two other runs for the week - one will be a recovery run at 30-40 minutes and the other will be an interval training run ranging from 45-60 minutes.
We have entered into our precompetitive period now, where the athlete will begin focusing on strength and power. Our athlete is running confidently around 15 or 16 miles and has greatly improved their strength and increased lean body mass. We’re now focused specifically on turning those strength gains to develop power. Exercises will vary in intensity from 30-90% and the volume will be very low at 2-5 sets and 2-5 repetitions. Keeping the volume low will also help our runner save their energy for their longer runs. I will also include some HIIT training runs with incline, and longer interval runs as well. This will aid in developing a stronger aerobic capacity, and also potentially take time from their mile per minute pace.
Competitive season is different for marathon runners, as it is much shorter and we begin to taper about 3-4 weeks out from the race. Here, volume and intensity will begin to decrease by 10% each week, with fewer exercises. I will include a few more mobility and flexibility sessions after the runs and resistance training, to ensure that the body is properly cooling down and preventing any potential injury so close to the race. The week of the race, the athlete should drop down to low volume and bodyweight only to just focus on maintaining. I will recommend a rest day, the day before the race. However, due to potential anxiety of the race, sometimes a light short recovery run is necessary.
Our athlete has successfully finished the NYC marathon and is now in the postseason or restoration phase. This phase is typically 2-3 weeks for runners. The athlete will be encouraged to take a couple days off after the run. Then, including short low intensity bouts of cardio like swimming or cycling can be included. Any resistance training will be low volume and low intensity. Here the athlete can participate in non-sport specific activities, like yoga or a dance class.
Now our athlete must gear up for the second macrocycle, training for the Boston Marathon. Here, I will include some assessments for our athlete to see if any changes need to be made for the macrocycle. This macrocycle is slightly shorter with less weeks in every mesocycle. However, the GP phase will be slightly longer than the rest of the phases, in order to bring our athlete back slowly and efficiently into training, without developing any overtraining symptoms or potential fatigue. After the GP phase, every phase will resemble what our athlete did for the NYC marathon. We’ll include some different exercises to avoid exercise monotony and keep the program enjoyable for the athlete. The goal will be to take some time off of the total marathon time from the NYC marathon. In order to do this, we’ll include more strength specific running drills, such as hill running and longer interval runs.
References
Boullosa, D., Esteve-Lanao, J., Casado, A., Peyré-Tartaruga, L. A., Gomes da Rosa, R., & Del Coso, J. (2020). Factors affecting training and physical performance in recreational endurance runners. Sports (Basel, Switzerland), 8(3), 35. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports8030035
Haff, G., & Triplett, N. T. (2021). Essentials of strength training and conditioning. Human Kinetics.
Johnson, R. E., Quinn, T. J., Kertzer, R., & Vroman, N. B. (1997). Strength training in female distance runners. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 11(4), 224–229. https://doi.org/10.1519/00124278-199711000-00004
Karp, Jason R PhD. Strength training for distance running: A scientific perspective (2010) Strength and Conditioning Journal 32(3), 83-86 | DOI: 10.1519/SSC.0b0133181df195b