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Find the plan that works best for you from the detailed day-by-day training schedules by choosing between 18- and 12-week preparation and selecting weekly distances of 55, 55 to 70, 70 to 85, or 85-plus miles. If you run marathons close together, you’ll find 6- to 12-week training plans to maximize your training time and recovery. For older marathoners, there is a full chapter dedicated to their unique training, nutrition, and recovery needs.
Complement your running workouts with strength, core, and flexibility exercises to help keep injury at bay. Learn how current technologies such as GPS and online logs can help you analyze your training and performance and set goals for future races. Draw inspiration and insights from elite marathoners such as Galen Rupp, Eliud Kipchoge, and Molly Huddle. Implement cutting-edge nutrition and hydration strategies and recovery techniques to feel and run your best.
Advanced Marathoning gives ambitious marathoners the information needed to train smarter, remain injury-free, and cross the next finish line stronger and faster than ever.
Chapter 1. Elements of Training
Chapter 2. Nutrition and Hydration
Chapter 3. Balancing Training and Recovery
Chapter 4. Supplementary Training
Chapter 5. The Older (and Wiser) Marathoner
Chapter 6. Tapering for Peak Marathon Performance
Chapter 7. Race-Day Strategy
Part II. Training Programs
Chapter 8. Following the Schedules
Chapter 9. Marathon Training on up to 55 Miles (89 km) per Week
Chapter 10. Marathon Training on 55 to 70 Miles (89 to 113 km)per Week
Chapter 11. Marathon Training on 70 to 85 Miles (113 to 137 km) per Week
Chapter 12. Marathon Training on More Than 85 Miles (137 km) per Week
Chapter 13. Multiple Marathoning
Appendix A. Marathon Race-Pace Chart
Appendix B. Equivalent Race Times: 10K Through Marathon
Pete Pfitzinger was the top American finisher in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic marathons. With a personal best of 2:11:43, he is a two-time winner of the San Francisco Marathon and placed third in the 1987 New York City Marathon. He was ranked the top American marathoner in 1984 by Track & Field News, and he is a member of the Road Runners Club of America’s Hall of Fame. Pfitzinger has over 30 years of experience coaching marathon runners to achieve their goals. He is also the coauthor of Faster Road Racing.
Scott Douglas is a contributing writer for Runner’s World and the author or coauthor of several other books, including Meb for Mortals and Running Is My Therapy. Douglas lives in South Portland, Maine.
“One of the most comprehensive and trusted resources for marathoners.”
—Runner’s World
“The third edition of Advanced Marathoning offers the latest information for optimizing performance. If you are preparing for a marathon, this is the book for you!”
—Meb Keflezighi, Olympic Silver Medalist and Boston and New York City Marathon Champion
“Advanced Marathoning provides a focused purpose every day so that you get to race day fit enough, rested enough, and healthy enough to have a great experience.”
—Molly Huddle, Two-Time Olympian, 2:26 Marathoner, and U.S. Record Holder in the 10K and Half Marathon
“This is the book that taught me the science and training necessary to run faster marathons. It’s clear, smart, precise, and full of terrific advice. My first edition is full of scribbles, underlines, and notes, marking a progression from 3:18 to 3:06 to 2:43—and, more important, to a true love of the sport. This edition is even better. Read it and run.”
—Nicholas Thompson, Editor in Chief of Wired
“I’ve been referencing Advanced Marathoning since I first entered the marathon scene in 2013. Several buildups and top 10 finishes later, it’s still the book I turn to for research- and experience-backed information about pacing, tapering, fueling, stretching, and more. Advanced Marathoning is a comprehensive and essential resource for anyone wishing to find their potential over 26.2 miles.”
—Becky Wade, 2:30 Marathoner and Author of Run the World
What shoes should you wear for a marathon?
Marathoners vary widely in the types of shoes in which they prefer to race. On the theory that even an extra ounce adds up over the course of 26.2 miles (42.2 km), some like to wear as light a shoe as possible.
Marathoners vary widely in the types of shoes in which they prefer to race. On the theory that even an extra ounce adds up over the course of 26.2 miles (42.2 km), some like to wear as light a shoe as possible. On the other hand, some runners figure that during such a long run, they'll need as much cushioning and support as they can get.
Most competitive marathoners should choose race-day shoes on the light end of the spectrum. Most shoe companies make a lightweight trainer that works well in the marathon—these are minimalist enough so that you can feel light on your feet but are built up enough in the heel and midsole to provide some protection, especially as you fatigue late in the race.
Most elites, of course, race the marathon in flats. Bear in mind that these runners are usually whippet thin and have excellent biomechanics. Flats have less support, less cushioning, and less heel lift than training shoes. The lack of support increases the risk of injury and can make muscles that have to work harder fatigue because of the decreased support. In addition, the lower heel lift puts more strain on Achilles tendons and calf muscles.
In the last few years, many companies have introduced a broader range of racing flats so marathoners have more choices between the shoes they race 5Ks in and their training shoes, no matter how light the latter are. Usually weighing around 8 ounces (230 g) with a decent amount of cushioning and some heel support, these longer-distance flats are a good choice for marathoners attempting to race the marathon significantly faster than normal training pace. Regardless of which shoes you choose for race day, be sure to try them out on tempo runs and at least one of your longer marathon-pace training runs in addition to the short dress rehearsal run during taper week.
Following are some rough guidelines about the most likely candidates to wear racing flats in the marathon.
Men Faster than 2:40 Weighs less than 160 pounds (73 kg) History of being relatively injury free Good biomechanics | Women Faster than 2:55 Weighs less than 140 pounds (63 kg) History of being relatively injury free Good biomechanics |
Elite marathoner profile: Yuki Kawauchi
There are elite marathoners who hole up most of the year for one big race. And then there’s Yuki Kawauchi.
Fastest marathon: 2:08:14 (Seoul, 2013)
Marathon highlights: 1st place, 2018 Boston Marathon; most sub-2:20 marathons in history
There are elite marathoners who hole up most of the year for one big race. And then there's Yuki Kawauchi.
The surprise 2018 Boston Marathon champion is the fastest of a small number of elites who race marathons with the frequency more often seen in 10K specialists. In 2018 Kawauchi ran 11 marathons, with five other victories besides the one in Boston. The previous year he ran 12 marathons, all faster than 2:16, including four wins. Every year he also contests several half marathons—he did so each of the weekends before and after winning Boston—and at least one ultramarathon. (He won the longest race of his life, a 71K, one month after winning Boston.) Kawauchi holds the world record for the most sub-2:20 marathons (80-plus).
Kawauchi obviously has an extraordinary talent for quick recovery. Even many elites have difficulty walking normally, much less running, in the immediate aftermath of a marathon. His apparent immunity to typical soft-tissue soreness is a genetic gift in the same way that others' muscle-fiber composition or running economy is. That said, there is much to learn from Kawauchi, even if you have no interest in becoming a serial marathoner.
For starters, why does Kawauchi race so much? Mostly because he enjoys it. In chapter 1 we talked about the importance of personally meaningful goals. What's most important to you should affect how often you race. The broader way to state that is that you should do with your running whatever best speaks to you. That might be racing one marathon a year with the goal of setting a personal best. That might be making as many attempts at a Boston qualifier as it takes. Or, like Kawauchi, it might be regularly experiencing the unique thrill of competition. Know what aspects of running you most enjoy, and train and race accordingly.
Kawauchi's frequent racing also gives him more chances at success. Of course, there's a limit to the try-and-try-again approach to the marathon, depending on your physical and mental recovery. And it's natural to think that Kawauchi's personal best of 2:08:14 could be even faster if he were more selective. A compelling counterargument is that doing something like running two marathons every three years might also not be the way to reach your potential, given how many things can go wrong in any one marathon. At a less extreme level than Kawauchi, Meb Keflezighi has said that regular racing—his marathon career spanned 15 years—increased his odds of race day aligning with his firing on all cylinders.
On a practical level, Kawauchi's racing schedule meshes well with his nonrunning schedule for most of his career. Before becoming a full-time runner in 2019, Kawauchi was a Japanese government clerk, working from noon until 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. He generally had the time for one run a day, in the morning, during the work week. (Most of his competitors run twice a day most days of the week.) In a typical week, Kawauchi ran an easy 70 to 100 minutes on work mornings except for an interval session on Wednesdays. Regular weekend races gave him a chance to combine volume and quality. They also helped him build to his key races. His 71K ultramarathon, for example, was a (very) long training run for his next marathon. For someone with a 2:08 marathon best, half marathons in 65 or 66 minutes are more marathon-pace medium-long runs than all-out efforts. If you often struggle to do typical marathon training during the work week, weekend races can provide an opportunity to still get the necessary work done.
Finally, all runners can learn from how Kawauchi handles the inevitable subpar days—he moves on to the next challenge rather than beating himself up. There's something to be said for showing up and persevering even when you know it won't be a perfect day. It's not surprising that, in cold rain and heavy winds, Kawauchi prevailed in Boston while many of the world's best marathoners crumbled.
Monitoring your body's recovery during marathon training
Monitoring your body provides valuable information on your adaptation to training, your risk of injury or illness, and your readiness for the next hard training session.
Monitoring your body provides valuable information on your adaptation to training, your risk of injury or illness, and your readiness for the next hard training session. There are several good ways to determine when you are overreaching so you can avoid overtraining and remain healthy. You can use this information to improve your recovery by modifying your training schedule to your individual limits. A variety of apps exist for runners and other endurance athletes to monitor the key factors that influence recovery from training, such as resting heart rate and amount of deep sleep. These apps take just a few minutes each day; they make it easy to track both your training and recovery factors and typically provide warning signs when several factors are heading in the wrong direction for several days.
There are many ways to monitor your recovery, but the simplest measures are useful and the easiest to adhere to. In combination, these measures provide insight into your adaptation to training. Typically, when results on these measures decrease, running performance and recovery deteriorate a few days later. In addition to the details of your training, try tracking the following factors and review the data periodically to find the patterns that predict overtraining, illness, and injury. It is important to be as consistent as possible when measuring these factors.
- Weight. Check your weight at the same time of day each day or several times per week. While weight may naturally fluctuate slightly from day to day, decreases in weight over a few days may indicate dehydration. Decreases in weight over a few weeks can indicate that you are not eating enough calories, have an illness, or are overtraining.
- Morning heart rate. Your heart rate when you first wake up in the morning provides an indication of your recovery. It is important to check your heart rate soon after you wake because it increases as soon as you start thinking about your plans for the day and by about 10 beats per minute when you get up. In addition, waking to an alarm can increase your heart rate and make the data less reliable. To find your resting heart rate, therefore, wear a heart monitor or take your pulse immediately upon waking for several days. Your true resting heart rate is the lowest rate you find. If your morning heart rate is more than 5 beats per minute higher than usual, this may be an indication of inadequate recovery or may be the first sign that you are not well. Early detection can be particularly useful in preventing illness.
- Environmental conditions. Record the temperature and humidity on hot days. Because of increased core body temperature and dehydration, your body undergoes substantially more stress when you run at 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) and 80 percent humidity than at 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees Celsius) and low humidity. If you train hard or compete on a hot, humid day, the heat you generate can overwhelm your body's ability to eliminate heat, causing your core temperature to climb, which can increase recovery time. Similarly, as discussed in chapter 2, severe dehydration also increases recovery time. There's great variation in how runners are affected by heat. Monitoring these factors will reveal patterns that can help you make needed adjustments during a stretch of hot weather.
- Hours of sleep. The number of hours you sleep is not particularly important for any one night. Over several nights, however, your quantity of sleep can influence your recovery and ability to adapt positively to training and can, in combination with other measures, explain a lack of recovery and indicate lifestyle changes required to enhance your running performance and help prevent illness or injury.
- Quality of sleep. The quality of your sleep is arguably more important than the number of hours. Evaluate the quality of your sleep each night—How soundly did you sleep? Were you awake a lot in the middle of the night? Did you get out of bed feeling refreshed?—and try to be consistent in your assessment. A reduction in quality of sleep is often associated with overtraining. Reduced sleep quality can also be caused by nonrunning stressors, but the result for your running performance is the same. See “Sleep Better, Run Faster” on page 75 for how to maximize the recovery benefits of sleep.
- Diet quality. Evaluate the overall quality of your diet each day. Did your meals cover your carbohydrate and protein needs? Did you get so hungry that you binged? Did the bulk of your calories come from healthy foods? Often, a lack of energy can be traced back to poor diet in the previous few days.
- Hydration level. Dehydration has a negative effect on running performance and slows recovery from training. Evaluate your hydration level each day. Was your urine clear? Did you drink small amounts regularly so you seldom felt thirsty? Did your mouth and throat often feel dry? Your daily weight also provides a good indication of your hydration level.
- Muscle soreness. It is not unusual for runners to have slightly sore muscles most of the time. An increase in muscle soreness can be due to a hard workout or running downhill. Evaluate your general muscle soreness each day. Did your soreness lessen after a few miles of running? Did your soreness seem explainable by your most recent workouts? If increased general muscle soreness lasts more than 4 or 5 days, it is likely that you are ill or overreaching. Soreness in a specific muscle indicates a potential injury, whereas more general muscle soreness provides an indication of your recovery and adaptation to training.
- Energy level. An assessment of energy level is one of the best indications of recovery from training. Evaluate your energy level each day. Did you have the energy to accomplish your running and daily life goals? Did you feel alert and focused when running or performing a task? If your energy level is reduced for more than 3 days, it is important to determine the cause of the reduction. Typical causes of reduced energy levels are lack of carbohydrate intake, training hard too many days in a row, illness, low iron levels, dehydration, and lack of sleep. By reviewing your training and considering your lifestyle factors, you should be able to identify the likely cause of a low energy level.
- Heart rate at a standard pace. If your heart rate at a set pace is more than about 7 beats per minute higher than usual, you may not be recovered from your previous training sessions. For example, if your heart rate at an 8-minute-per-mile pace is typically 145 beats per minute, and one day you find it is 155 beats per minute at that pace, you likely need additional recovery before doing your next hard training session. Heart rate during running at a given pace varies by a few beats per minute from day to day, and it is also influenced by factors such as dehydration and hot or humid conditions, so take this into consideration in evaluating the implications of a higher-than-usual heart rate.
One runner's approach to healthy masters training
Every December I write down my main running goals for the coming year. A quarter-century ago, the goals usually had to do with setting personal bests.
Every December I write down my main running goals for the coming year. A quarter-century ago, the goals usually had to do with setting personal bests. Now that I'm in my mid-50s, I still have time-related goals, and I often have completion goals, such as finishing a specific trail ultramarathon. For the last several years, however, my main goal has been the same: Lose no days of running to injury. Focusing on this goal is how I get the most satisfaction out of this phase of my running life.
My physical and mental health is best supported by consistently running a decent amount; my current sweet spot is between 2,500 and 3,000 miles a year. But I don't want to just blindly run up the odometer. I want those miles to be as enjoyable as possible—I want to feel good running, and I want to feel good about my running. That's where “lose no days of running to injury” comes in. Rather than the call to obsessiveness it might sound like, it's how I can best stay healthy.
Like any good goal, this one is not just personally meaningful but quantifiable and with obvious steps to take to reach it. Losing no days to injury basically means taking care of myself—not letting myself get too worn down by running or work, eating and sleeping well, not gaining unneeded weight, and striving to maintain a body that can hold up to the amount of running I want to do.
That last point is where the goal really helps me. It means that pretty much every day I do strengthening, core stability, balance, or mobility exercises. Some I do immediately before and after running; others I do throughout the day. I still have my trouble spots, I still wish I were a little more flowing when running, and I still sometimes miss days to injury. (I don't run if I sense that I can't do so with my normal gait—running in that compromised state will both exacerbate the current issue and set me up for compensatory problems elsewhere.) But as someone who has already run more than 110,000 miles, committing to doing nonrunning exercises daily has been the key to consistent, enjoyable running in middle age.
Another practice I credit with meeting the miss-no-days goal is having lots of variety in my running. That's variety in terms of distance, intensity, terrain, and topography. Most of my weeks look a lot like a sample week from the training schedules later in this book. I regularly mix long runs, short recovery days, tempo runs, interval workouts, turnover sessions, and general aerobic runs. It's when I get away from multipace running—when I string together too many medium-length, medium-intensity days—that I start to feel flat, stiff, and achey. A bonus: When I do decide to focus on a competitive goal, the default setting of variety sets me up well for more structured training.
On the weekend I wrote this sidebar, I did a 16-miler on Saturday and runs of 5 and 4 miles on Sunday. The last one was on a dirt road alongside a snowy stream at twilight: I had to restrain myself to not go farther or faster. If doing nonrunning exercises most days means I can regularly have similar experiences into my late 50s and beyond, I'll happily take that trade-off.
—Scott Douglas
What shoes should you wear for a marathon?
Marathoners vary widely in the types of shoes in which they prefer to race. On the theory that even an extra ounce adds up over the course of 26.2 miles (42.2 km), some like to wear as light a shoe as possible.
Marathoners vary widely in the types of shoes in which they prefer to race. On the theory that even an extra ounce adds up over the course of 26.2 miles (42.2 km), some like to wear as light a shoe as possible. On the other hand, some runners figure that during such a long run, they'll need as much cushioning and support as they can get.
Most competitive marathoners should choose race-day shoes on the light end of the spectrum. Most shoe companies make a lightweight trainer that works well in the marathon—these are minimalist enough so that you can feel light on your feet but are built up enough in the heel and midsole to provide some protection, especially as you fatigue late in the race.
Most elites, of course, race the marathon in flats. Bear in mind that these runners are usually whippet thin and have excellent biomechanics. Flats have less support, less cushioning, and less heel lift than training shoes. The lack of support increases the risk of injury and can make muscles that have to work harder fatigue because of the decreased support. In addition, the lower heel lift puts more strain on Achilles tendons and calf muscles.
In the last few years, many companies have introduced a broader range of racing flats so marathoners have more choices between the shoes they race 5Ks in and their training shoes, no matter how light the latter are. Usually weighing around 8 ounces (230 g) with a decent amount of cushioning and some heel support, these longer-distance flats are a good choice for marathoners attempting to race the marathon significantly faster than normal training pace. Regardless of which shoes you choose for race day, be sure to try them out on tempo runs and at least one of your longer marathon-pace training runs in addition to the short dress rehearsal run during taper week.
Following are some rough guidelines about the most likely candidates to wear racing flats in the marathon.
Men Faster than 2:40 Weighs less than 160 pounds (73 kg) History of being relatively injury free Good biomechanics | Women Faster than 2:55 Weighs less than 140 pounds (63 kg) History of being relatively injury free Good biomechanics |
Elite marathoner profile: Yuki Kawauchi
There are elite marathoners who hole up most of the year for one big race. And then there’s Yuki Kawauchi.
Fastest marathon: 2:08:14 (Seoul, 2013)
Marathon highlights: 1st place, 2018 Boston Marathon; most sub-2:20 marathons in history
There are elite marathoners who hole up most of the year for one big race. And then there's Yuki Kawauchi.
The surprise 2018 Boston Marathon champion is the fastest of a small number of elites who race marathons with the frequency more often seen in 10K specialists. In 2018 Kawauchi ran 11 marathons, with five other victories besides the one in Boston. The previous year he ran 12 marathons, all faster than 2:16, including four wins. Every year he also contests several half marathons—he did so each of the weekends before and after winning Boston—and at least one ultramarathon. (He won the longest race of his life, a 71K, one month after winning Boston.) Kawauchi holds the world record for the most sub-2:20 marathons (80-plus).
Kawauchi obviously has an extraordinary talent for quick recovery. Even many elites have difficulty walking normally, much less running, in the immediate aftermath of a marathon. His apparent immunity to typical soft-tissue soreness is a genetic gift in the same way that others' muscle-fiber composition or running economy is. That said, there is much to learn from Kawauchi, even if you have no interest in becoming a serial marathoner.
For starters, why does Kawauchi race so much? Mostly because he enjoys it. In chapter 1 we talked about the importance of personally meaningful goals. What's most important to you should affect how often you race. The broader way to state that is that you should do with your running whatever best speaks to you. That might be racing one marathon a year with the goal of setting a personal best. That might be making as many attempts at a Boston qualifier as it takes. Or, like Kawauchi, it might be regularly experiencing the unique thrill of competition. Know what aspects of running you most enjoy, and train and race accordingly.
Kawauchi's frequent racing also gives him more chances at success. Of course, there's a limit to the try-and-try-again approach to the marathon, depending on your physical and mental recovery. And it's natural to think that Kawauchi's personal best of 2:08:14 could be even faster if he were more selective. A compelling counterargument is that doing something like running two marathons every three years might also not be the way to reach your potential, given how many things can go wrong in any one marathon. At a less extreme level than Kawauchi, Meb Keflezighi has said that regular racing—his marathon career spanned 15 years—increased his odds of race day aligning with his firing on all cylinders.
On a practical level, Kawauchi's racing schedule meshes well with his nonrunning schedule for most of his career. Before becoming a full-time runner in 2019, Kawauchi was a Japanese government clerk, working from noon until 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. He generally had the time for one run a day, in the morning, during the work week. (Most of his competitors run twice a day most days of the week.) In a typical week, Kawauchi ran an easy 70 to 100 minutes on work mornings except for an interval session on Wednesdays. Regular weekend races gave him a chance to combine volume and quality. They also helped him build to his key races. His 71K ultramarathon, for example, was a (very) long training run for his next marathon. For someone with a 2:08 marathon best, half marathons in 65 or 66 minutes are more marathon-pace medium-long runs than all-out efforts. If you often struggle to do typical marathon training during the work week, weekend races can provide an opportunity to still get the necessary work done.
Finally, all runners can learn from how Kawauchi handles the inevitable subpar days—he moves on to the next challenge rather than beating himself up. There's something to be said for showing up and persevering even when you know it won't be a perfect day. It's not surprising that, in cold rain and heavy winds, Kawauchi prevailed in Boston while many of the world's best marathoners crumbled.
Monitoring your body's recovery during marathon training
Monitoring your body provides valuable information on your adaptation to training, your risk of injury or illness, and your readiness for the next hard training session.
Monitoring your body provides valuable information on your adaptation to training, your risk of injury or illness, and your readiness for the next hard training session. There are several good ways to determine when you are overreaching so you can avoid overtraining and remain healthy. You can use this information to improve your recovery by modifying your training schedule to your individual limits. A variety of apps exist for runners and other endurance athletes to monitor the key factors that influence recovery from training, such as resting heart rate and amount of deep sleep. These apps take just a few minutes each day; they make it easy to track both your training and recovery factors and typically provide warning signs when several factors are heading in the wrong direction for several days.
There are many ways to monitor your recovery, but the simplest measures are useful and the easiest to adhere to. In combination, these measures provide insight into your adaptation to training. Typically, when results on these measures decrease, running performance and recovery deteriorate a few days later. In addition to the details of your training, try tracking the following factors and review the data periodically to find the patterns that predict overtraining, illness, and injury. It is important to be as consistent as possible when measuring these factors.
- Weight. Check your weight at the same time of day each day or several times per week. While weight may naturally fluctuate slightly from day to day, decreases in weight over a few days may indicate dehydration. Decreases in weight over a few weeks can indicate that you are not eating enough calories, have an illness, or are overtraining.
- Morning heart rate. Your heart rate when you first wake up in the morning provides an indication of your recovery. It is important to check your heart rate soon after you wake because it increases as soon as you start thinking about your plans for the day and by about 10 beats per minute when you get up. In addition, waking to an alarm can increase your heart rate and make the data less reliable. To find your resting heart rate, therefore, wear a heart monitor or take your pulse immediately upon waking for several days. Your true resting heart rate is the lowest rate you find. If your morning heart rate is more than 5 beats per minute higher than usual, this may be an indication of inadequate recovery or may be the first sign that you are not well. Early detection can be particularly useful in preventing illness.
- Environmental conditions. Record the temperature and humidity on hot days. Because of increased core body temperature and dehydration, your body undergoes substantially more stress when you run at 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) and 80 percent humidity than at 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees Celsius) and low humidity. If you train hard or compete on a hot, humid day, the heat you generate can overwhelm your body's ability to eliminate heat, causing your core temperature to climb, which can increase recovery time. Similarly, as discussed in chapter 2, severe dehydration also increases recovery time. There's great variation in how runners are affected by heat. Monitoring these factors will reveal patterns that can help you make needed adjustments during a stretch of hot weather.
- Hours of sleep. The number of hours you sleep is not particularly important for any one night. Over several nights, however, your quantity of sleep can influence your recovery and ability to adapt positively to training and can, in combination with other measures, explain a lack of recovery and indicate lifestyle changes required to enhance your running performance and help prevent illness or injury.
- Quality of sleep. The quality of your sleep is arguably more important than the number of hours. Evaluate the quality of your sleep each night—How soundly did you sleep? Were you awake a lot in the middle of the night? Did you get out of bed feeling refreshed?—and try to be consistent in your assessment. A reduction in quality of sleep is often associated with overtraining. Reduced sleep quality can also be caused by nonrunning stressors, but the result for your running performance is the same. See “Sleep Better, Run Faster” on page 75 for how to maximize the recovery benefits of sleep.
- Diet quality. Evaluate the overall quality of your diet each day. Did your meals cover your carbohydrate and protein needs? Did you get so hungry that you binged? Did the bulk of your calories come from healthy foods? Often, a lack of energy can be traced back to poor diet in the previous few days.
- Hydration level. Dehydration has a negative effect on running performance and slows recovery from training. Evaluate your hydration level each day. Was your urine clear? Did you drink small amounts regularly so you seldom felt thirsty? Did your mouth and throat often feel dry? Your daily weight also provides a good indication of your hydration level.
- Muscle soreness. It is not unusual for runners to have slightly sore muscles most of the time. An increase in muscle soreness can be due to a hard workout or running downhill. Evaluate your general muscle soreness each day. Did your soreness lessen after a few miles of running? Did your soreness seem explainable by your most recent workouts? If increased general muscle soreness lasts more than 4 or 5 days, it is likely that you are ill or overreaching. Soreness in a specific muscle indicates a potential injury, whereas more general muscle soreness provides an indication of your recovery and adaptation to training.
- Energy level. An assessment of energy level is one of the best indications of recovery from training. Evaluate your energy level each day. Did you have the energy to accomplish your running and daily life goals? Did you feel alert and focused when running or performing a task? If your energy level is reduced for more than 3 days, it is important to determine the cause of the reduction. Typical causes of reduced energy levels are lack of carbohydrate intake, training hard too many days in a row, illness, low iron levels, dehydration, and lack of sleep. By reviewing your training and considering your lifestyle factors, you should be able to identify the likely cause of a low energy level.
- Heart rate at a standard pace. If your heart rate at a set pace is more than about 7 beats per minute higher than usual, you may not be recovered from your previous training sessions. For example, if your heart rate at an 8-minute-per-mile pace is typically 145 beats per minute, and one day you find it is 155 beats per minute at that pace, you likely need additional recovery before doing your next hard training session. Heart rate during running at a given pace varies by a few beats per minute from day to day, and it is also influenced by factors such as dehydration and hot or humid conditions, so take this into consideration in evaluating the implications of a higher-than-usual heart rate.
One runner's approach to healthy masters training
Every December I write down my main running goals for the coming year. A quarter-century ago, the goals usually had to do with setting personal bests.
Every December I write down my main running goals for the coming year. A quarter-century ago, the goals usually had to do with setting personal bests. Now that I'm in my mid-50s, I still have time-related goals, and I often have completion goals, such as finishing a specific trail ultramarathon. For the last several years, however, my main goal has been the same: Lose no days of running to injury. Focusing on this goal is how I get the most satisfaction out of this phase of my running life.
My physical and mental health is best supported by consistently running a decent amount; my current sweet spot is between 2,500 and 3,000 miles a year. But I don't want to just blindly run up the odometer. I want those miles to be as enjoyable as possible—I want to feel good running, and I want to feel good about my running. That's where “lose no days of running to injury” comes in. Rather than the call to obsessiveness it might sound like, it's how I can best stay healthy.
Like any good goal, this one is not just personally meaningful but quantifiable and with obvious steps to take to reach it. Losing no days to injury basically means taking care of myself—not letting myself get too worn down by running or work, eating and sleeping well, not gaining unneeded weight, and striving to maintain a body that can hold up to the amount of running I want to do.
That last point is where the goal really helps me. It means that pretty much every day I do strengthening, core stability, balance, or mobility exercises. Some I do immediately before and after running; others I do throughout the day. I still have my trouble spots, I still wish I were a little more flowing when running, and I still sometimes miss days to injury. (I don't run if I sense that I can't do so with my normal gait—running in that compromised state will both exacerbate the current issue and set me up for compensatory problems elsewhere.) But as someone who has already run more than 110,000 miles, committing to doing nonrunning exercises daily has been the key to consistent, enjoyable running in middle age.
Another practice I credit with meeting the miss-no-days goal is having lots of variety in my running. That's variety in terms of distance, intensity, terrain, and topography. Most of my weeks look a lot like a sample week from the training schedules later in this book. I regularly mix long runs, short recovery days, tempo runs, interval workouts, turnover sessions, and general aerobic runs. It's when I get away from multipace running—when I string together too many medium-length, medium-intensity days—that I start to feel flat, stiff, and achey. A bonus: When I do decide to focus on a competitive goal, the default setting of variety sets me up well for more structured training.
On the weekend I wrote this sidebar, I did a 16-miler on Saturday and runs of 5 and 4 miles on Sunday. The last one was on a dirt road alongside a snowy stream at twilight: I had to restrain myself to not go farther or faster. If doing nonrunning exercises most days means I can regularly have similar experiences into my late 50s and beyond, I'll happily take that trade-off.
—Scott Douglas
What shoes should you wear for a marathon?
Marathoners vary widely in the types of shoes in which they prefer to race. On the theory that even an extra ounce adds up over the course of 26.2 miles (42.2 km), some like to wear as light a shoe as possible.
Marathoners vary widely in the types of shoes in which they prefer to race. On the theory that even an extra ounce adds up over the course of 26.2 miles (42.2 km), some like to wear as light a shoe as possible. On the other hand, some runners figure that during such a long run, they'll need as much cushioning and support as they can get.
Most competitive marathoners should choose race-day shoes on the light end of the spectrum. Most shoe companies make a lightweight trainer that works well in the marathon—these are minimalist enough so that you can feel light on your feet but are built up enough in the heel and midsole to provide some protection, especially as you fatigue late in the race.
Most elites, of course, race the marathon in flats. Bear in mind that these runners are usually whippet thin and have excellent biomechanics. Flats have less support, less cushioning, and less heel lift than training shoes. The lack of support increases the risk of injury and can make muscles that have to work harder fatigue because of the decreased support. In addition, the lower heel lift puts more strain on Achilles tendons and calf muscles.
In the last few years, many companies have introduced a broader range of racing flats so marathoners have more choices between the shoes they race 5Ks in and their training shoes, no matter how light the latter are. Usually weighing around 8 ounces (230 g) with a decent amount of cushioning and some heel support, these longer-distance flats are a good choice for marathoners attempting to race the marathon significantly faster than normal training pace. Regardless of which shoes you choose for race day, be sure to try them out on tempo runs and at least one of your longer marathon-pace training runs in addition to the short dress rehearsal run during taper week.
Following are some rough guidelines about the most likely candidates to wear racing flats in the marathon.
Men Faster than 2:40 Weighs less than 160 pounds (73 kg) History of being relatively injury free Good biomechanics | Women Faster than 2:55 Weighs less than 140 pounds (63 kg) History of being relatively injury free Good biomechanics |
Elite marathoner profile: Yuki Kawauchi
There are elite marathoners who hole up most of the year for one big race. And then there’s Yuki Kawauchi.
Fastest marathon: 2:08:14 (Seoul, 2013)
Marathon highlights: 1st place, 2018 Boston Marathon; most sub-2:20 marathons in history
There are elite marathoners who hole up most of the year for one big race. And then there's Yuki Kawauchi.
The surprise 2018 Boston Marathon champion is the fastest of a small number of elites who race marathons with the frequency more often seen in 10K specialists. In 2018 Kawauchi ran 11 marathons, with five other victories besides the one in Boston. The previous year he ran 12 marathons, all faster than 2:16, including four wins. Every year he also contests several half marathons—he did so each of the weekends before and after winning Boston—and at least one ultramarathon. (He won the longest race of his life, a 71K, one month after winning Boston.) Kawauchi holds the world record for the most sub-2:20 marathons (80-plus).
Kawauchi obviously has an extraordinary talent for quick recovery. Even many elites have difficulty walking normally, much less running, in the immediate aftermath of a marathon. His apparent immunity to typical soft-tissue soreness is a genetic gift in the same way that others' muscle-fiber composition or running economy is. That said, there is much to learn from Kawauchi, even if you have no interest in becoming a serial marathoner.
For starters, why does Kawauchi race so much? Mostly because he enjoys it. In chapter 1 we talked about the importance of personally meaningful goals. What's most important to you should affect how often you race. The broader way to state that is that you should do with your running whatever best speaks to you. That might be racing one marathon a year with the goal of setting a personal best. That might be making as many attempts at a Boston qualifier as it takes. Or, like Kawauchi, it might be regularly experiencing the unique thrill of competition. Know what aspects of running you most enjoy, and train and race accordingly.
Kawauchi's frequent racing also gives him more chances at success. Of course, there's a limit to the try-and-try-again approach to the marathon, depending on your physical and mental recovery. And it's natural to think that Kawauchi's personal best of 2:08:14 could be even faster if he were more selective. A compelling counterargument is that doing something like running two marathons every three years might also not be the way to reach your potential, given how many things can go wrong in any one marathon. At a less extreme level than Kawauchi, Meb Keflezighi has said that regular racing—his marathon career spanned 15 years—increased his odds of race day aligning with his firing on all cylinders.
On a practical level, Kawauchi's racing schedule meshes well with his nonrunning schedule for most of his career. Before becoming a full-time runner in 2019, Kawauchi was a Japanese government clerk, working from noon until 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. He generally had the time for one run a day, in the morning, during the work week. (Most of his competitors run twice a day most days of the week.) In a typical week, Kawauchi ran an easy 70 to 100 minutes on work mornings except for an interval session on Wednesdays. Regular weekend races gave him a chance to combine volume and quality. They also helped him build to his key races. His 71K ultramarathon, for example, was a (very) long training run for his next marathon. For someone with a 2:08 marathon best, half marathons in 65 or 66 minutes are more marathon-pace medium-long runs than all-out efforts. If you often struggle to do typical marathon training during the work week, weekend races can provide an opportunity to still get the necessary work done.
Finally, all runners can learn from how Kawauchi handles the inevitable subpar days—he moves on to the next challenge rather than beating himself up. There's something to be said for showing up and persevering even when you know it won't be a perfect day. It's not surprising that, in cold rain and heavy winds, Kawauchi prevailed in Boston while many of the world's best marathoners crumbled.
Monitoring your body's recovery during marathon training
Monitoring your body provides valuable information on your adaptation to training, your risk of injury or illness, and your readiness for the next hard training session.
Monitoring your body provides valuable information on your adaptation to training, your risk of injury or illness, and your readiness for the next hard training session. There are several good ways to determine when you are overreaching so you can avoid overtraining and remain healthy. You can use this information to improve your recovery by modifying your training schedule to your individual limits. A variety of apps exist for runners and other endurance athletes to monitor the key factors that influence recovery from training, such as resting heart rate and amount of deep sleep. These apps take just a few minutes each day; they make it easy to track both your training and recovery factors and typically provide warning signs when several factors are heading in the wrong direction for several days.
There are many ways to monitor your recovery, but the simplest measures are useful and the easiest to adhere to. In combination, these measures provide insight into your adaptation to training. Typically, when results on these measures decrease, running performance and recovery deteriorate a few days later. In addition to the details of your training, try tracking the following factors and review the data periodically to find the patterns that predict overtraining, illness, and injury. It is important to be as consistent as possible when measuring these factors.
- Weight. Check your weight at the same time of day each day or several times per week. While weight may naturally fluctuate slightly from day to day, decreases in weight over a few days may indicate dehydration. Decreases in weight over a few weeks can indicate that you are not eating enough calories, have an illness, or are overtraining.
- Morning heart rate. Your heart rate when you first wake up in the morning provides an indication of your recovery. It is important to check your heart rate soon after you wake because it increases as soon as you start thinking about your plans for the day and by about 10 beats per minute when you get up. In addition, waking to an alarm can increase your heart rate and make the data less reliable. To find your resting heart rate, therefore, wear a heart monitor or take your pulse immediately upon waking for several days. Your true resting heart rate is the lowest rate you find. If your morning heart rate is more than 5 beats per minute higher than usual, this may be an indication of inadequate recovery or may be the first sign that you are not well. Early detection can be particularly useful in preventing illness.
- Environmental conditions. Record the temperature and humidity on hot days. Because of increased core body temperature and dehydration, your body undergoes substantially more stress when you run at 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) and 80 percent humidity than at 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees Celsius) and low humidity. If you train hard or compete on a hot, humid day, the heat you generate can overwhelm your body's ability to eliminate heat, causing your core temperature to climb, which can increase recovery time. Similarly, as discussed in chapter 2, severe dehydration also increases recovery time. There's great variation in how runners are affected by heat. Monitoring these factors will reveal patterns that can help you make needed adjustments during a stretch of hot weather.
- Hours of sleep. The number of hours you sleep is not particularly important for any one night. Over several nights, however, your quantity of sleep can influence your recovery and ability to adapt positively to training and can, in combination with other measures, explain a lack of recovery and indicate lifestyle changes required to enhance your running performance and help prevent illness or injury.
- Quality of sleep. The quality of your sleep is arguably more important than the number of hours. Evaluate the quality of your sleep each night—How soundly did you sleep? Were you awake a lot in the middle of the night? Did you get out of bed feeling refreshed?—and try to be consistent in your assessment. A reduction in quality of sleep is often associated with overtraining. Reduced sleep quality can also be caused by nonrunning stressors, but the result for your running performance is the same. See “Sleep Better, Run Faster” on page 75 for how to maximize the recovery benefits of sleep.
- Diet quality. Evaluate the overall quality of your diet each day. Did your meals cover your carbohydrate and protein needs? Did you get so hungry that you binged? Did the bulk of your calories come from healthy foods? Often, a lack of energy can be traced back to poor diet in the previous few days.
- Hydration level. Dehydration has a negative effect on running performance and slows recovery from training. Evaluate your hydration level each day. Was your urine clear? Did you drink small amounts regularly so you seldom felt thirsty? Did your mouth and throat often feel dry? Your daily weight also provides a good indication of your hydration level.
- Muscle soreness. It is not unusual for runners to have slightly sore muscles most of the time. An increase in muscle soreness can be due to a hard workout or running downhill. Evaluate your general muscle soreness each day. Did your soreness lessen after a few miles of running? Did your soreness seem explainable by your most recent workouts? If increased general muscle soreness lasts more than 4 or 5 days, it is likely that you are ill or overreaching. Soreness in a specific muscle indicates a potential injury, whereas more general muscle soreness provides an indication of your recovery and adaptation to training.
- Energy level. An assessment of energy level is one of the best indications of recovery from training. Evaluate your energy level each day. Did you have the energy to accomplish your running and daily life goals? Did you feel alert and focused when running or performing a task? If your energy level is reduced for more than 3 days, it is important to determine the cause of the reduction. Typical causes of reduced energy levels are lack of carbohydrate intake, training hard too many days in a row, illness, low iron levels, dehydration, and lack of sleep. By reviewing your training and considering your lifestyle factors, you should be able to identify the likely cause of a low energy level.
- Heart rate at a standard pace. If your heart rate at a set pace is more than about 7 beats per minute higher than usual, you may not be recovered from your previous training sessions. For example, if your heart rate at an 8-minute-per-mile pace is typically 145 beats per minute, and one day you find it is 155 beats per minute at that pace, you likely need additional recovery before doing your next hard training session. Heart rate during running at a given pace varies by a few beats per minute from day to day, and it is also influenced by factors such as dehydration and hot or humid conditions, so take this into consideration in evaluating the implications of a higher-than-usual heart rate.
One runner's approach to healthy masters training
Every December I write down my main running goals for the coming year. A quarter-century ago, the goals usually had to do with setting personal bests.
Every December I write down my main running goals for the coming year. A quarter-century ago, the goals usually had to do with setting personal bests. Now that I'm in my mid-50s, I still have time-related goals, and I often have completion goals, such as finishing a specific trail ultramarathon. For the last several years, however, my main goal has been the same: Lose no days of running to injury. Focusing on this goal is how I get the most satisfaction out of this phase of my running life.
My physical and mental health is best supported by consistently running a decent amount; my current sweet spot is between 2,500 and 3,000 miles a year. But I don't want to just blindly run up the odometer. I want those miles to be as enjoyable as possible—I want to feel good running, and I want to feel good about my running. That's where “lose no days of running to injury” comes in. Rather than the call to obsessiveness it might sound like, it's how I can best stay healthy.
Like any good goal, this one is not just personally meaningful but quantifiable and with obvious steps to take to reach it. Losing no days to injury basically means taking care of myself—not letting myself get too worn down by running or work, eating and sleeping well, not gaining unneeded weight, and striving to maintain a body that can hold up to the amount of running I want to do.
That last point is where the goal really helps me. It means that pretty much every day I do strengthening, core stability, balance, or mobility exercises. Some I do immediately before and after running; others I do throughout the day. I still have my trouble spots, I still wish I were a little more flowing when running, and I still sometimes miss days to injury. (I don't run if I sense that I can't do so with my normal gait—running in that compromised state will both exacerbate the current issue and set me up for compensatory problems elsewhere.) But as someone who has already run more than 110,000 miles, committing to doing nonrunning exercises daily has been the key to consistent, enjoyable running in middle age.
Another practice I credit with meeting the miss-no-days goal is having lots of variety in my running. That's variety in terms of distance, intensity, terrain, and topography. Most of my weeks look a lot like a sample week from the training schedules later in this book. I regularly mix long runs, short recovery days, tempo runs, interval workouts, turnover sessions, and general aerobic runs. It's when I get away from multipace running—when I string together too many medium-length, medium-intensity days—that I start to feel flat, stiff, and achey. A bonus: When I do decide to focus on a competitive goal, the default setting of variety sets me up well for more structured training.
On the weekend I wrote this sidebar, I did a 16-miler on Saturday and runs of 5 and 4 miles on Sunday. The last one was on a dirt road alongside a snowy stream at twilight: I had to restrain myself to not go farther or faster. If doing nonrunning exercises most days means I can regularly have similar experiences into my late 50s and beyond, I'll happily take that trade-off.
—Scott Douglas
What shoes should you wear for a marathon?
Marathoners vary widely in the types of shoes in which they prefer to race. On the theory that even an extra ounce adds up over the course of 26.2 miles (42.2 km), some like to wear as light a shoe as possible.
Marathoners vary widely in the types of shoes in which they prefer to race. On the theory that even an extra ounce adds up over the course of 26.2 miles (42.2 km), some like to wear as light a shoe as possible. On the other hand, some runners figure that during such a long run, they'll need as much cushioning and support as they can get.
Most competitive marathoners should choose race-day shoes on the light end of the spectrum. Most shoe companies make a lightweight trainer that works well in the marathon—these are minimalist enough so that you can feel light on your feet but are built up enough in the heel and midsole to provide some protection, especially as you fatigue late in the race.
Most elites, of course, race the marathon in flats. Bear in mind that these runners are usually whippet thin and have excellent biomechanics. Flats have less support, less cushioning, and less heel lift than training shoes. The lack of support increases the risk of injury and can make muscles that have to work harder fatigue because of the decreased support. In addition, the lower heel lift puts more strain on Achilles tendons and calf muscles.
In the last few years, many companies have introduced a broader range of racing flats so marathoners have more choices between the shoes they race 5Ks in and their training shoes, no matter how light the latter are. Usually weighing around 8 ounces (230 g) with a decent amount of cushioning and some heel support, these longer-distance flats are a good choice for marathoners attempting to race the marathon significantly faster than normal training pace. Regardless of which shoes you choose for race day, be sure to try them out on tempo runs and at least one of your longer marathon-pace training runs in addition to the short dress rehearsal run during taper week.
Following are some rough guidelines about the most likely candidates to wear racing flats in the marathon.
Men Faster than 2:40 Weighs less than 160 pounds (73 kg) History of being relatively injury free Good biomechanics | Women Faster than 2:55 Weighs less than 140 pounds (63 kg) History of being relatively injury free Good biomechanics |
Elite marathoner profile: Yuki Kawauchi
There are elite marathoners who hole up most of the year for one big race. And then there’s Yuki Kawauchi.
Fastest marathon: 2:08:14 (Seoul, 2013)
Marathon highlights: 1st place, 2018 Boston Marathon; most sub-2:20 marathons in history
There are elite marathoners who hole up most of the year for one big race. And then there's Yuki Kawauchi.
The surprise 2018 Boston Marathon champion is the fastest of a small number of elites who race marathons with the frequency more often seen in 10K specialists. In 2018 Kawauchi ran 11 marathons, with five other victories besides the one in Boston. The previous year he ran 12 marathons, all faster than 2:16, including four wins. Every year he also contests several half marathons—he did so each of the weekends before and after winning Boston—and at least one ultramarathon. (He won the longest race of his life, a 71K, one month after winning Boston.) Kawauchi holds the world record for the most sub-2:20 marathons (80-plus).
Kawauchi obviously has an extraordinary talent for quick recovery. Even many elites have difficulty walking normally, much less running, in the immediate aftermath of a marathon. His apparent immunity to typical soft-tissue soreness is a genetic gift in the same way that others' muscle-fiber composition or running economy is. That said, there is much to learn from Kawauchi, even if you have no interest in becoming a serial marathoner.
For starters, why does Kawauchi race so much? Mostly because he enjoys it. In chapter 1 we talked about the importance of personally meaningful goals. What's most important to you should affect how often you race. The broader way to state that is that you should do with your running whatever best speaks to you. That might be racing one marathon a year with the goal of setting a personal best. That might be making as many attempts at a Boston qualifier as it takes. Or, like Kawauchi, it might be regularly experiencing the unique thrill of competition. Know what aspects of running you most enjoy, and train and race accordingly.
Kawauchi's frequent racing also gives him more chances at success. Of course, there's a limit to the try-and-try-again approach to the marathon, depending on your physical and mental recovery. And it's natural to think that Kawauchi's personal best of 2:08:14 could be even faster if he were more selective. A compelling counterargument is that doing something like running two marathons every three years might also not be the way to reach your potential, given how many things can go wrong in any one marathon. At a less extreme level than Kawauchi, Meb Keflezighi has said that regular racing—his marathon career spanned 15 years—increased his odds of race day aligning with his firing on all cylinders.
On a practical level, Kawauchi's racing schedule meshes well with his nonrunning schedule for most of his career. Before becoming a full-time runner in 2019, Kawauchi was a Japanese government clerk, working from noon until 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. He generally had the time for one run a day, in the morning, during the work week. (Most of his competitors run twice a day most days of the week.) In a typical week, Kawauchi ran an easy 70 to 100 minutes on work mornings except for an interval session on Wednesdays. Regular weekend races gave him a chance to combine volume and quality. They also helped him build to his key races. His 71K ultramarathon, for example, was a (very) long training run for his next marathon. For someone with a 2:08 marathon best, half marathons in 65 or 66 minutes are more marathon-pace medium-long runs than all-out efforts. If you often struggle to do typical marathon training during the work week, weekend races can provide an opportunity to still get the necessary work done.
Finally, all runners can learn from how Kawauchi handles the inevitable subpar days—he moves on to the next challenge rather than beating himself up. There's something to be said for showing up and persevering even when you know it won't be a perfect day. It's not surprising that, in cold rain and heavy winds, Kawauchi prevailed in Boston while many of the world's best marathoners crumbled.
Monitoring your body's recovery during marathon training
Monitoring your body provides valuable information on your adaptation to training, your risk of injury or illness, and your readiness for the next hard training session.
Monitoring your body provides valuable information on your adaptation to training, your risk of injury or illness, and your readiness for the next hard training session. There are several good ways to determine when you are overreaching so you can avoid overtraining and remain healthy. You can use this information to improve your recovery by modifying your training schedule to your individual limits. A variety of apps exist for runners and other endurance athletes to monitor the key factors that influence recovery from training, such as resting heart rate and amount of deep sleep. These apps take just a few minutes each day; they make it easy to track both your training and recovery factors and typically provide warning signs when several factors are heading in the wrong direction for several days.
There are many ways to monitor your recovery, but the simplest measures are useful and the easiest to adhere to. In combination, these measures provide insight into your adaptation to training. Typically, when results on these measures decrease, running performance and recovery deteriorate a few days later. In addition to the details of your training, try tracking the following factors and review the data periodically to find the patterns that predict overtraining, illness, and injury. It is important to be as consistent as possible when measuring these factors.
- Weight. Check your weight at the same time of day each day or several times per week. While weight may naturally fluctuate slightly from day to day, decreases in weight over a few days may indicate dehydration. Decreases in weight over a few weeks can indicate that you are not eating enough calories, have an illness, or are overtraining.
- Morning heart rate. Your heart rate when you first wake up in the morning provides an indication of your recovery. It is important to check your heart rate soon after you wake because it increases as soon as you start thinking about your plans for the day and by about 10 beats per minute when you get up. In addition, waking to an alarm can increase your heart rate and make the data less reliable. To find your resting heart rate, therefore, wear a heart monitor or take your pulse immediately upon waking for several days. Your true resting heart rate is the lowest rate you find. If your morning heart rate is more than 5 beats per minute higher than usual, this may be an indication of inadequate recovery or may be the first sign that you are not well. Early detection can be particularly useful in preventing illness.
- Environmental conditions. Record the temperature and humidity on hot days. Because of increased core body temperature and dehydration, your body undergoes substantially more stress when you run at 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) and 80 percent humidity than at 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees Celsius) and low humidity. If you train hard or compete on a hot, humid day, the heat you generate can overwhelm your body's ability to eliminate heat, causing your core temperature to climb, which can increase recovery time. Similarly, as discussed in chapter 2, severe dehydration also increases recovery time. There's great variation in how runners are affected by heat. Monitoring these factors will reveal patterns that can help you make needed adjustments during a stretch of hot weather.
- Hours of sleep. The number of hours you sleep is not particularly important for any one night. Over several nights, however, your quantity of sleep can influence your recovery and ability to adapt positively to training and can, in combination with other measures, explain a lack of recovery and indicate lifestyle changes required to enhance your running performance and help prevent illness or injury.
- Quality of sleep. The quality of your sleep is arguably more important than the number of hours. Evaluate the quality of your sleep each night—How soundly did you sleep? Were you awake a lot in the middle of the night? Did you get out of bed feeling refreshed?—and try to be consistent in your assessment. A reduction in quality of sleep is often associated with overtraining. Reduced sleep quality can also be caused by nonrunning stressors, but the result for your running performance is the same. See “Sleep Better, Run Faster” on page 75 for how to maximize the recovery benefits of sleep.
- Diet quality. Evaluate the overall quality of your diet each day. Did your meals cover your carbohydrate and protein needs? Did you get so hungry that you binged? Did the bulk of your calories come from healthy foods? Often, a lack of energy can be traced back to poor diet in the previous few days.
- Hydration level. Dehydration has a negative effect on running performance and slows recovery from training. Evaluate your hydration level each day. Was your urine clear? Did you drink small amounts regularly so you seldom felt thirsty? Did your mouth and throat often feel dry? Your daily weight also provides a good indication of your hydration level.
- Muscle soreness. It is not unusual for runners to have slightly sore muscles most of the time. An increase in muscle soreness can be due to a hard workout or running downhill. Evaluate your general muscle soreness each day. Did your soreness lessen after a few miles of running? Did your soreness seem explainable by your most recent workouts? If increased general muscle soreness lasts more than 4 or 5 days, it is likely that you are ill or overreaching. Soreness in a specific muscle indicates a potential injury, whereas more general muscle soreness provides an indication of your recovery and adaptation to training.
- Energy level. An assessment of energy level is one of the best indications of recovery from training. Evaluate your energy level each day. Did you have the energy to accomplish your running and daily life goals? Did you feel alert and focused when running or performing a task? If your energy level is reduced for more than 3 days, it is important to determine the cause of the reduction. Typical causes of reduced energy levels are lack of carbohydrate intake, training hard too many days in a row, illness, low iron levels, dehydration, and lack of sleep. By reviewing your training and considering your lifestyle factors, you should be able to identify the likely cause of a low energy level.
- Heart rate at a standard pace. If your heart rate at a set pace is more than about 7 beats per minute higher than usual, you may not be recovered from your previous training sessions. For example, if your heart rate at an 8-minute-per-mile pace is typically 145 beats per minute, and one day you find it is 155 beats per minute at that pace, you likely need additional recovery before doing your next hard training session. Heart rate during running at a given pace varies by a few beats per minute from day to day, and it is also influenced by factors such as dehydration and hot or humid conditions, so take this into consideration in evaluating the implications of a higher-than-usual heart rate.
One runner's approach to healthy masters training
Every December I write down my main running goals for the coming year. A quarter-century ago, the goals usually had to do with setting personal bests.
Every December I write down my main running goals for the coming year. A quarter-century ago, the goals usually had to do with setting personal bests. Now that I'm in my mid-50s, I still have time-related goals, and I often have completion goals, such as finishing a specific trail ultramarathon. For the last several years, however, my main goal has been the same: Lose no days of running to injury. Focusing on this goal is how I get the most satisfaction out of this phase of my running life.
My physical and mental health is best supported by consistently running a decent amount; my current sweet spot is between 2,500 and 3,000 miles a year. But I don't want to just blindly run up the odometer. I want those miles to be as enjoyable as possible—I want to feel good running, and I want to feel good about my running. That's where “lose no days of running to injury” comes in. Rather than the call to obsessiveness it might sound like, it's how I can best stay healthy.
Like any good goal, this one is not just personally meaningful but quantifiable and with obvious steps to take to reach it. Losing no days to injury basically means taking care of myself—not letting myself get too worn down by running or work, eating and sleeping well, not gaining unneeded weight, and striving to maintain a body that can hold up to the amount of running I want to do.
That last point is where the goal really helps me. It means that pretty much every day I do strengthening, core stability, balance, or mobility exercises. Some I do immediately before and after running; others I do throughout the day. I still have my trouble spots, I still wish I were a little more flowing when running, and I still sometimes miss days to injury. (I don't run if I sense that I can't do so with my normal gait—running in that compromised state will both exacerbate the current issue and set me up for compensatory problems elsewhere.) But as someone who has already run more than 110,000 miles, committing to doing nonrunning exercises daily has been the key to consistent, enjoyable running in middle age.
Another practice I credit with meeting the miss-no-days goal is having lots of variety in my running. That's variety in terms of distance, intensity, terrain, and topography. Most of my weeks look a lot like a sample week from the training schedules later in this book. I regularly mix long runs, short recovery days, tempo runs, interval workouts, turnover sessions, and general aerobic runs. It's when I get away from multipace running—when I string together too many medium-length, medium-intensity days—that I start to feel flat, stiff, and achey. A bonus: When I do decide to focus on a competitive goal, the default setting of variety sets me up well for more structured training.
On the weekend I wrote this sidebar, I did a 16-miler on Saturday and runs of 5 and 4 miles on Sunday. The last one was on a dirt road alongside a snowy stream at twilight: I had to restrain myself to not go farther or faster. If doing nonrunning exercises most days means I can regularly have similar experiences into my late 50s and beyond, I'll happily take that trade-off.
—Scott Douglas
What shoes should you wear for a marathon?
Marathoners vary widely in the types of shoes in which they prefer to race. On the theory that even an extra ounce adds up over the course of 26.2 miles (42.2 km), some like to wear as light a shoe as possible.
Marathoners vary widely in the types of shoes in which they prefer to race. On the theory that even an extra ounce adds up over the course of 26.2 miles (42.2 km), some like to wear as light a shoe as possible. On the other hand, some runners figure that during such a long run, they'll need as much cushioning and support as they can get.
Most competitive marathoners should choose race-day shoes on the light end of the spectrum. Most shoe companies make a lightweight trainer that works well in the marathon—these are minimalist enough so that you can feel light on your feet but are built up enough in the heel and midsole to provide some protection, especially as you fatigue late in the race.
Most elites, of course, race the marathon in flats. Bear in mind that these runners are usually whippet thin and have excellent biomechanics. Flats have less support, less cushioning, and less heel lift than training shoes. The lack of support increases the risk of injury and can make muscles that have to work harder fatigue because of the decreased support. In addition, the lower heel lift puts more strain on Achilles tendons and calf muscles.
In the last few years, many companies have introduced a broader range of racing flats so marathoners have more choices between the shoes they race 5Ks in and their training shoes, no matter how light the latter are. Usually weighing around 8 ounces (230 g) with a decent amount of cushioning and some heel support, these longer-distance flats are a good choice for marathoners attempting to race the marathon significantly faster than normal training pace. Regardless of which shoes you choose for race day, be sure to try them out on tempo runs and at least one of your longer marathon-pace training runs in addition to the short dress rehearsal run during taper week.
Following are some rough guidelines about the most likely candidates to wear racing flats in the marathon.
Men Faster than 2:40 Weighs less than 160 pounds (73 kg) History of being relatively injury free Good biomechanics | Women Faster than 2:55 Weighs less than 140 pounds (63 kg) History of being relatively injury free Good biomechanics |
Elite marathoner profile: Yuki Kawauchi
There are elite marathoners who hole up most of the year for one big race. And then there’s Yuki Kawauchi.
Fastest marathon: 2:08:14 (Seoul, 2013)
Marathon highlights: 1st place, 2018 Boston Marathon; most sub-2:20 marathons in history
There are elite marathoners who hole up most of the year for one big race. And then there's Yuki Kawauchi.
The surprise 2018 Boston Marathon champion is the fastest of a small number of elites who race marathons with the frequency more often seen in 10K specialists. In 2018 Kawauchi ran 11 marathons, with five other victories besides the one in Boston. The previous year he ran 12 marathons, all faster than 2:16, including four wins. Every year he also contests several half marathons—he did so each of the weekends before and after winning Boston—and at least one ultramarathon. (He won the longest race of his life, a 71K, one month after winning Boston.) Kawauchi holds the world record for the most sub-2:20 marathons (80-plus).
Kawauchi obviously has an extraordinary talent for quick recovery. Even many elites have difficulty walking normally, much less running, in the immediate aftermath of a marathon. His apparent immunity to typical soft-tissue soreness is a genetic gift in the same way that others' muscle-fiber composition or running economy is. That said, there is much to learn from Kawauchi, even if you have no interest in becoming a serial marathoner.
For starters, why does Kawauchi race so much? Mostly because he enjoys it. In chapter 1 we talked about the importance of personally meaningful goals. What's most important to you should affect how often you race. The broader way to state that is that you should do with your running whatever best speaks to you. That might be racing one marathon a year with the goal of setting a personal best. That might be making as many attempts at a Boston qualifier as it takes. Or, like Kawauchi, it might be regularly experiencing the unique thrill of competition. Know what aspects of running you most enjoy, and train and race accordingly.
Kawauchi's frequent racing also gives him more chances at success. Of course, there's a limit to the try-and-try-again approach to the marathon, depending on your physical and mental recovery. And it's natural to think that Kawauchi's personal best of 2:08:14 could be even faster if he were more selective. A compelling counterargument is that doing something like running two marathons every three years might also not be the way to reach your potential, given how many things can go wrong in any one marathon. At a less extreme level than Kawauchi, Meb Keflezighi has said that regular racing—his marathon career spanned 15 years—increased his odds of race day aligning with his firing on all cylinders.
On a practical level, Kawauchi's racing schedule meshes well with his nonrunning schedule for most of his career. Before becoming a full-time runner in 2019, Kawauchi was a Japanese government clerk, working from noon until 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. He generally had the time for one run a day, in the morning, during the work week. (Most of his competitors run twice a day most days of the week.) In a typical week, Kawauchi ran an easy 70 to 100 minutes on work mornings except for an interval session on Wednesdays. Regular weekend races gave him a chance to combine volume and quality. They also helped him build to his key races. His 71K ultramarathon, for example, was a (very) long training run for his next marathon. For someone with a 2:08 marathon best, half marathons in 65 or 66 minutes are more marathon-pace medium-long runs than all-out efforts. If you often struggle to do typical marathon training during the work week, weekend races can provide an opportunity to still get the necessary work done.
Finally, all runners can learn from how Kawauchi handles the inevitable subpar days—he moves on to the next challenge rather than beating himself up. There's something to be said for showing up and persevering even when you know it won't be a perfect day. It's not surprising that, in cold rain and heavy winds, Kawauchi prevailed in Boston while many of the world's best marathoners crumbled.
Monitoring your body's recovery during marathon training
Monitoring your body provides valuable information on your adaptation to training, your risk of injury or illness, and your readiness for the next hard training session.
Monitoring your body provides valuable information on your adaptation to training, your risk of injury or illness, and your readiness for the next hard training session. There are several good ways to determine when you are overreaching so you can avoid overtraining and remain healthy. You can use this information to improve your recovery by modifying your training schedule to your individual limits. A variety of apps exist for runners and other endurance athletes to monitor the key factors that influence recovery from training, such as resting heart rate and amount of deep sleep. These apps take just a few minutes each day; they make it easy to track both your training and recovery factors and typically provide warning signs when several factors are heading in the wrong direction for several days.
There are many ways to monitor your recovery, but the simplest measures are useful and the easiest to adhere to. In combination, these measures provide insight into your adaptation to training. Typically, when results on these measures decrease, running performance and recovery deteriorate a few days later. In addition to the details of your training, try tracking the following factors and review the data periodically to find the patterns that predict overtraining, illness, and injury. It is important to be as consistent as possible when measuring these factors.
- Weight. Check your weight at the same time of day each day or several times per week. While weight may naturally fluctuate slightly from day to day, decreases in weight over a few days may indicate dehydration. Decreases in weight over a few weeks can indicate that you are not eating enough calories, have an illness, or are overtraining.
- Morning heart rate. Your heart rate when you first wake up in the morning provides an indication of your recovery. It is important to check your heart rate soon after you wake because it increases as soon as you start thinking about your plans for the day and by about 10 beats per minute when you get up. In addition, waking to an alarm can increase your heart rate and make the data less reliable. To find your resting heart rate, therefore, wear a heart monitor or take your pulse immediately upon waking for several days. Your true resting heart rate is the lowest rate you find. If your morning heart rate is more than 5 beats per minute higher than usual, this may be an indication of inadequate recovery or may be the first sign that you are not well. Early detection can be particularly useful in preventing illness.
- Environmental conditions. Record the temperature and humidity on hot days. Because of increased core body temperature and dehydration, your body undergoes substantially more stress when you run at 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) and 80 percent humidity than at 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees Celsius) and low humidity. If you train hard or compete on a hot, humid day, the heat you generate can overwhelm your body's ability to eliminate heat, causing your core temperature to climb, which can increase recovery time. Similarly, as discussed in chapter 2, severe dehydration also increases recovery time. There's great variation in how runners are affected by heat. Monitoring these factors will reveal patterns that can help you make needed adjustments during a stretch of hot weather.
- Hours of sleep. The number of hours you sleep is not particularly important for any one night. Over several nights, however, your quantity of sleep can influence your recovery and ability to adapt positively to training and can, in combination with other measures, explain a lack of recovery and indicate lifestyle changes required to enhance your running performance and help prevent illness or injury.
- Quality of sleep. The quality of your sleep is arguably more important than the number of hours. Evaluate the quality of your sleep each night—How soundly did you sleep? Were you awake a lot in the middle of the night? Did you get out of bed feeling refreshed?—and try to be consistent in your assessment. A reduction in quality of sleep is often associated with overtraining. Reduced sleep quality can also be caused by nonrunning stressors, but the result for your running performance is the same. See “Sleep Better, Run Faster” on page 75 for how to maximize the recovery benefits of sleep.
- Diet quality. Evaluate the overall quality of your diet each day. Did your meals cover your carbohydrate and protein needs? Did you get so hungry that you binged? Did the bulk of your calories come from healthy foods? Often, a lack of energy can be traced back to poor diet in the previous few days.
- Hydration level. Dehydration has a negative effect on running performance and slows recovery from training. Evaluate your hydration level each day. Was your urine clear? Did you drink small amounts regularly so you seldom felt thirsty? Did your mouth and throat often feel dry? Your daily weight also provides a good indication of your hydration level.
- Muscle soreness. It is not unusual for runners to have slightly sore muscles most of the time. An increase in muscle soreness can be due to a hard workout or running downhill. Evaluate your general muscle soreness each day. Did your soreness lessen after a few miles of running? Did your soreness seem explainable by your most recent workouts? If increased general muscle soreness lasts more than 4 or 5 days, it is likely that you are ill or overreaching. Soreness in a specific muscle indicates a potential injury, whereas more general muscle soreness provides an indication of your recovery and adaptation to training.
- Energy level. An assessment of energy level is one of the best indications of recovery from training. Evaluate your energy level each day. Did you have the energy to accomplish your running and daily life goals? Did you feel alert and focused when running or performing a task? If your energy level is reduced for more than 3 days, it is important to determine the cause of the reduction. Typical causes of reduced energy levels are lack of carbohydrate intake, training hard too many days in a row, illness, low iron levels, dehydration, and lack of sleep. By reviewing your training and considering your lifestyle factors, you should be able to identify the likely cause of a low energy level.
- Heart rate at a standard pace. If your heart rate at a set pace is more than about 7 beats per minute higher than usual, you may not be recovered from your previous training sessions. For example, if your heart rate at an 8-minute-per-mile pace is typically 145 beats per minute, and one day you find it is 155 beats per minute at that pace, you likely need additional recovery before doing your next hard training session. Heart rate during running at a given pace varies by a few beats per minute from day to day, and it is also influenced by factors such as dehydration and hot or humid conditions, so take this into consideration in evaluating the implications of a higher-than-usual heart rate.
One runner's approach to healthy masters training
Every December I write down my main running goals for the coming year. A quarter-century ago, the goals usually had to do with setting personal bests.
Every December I write down my main running goals for the coming year. A quarter-century ago, the goals usually had to do with setting personal bests. Now that I'm in my mid-50s, I still have time-related goals, and I often have completion goals, such as finishing a specific trail ultramarathon. For the last several years, however, my main goal has been the same: Lose no days of running to injury. Focusing on this goal is how I get the most satisfaction out of this phase of my running life.
My physical and mental health is best supported by consistently running a decent amount; my current sweet spot is between 2,500 and 3,000 miles a year. But I don't want to just blindly run up the odometer. I want those miles to be as enjoyable as possible—I want to feel good running, and I want to feel good about my running. That's where “lose no days of running to injury” comes in. Rather than the call to obsessiveness it might sound like, it's how I can best stay healthy.
Like any good goal, this one is not just personally meaningful but quantifiable and with obvious steps to take to reach it. Losing no days to injury basically means taking care of myself—not letting myself get too worn down by running or work, eating and sleeping well, not gaining unneeded weight, and striving to maintain a body that can hold up to the amount of running I want to do.
That last point is where the goal really helps me. It means that pretty much every day I do strengthening, core stability, balance, or mobility exercises. Some I do immediately before and after running; others I do throughout the day. I still have my trouble spots, I still wish I were a little more flowing when running, and I still sometimes miss days to injury. (I don't run if I sense that I can't do so with my normal gait—running in that compromised state will both exacerbate the current issue and set me up for compensatory problems elsewhere.) But as someone who has already run more than 110,000 miles, committing to doing nonrunning exercises daily has been the key to consistent, enjoyable running in middle age.
Another practice I credit with meeting the miss-no-days goal is having lots of variety in my running. That's variety in terms of distance, intensity, terrain, and topography. Most of my weeks look a lot like a sample week from the training schedules later in this book. I regularly mix long runs, short recovery days, tempo runs, interval workouts, turnover sessions, and general aerobic runs. It's when I get away from multipace running—when I string together too many medium-length, medium-intensity days—that I start to feel flat, stiff, and achey. A bonus: When I do decide to focus on a competitive goal, the default setting of variety sets me up well for more structured training.
On the weekend I wrote this sidebar, I did a 16-miler on Saturday and runs of 5 and 4 miles on Sunday. The last one was on a dirt road alongside a snowy stream at twilight: I had to restrain myself to not go farther or faster. If doing nonrunning exercises most days means I can regularly have similar experiences into my late 50s and beyond, I'll happily take that trade-off.
—Scott Douglas
What shoes should you wear for a marathon?
Marathoners vary widely in the types of shoes in which they prefer to race. On the theory that even an extra ounce adds up over the course of 26.2 miles (42.2 km), some like to wear as light a shoe as possible.
Marathoners vary widely in the types of shoes in which they prefer to race. On the theory that even an extra ounce adds up over the course of 26.2 miles (42.2 km), some like to wear as light a shoe as possible. On the other hand, some runners figure that during such a long run, they'll need as much cushioning and support as they can get.
Most competitive marathoners should choose race-day shoes on the light end of the spectrum. Most shoe companies make a lightweight trainer that works well in the marathon—these are minimalist enough so that you can feel light on your feet but are built up enough in the heel and midsole to provide some protection, especially as you fatigue late in the race.
Most elites, of course, race the marathon in flats. Bear in mind that these runners are usually whippet thin and have excellent biomechanics. Flats have less support, less cushioning, and less heel lift than training shoes. The lack of support increases the risk of injury and can make muscles that have to work harder fatigue because of the decreased support. In addition, the lower heel lift puts more strain on Achilles tendons and calf muscles.
In the last few years, many companies have introduced a broader range of racing flats so marathoners have more choices between the shoes they race 5Ks in and their training shoes, no matter how light the latter are. Usually weighing around 8 ounces (230 g) with a decent amount of cushioning and some heel support, these longer-distance flats are a good choice for marathoners attempting to race the marathon significantly faster than normal training pace. Regardless of which shoes you choose for race day, be sure to try them out on tempo runs and at least one of your longer marathon-pace training runs in addition to the short dress rehearsal run during taper week.
Following are some rough guidelines about the most likely candidates to wear racing flats in the marathon.
Men Faster than 2:40 Weighs less than 160 pounds (73 kg) History of being relatively injury free Good biomechanics | Women Faster than 2:55 Weighs less than 140 pounds (63 kg) History of being relatively injury free Good biomechanics |
Elite marathoner profile: Yuki Kawauchi
There are elite marathoners who hole up most of the year for one big race. And then there’s Yuki Kawauchi.
Fastest marathon: 2:08:14 (Seoul, 2013)
Marathon highlights: 1st place, 2018 Boston Marathon; most sub-2:20 marathons in history
There are elite marathoners who hole up most of the year for one big race. And then there's Yuki Kawauchi.
The surprise 2018 Boston Marathon champion is the fastest of a small number of elites who race marathons with the frequency more often seen in 10K specialists. In 2018 Kawauchi ran 11 marathons, with five other victories besides the one in Boston. The previous year he ran 12 marathons, all faster than 2:16, including four wins. Every year he also contests several half marathons—he did so each of the weekends before and after winning Boston—and at least one ultramarathon. (He won the longest race of his life, a 71K, one month after winning Boston.) Kawauchi holds the world record for the most sub-2:20 marathons (80-plus).
Kawauchi obviously has an extraordinary talent for quick recovery. Even many elites have difficulty walking normally, much less running, in the immediate aftermath of a marathon. His apparent immunity to typical soft-tissue soreness is a genetic gift in the same way that others' muscle-fiber composition or running economy is. That said, there is much to learn from Kawauchi, even if you have no interest in becoming a serial marathoner.
For starters, why does Kawauchi race so much? Mostly because he enjoys it. In chapter 1 we talked about the importance of personally meaningful goals. What's most important to you should affect how often you race. The broader way to state that is that you should do with your running whatever best speaks to you. That might be racing one marathon a year with the goal of setting a personal best. That might be making as many attempts at a Boston qualifier as it takes. Or, like Kawauchi, it might be regularly experiencing the unique thrill of competition. Know what aspects of running you most enjoy, and train and race accordingly.
Kawauchi's frequent racing also gives him more chances at success. Of course, there's a limit to the try-and-try-again approach to the marathon, depending on your physical and mental recovery. And it's natural to think that Kawauchi's personal best of 2:08:14 could be even faster if he were more selective. A compelling counterargument is that doing something like running two marathons every three years might also not be the way to reach your potential, given how many things can go wrong in any one marathon. At a less extreme level than Kawauchi, Meb Keflezighi has said that regular racing—his marathon career spanned 15 years—increased his odds of race day aligning with his firing on all cylinders.
On a practical level, Kawauchi's racing schedule meshes well with his nonrunning schedule for most of his career. Before becoming a full-time runner in 2019, Kawauchi was a Japanese government clerk, working from noon until 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. He generally had the time for one run a day, in the morning, during the work week. (Most of his competitors run twice a day most days of the week.) In a typical week, Kawauchi ran an easy 70 to 100 minutes on work mornings except for an interval session on Wednesdays. Regular weekend races gave him a chance to combine volume and quality. They also helped him build to his key races. His 71K ultramarathon, for example, was a (very) long training run for his next marathon. For someone with a 2:08 marathon best, half marathons in 65 or 66 minutes are more marathon-pace medium-long runs than all-out efforts. If you often struggle to do typical marathon training during the work week, weekend races can provide an opportunity to still get the necessary work done.
Finally, all runners can learn from how Kawauchi handles the inevitable subpar days—he moves on to the next challenge rather than beating himself up. There's something to be said for showing up and persevering even when you know it won't be a perfect day. It's not surprising that, in cold rain and heavy winds, Kawauchi prevailed in Boston while many of the world's best marathoners crumbled.
Monitoring your body's recovery during marathon training
Monitoring your body provides valuable information on your adaptation to training, your risk of injury or illness, and your readiness for the next hard training session.
Monitoring your body provides valuable information on your adaptation to training, your risk of injury or illness, and your readiness for the next hard training session. There are several good ways to determine when you are overreaching so you can avoid overtraining and remain healthy. You can use this information to improve your recovery by modifying your training schedule to your individual limits. A variety of apps exist for runners and other endurance athletes to monitor the key factors that influence recovery from training, such as resting heart rate and amount of deep sleep. These apps take just a few minutes each day; they make it easy to track both your training and recovery factors and typically provide warning signs when several factors are heading in the wrong direction for several days.
There are many ways to monitor your recovery, but the simplest measures are useful and the easiest to adhere to. In combination, these measures provide insight into your adaptation to training. Typically, when results on these measures decrease, running performance and recovery deteriorate a few days later. In addition to the details of your training, try tracking the following factors and review the data periodically to find the patterns that predict overtraining, illness, and injury. It is important to be as consistent as possible when measuring these factors.
- Weight. Check your weight at the same time of day each day or several times per week. While weight may naturally fluctuate slightly from day to day, decreases in weight over a few days may indicate dehydration. Decreases in weight over a few weeks can indicate that you are not eating enough calories, have an illness, or are overtraining.
- Morning heart rate. Your heart rate when you first wake up in the morning provides an indication of your recovery. It is important to check your heart rate soon after you wake because it increases as soon as you start thinking about your plans for the day and by about 10 beats per minute when you get up. In addition, waking to an alarm can increase your heart rate and make the data less reliable. To find your resting heart rate, therefore, wear a heart monitor or take your pulse immediately upon waking for several days. Your true resting heart rate is the lowest rate you find. If your morning heart rate is more than 5 beats per minute higher than usual, this may be an indication of inadequate recovery or may be the first sign that you are not well. Early detection can be particularly useful in preventing illness.
- Environmental conditions. Record the temperature and humidity on hot days. Because of increased core body temperature and dehydration, your body undergoes substantially more stress when you run at 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) and 80 percent humidity than at 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees Celsius) and low humidity. If you train hard or compete on a hot, humid day, the heat you generate can overwhelm your body's ability to eliminate heat, causing your core temperature to climb, which can increase recovery time. Similarly, as discussed in chapter 2, severe dehydration also increases recovery time. There's great variation in how runners are affected by heat. Monitoring these factors will reveal patterns that can help you make needed adjustments during a stretch of hot weather.
- Hours of sleep. The number of hours you sleep is not particularly important for any one night. Over several nights, however, your quantity of sleep can influence your recovery and ability to adapt positively to training and can, in combination with other measures, explain a lack of recovery and indicate lifestyle changes required to enhance your running performance and help prevent illness or injury.
- Quality of sleep. The quality of your sleep is arguably more important than the number of hours. Evaluate the quality of your sleep each night—How soundly did you sleep? Were you awake a lot in the middle of the night? Did you get out of bed feeling refreshed?—and try to be consistent in your assessment. A reduction in quality of sleep is often associated with overtraining. Reduced sleep quality can also be caused by nonrunning stressors, but the result for your running performance is the same. See “Sleep Better, Run Faster” on page 75 for how to maximize the recovery benefits of sleep.
- Diet quality. Evaluate the overall quality of your diet each day. Did your meals cover your carbohydrate and protein needs? Did you get so hungry that you binged? Did the bulk of your calories come from healthy foods? Often, a lack of energy can be traced back to poor diet in the previous few days.
- Hydration level. Dehydration has a negative effect on running performance and slows recovery from training. Evaluate your hydration level each day. Was your urine clear? Did you drink small amounts regularly so you seldom felt thirsty? Did your mouth and throat often feel dry? Your daily weight also provides a good indication of your hydration level.
- Muscle soreness. It is not unusual for runners to have slightly sore muscles most of the time. An increase in muscle soreness can be due to a hard workout or running downhill. Evaluate your general muscle soreness each day. Did your soreness lessen after a few miles of running? Did your soreness seem explainable by your most recent workouts? If increased general muscle soreness lasts more than 4 or 5 days, it is likely that you are ill or overreaching. Soreness in a specific muscle indicates a potential injury, whereas more general muscle soreness provides an indication of your recovery and adaptation to training.
- Energy level. An assessment of energy level is one of the best indications of recovery from training. Evaluate your energy level each day. Did you have the energy to accomplish your running and daily life goals? Did you feel alert and focused when running or performing a task? If your energy level is reduced for more than 3 days, it is important to determine the cause of the reduction. Typical causes of reduced energy levels are lack of carbohydrate intake, training hard too many days in a row, illness, low iron levels, dehydration, and lack of sleep. By reviewing your training and considering your lifestyle factors, you should be able to identify the likely cause of a low energy level.
- Heart rate at a standard pace. If your heart rate at a set pace is more than about 7 beats per minute higher than usual, you may not be recovered from your previous training sessions. For example, if your heart rate at an 8-minute-per-mile pace is typically 145 beats per minute, and one day you find it is 155 beats per minute at that pace, you likely need additional recovery before doing your next hard training session. Heart rate during running at a given pace varies by a few beats per minute from day to day, and it is also influenced by factors such as dehydration and hot or humid conditions, so take this into consideration in evaluating the implications of a higher-than-usual heart rate.
One runner's approach to healthy masters training
Every December I write down my main running goals for the coming year. A quarter-century ago, the goals usually had to do with setting personal bests.
Every December I write down my main running goals for the coming year. A quarter-century ago, the goals usually had to do with setting personal bests. Now that I'm in my mid-50s, I still have time-related goals, and I often have completion goals, such as finishing a specific trail ultramarathon. For the last several years, however, my main goal has been the same: Lose no days of running to injury. Focusing on this goal is how I get the most satisfaction out of this phase of my running life.
My physical and mental health is best supported by consistently running a decent amount; my current sweet spot is between 2,500 and 3,000 miles a year. But I don't want to just blindly run up the odometer. I want those miles to be as enjoyable as possible—I want to feel good running, and I want to feel good about my running. That's where “lose no days of running to injury” comes in. Rather than the call to obsessiveness it might sound like, it's how I can best stay healthy.
Like any good goal, this one is not just personally meaningful but quantifiable and with obvious steps to take to reach it. Losing no days to injury basically means taking care of myself—not letting myself get too worn down by running or work, eating and sleeping well, not gaining unneeded weight, and striving to maintain a body that can hold up to the amount of running I want to do.
That last point is where the goal really helps me. It means that pretty much every day I do strengthening, core stability, balance, or mobility exercises. Some I do immediately before and after running; others I do throughout the day. I still have my trouble spots, I still wish I were a little more flowing when running, and I still sometimes miss days to injury. (I don't run if I sense that I can't do so with my normal gait—running in that compromised state will both exacerbate the current issue and set me up for compensatory problems elsewhere.) But as someone who has already run more than 110,000 miles, committing to doing nonrunning exercises daily has been the key to consistent, enjoyable running in middle age.
Another practice I credit with meeting the miss-no-days goal is having lots of variety in my running. That's variety in terms of distance, intensity, terrain, and topography. Most of my weeks look a lot like a sample week from the training schedules later in this book. I regularly mix long runs, short recovery days, tempo runs, interval workouts, turnover sessions, and general aerobic runs. It's when I get away from multipace running—when I string together too many medium-length, medium-intensity days—that I start to feel flat, stiff, and achey. A bonus: When I do decide to focus on a competitive goal, the default setting of variety sets me up well for more structured training.
On the weekend I wrote this sidebar, I did a 16-miler on Saturday and runs of 5 and 4 miles on Sunday. The last one was on a dirt road alongside a snowy stream at twilight: I had to restrain myself to not go farther or faster. If doing nonrunning exercises most days means I can regularly have similar experiences into my late 50s and beyond, I'll happily take that trade-off.
—Scott Douglas
What shoes should you wear for a marathon?
Marathoners vary widely in the types of shoes in which they prefer to race. On the theory that even an extra ounce adds up over the course of 26.2 miles (42.2 km), some like to wear as light a shoe as possible.
Marathoners vary widely in the types of shoes in which they prefer to race. On the theory that even an extra ounce adds up over the course of 26.2 miles (42.2 km), some like to wear as light a shoe as possible. On the other hand, some runners figure that during such a long run, they'll need as much cushioning and support as they can get.
Most competitive marathoners should choose race-day shoes on the light end of the spectrum. Most shoe companies make a lightweight trainer that works well in the marathon—these are minimalist enough so that you can feel light on your feet but are built up enough in the heel and midsole to provide some protection, especially as you fatigue late in the race.
Most elites, of course, race the marathon in flats. Bear in mind that these runners are usually whippet thin and have excellent biomechanics. Flats have less support, less cushioning, and less heel lift than training shoes. The lack of support increases the risk of injury and can make muscles that have to work harder fatigue because of the decreased support. In addition, the lower heel lift puts more strain on Achilles tendons and calf muscles.
In the last few years, many companies have introduced a broader range of racing flats so marathoners have more choices between the shoes they race 5Ks in and their training shoes, no matter how light the latter are. Usually weighing around 8 ounces (230 g) with a decent amount of cushioning and some heel support, these longer-distance flats are a good choice for marathoners attempting to race the marathon significantly faster than normal training pace. Regardless of which shoes you choose for race day, be sure to try them out on tempo runs and at least one of your longer marathon-pace training runs in addition to the short dress rehearsal run during taper week.
Following are some rough guidelines about the most likely candidates to wear racing flats in the marathon.
Men Faster than 2:40 Weighs less than 160 pounds (73 kg) History of being relatively injury free Good biomechanics | Women Faster than 2:55 Weighs less than 140 pounds (63 kg) History of being relatively injury free Good biomechanics |
Elite marathoner profile: Yuki Kawauchi
There are elite marathoners who hole up most of the year for one big race. And then there’s Yuki Kawauchi.
Fastest marathon: 2:08:14 (Seoul, 2013)
Marathon highlights: 1st place, 2018 Boston Marathon; most sub-2:20 marathons in history
There are elite marathoners who hole up most of the year for one big race. And then there's Yuki Kawauchi.
The surprise 2018 Boston Marathon champion is the fastest of a small number of elites who race marathons with the frequency more often seen in 10K specialists. In 2018 Kawauchi ran 11 marathons, with five other victories besides the one in Boston. The previous year he ran 12 marathons, all faster than 2:16, including four wins. Every year he also contests several half marathons—he did so each of the weekends before and after winning Boston—and at least one ultramarathon. (He won the longest race of his life, a 71K, one month after winning Boston.) Kawauchi holds the world record for the most sub-2:20 marathons (80-plus).
Kawauchi obviously has an extraordinary talent for quick recovery. Even many elites have difficulty walking normally, much less running, in the immediate aftermath of a marathon. His apparent immunity to typical soft-tissue soreness is a genetic gift in the same way that others' muscle-fiber composition or running economy is. That said, there is much to learn from Kawauchi, even if you have no interest in becoming a serial marathoner.
For starters, why does Kawauchi race so much? Mostly because he enjoys it. In chapter 1 we talked about the importance of personally meaningful goals. What's most important to you should affect how often you race. The broader way to state that is that you should do with your running whatever best speaks to you. That might be racing one marathon a year with the goal of setting a personal best. That might be making as many attempts at a Boston qualifier as it takes. Or, like Kawauchi, it might be regularly experiencing the unique thrill of competition. Know what aspects of running you most enjoy, and train and race accordingly.
Kawauchi's frequent racing also gives him more chances at success. Of course, there's a limit to the try-and-try-again approach to the marathon, depending on your physical and mental recovery. And it's natural to think that Kawauchi's personal best of 2:08:14 could be even faster if he were more selective. A compelling counterargument is that doing something like running two marathons every three years might also not be the way to reach your potential, given how many things can go wrong in any one marathon. At a less extreme level than Kawauchi, Meb Keflezighi has said that regular racing—his marathon career spanned 15 years—increased his odds of race day aligning with his firing on all cylinders.
On a practical level, Kawauchi's racing schedule meshes well with his nonrunning schedule for most of his career. Before becoming a full-time runner in 2019, Kawauchi was a Japanese government clerk, working from noon until 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. He generally had the time for one run a day, in the morning, during the work week. (Most of his competitors run twice a day most days of the week.) In a typical week, Kawauchi ran an easy 70 to 100 minutes on work mornings except for an interval session on Wednesdays. Regular weekend races gave him a chance to combine volume and quality. They also helped him build to his key races. His 71K ultramarathon, for example, was a (very) long training run for his next marathon. For someone with a 2:08 marathon best, half marathons in 65 or 66 minutes are more marathon-pace medium-long runs than all-out efforts. If you often struggle to do typical marathon training during the work week, weekend races can provide an opportunity to still get the necessary work done.
Finally, all runners can learn from how Kawauchi handles the inevitable subpar days—he moves on to the next challenge rather than beating himself up. There's something to be said for showing up and persevering even when you know it won't be a perfect day. It's not surprising that, in cold rain and heavy winds, Kawauchi prevailed in Boston while many of the world's best marathoners crumbled.
Monitoring your body's recovery during marathon training
Monitoring your body provides valuable information on your adaptation to training, your risk of injury or illness, and your readiness for the next hard training session.
Monitoring your body provides valuable information on your adaptation to training, your risk of injury or illness, and your readiness for the next hard training session. There are several good ways to determine when you are overreaching so you can avoid overtraining and remain healthy. You can use this information to improve your recovery by modifying your training schedule to your individual limits. A variety of apps exist for runners and other endurance athletes to monitor the key factors that influence recovery from training, such as resting heart rate and amount of deep sleep. These apps take just a few minutes each day; they make it easy to track both your training and recovery factors and typically provide warning signs when several factors are heading in the wrong direction for several days.
There are many ways to monitor your recovery, but the simplest measures are useful and the easiest to adhere to. In combination, these measures provide insight into your adaptation to training. Typically, when results on these measures decrease, running performance and recovery deteriorate a few days later. In addition to the details of your training, try tracking the following factors and review the data periodically to find the patterns that predict overtraining, illness, and injury. It is important to be as consistent as possible when measuring these factors.
- Weight. Check your weight at the same time of day each day or several times per week. While weight may naturally fluctuate slightly from day to day, decreases in weight over a few days may indicate dehydration. Decreases in weight over a few weeks can indicate that you are not eating enough calories, have an illness, or are overtraining.
- Morning heart rate. Your heart rate when you first wake up in the morning provides an indication of your recovery. It is important to check your heart rate soon after you wake because it increases as soon as you start thinking about your plans for the day and by about 10 beats per minute when you get up. In addition, waking to an alarm can increase your heart rate and make the data less reliable. To find your resting heart rate, therefore, wear a heart monitor or take your pulse immediately upon waking for several days. Your true resting heart rate is the lowest rate you find. If your morning heart rate is more than 5 beats per minute higher than usual, this may be an indication of inadequate recovery or may be the first sign that you are not well. Early detection can be particularly useful in preventing illness.
- Environmental conditions. Record the temperature and humidity on hot days. Because of increased core body temperature and dehydration, your body undergoes substantially more stress when you run at 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) and 80 percent humidity than at 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees Celsius) and low humidity. If you train hard or compete on a hot, humid day, the heat you generate can overwhelm your body's ability to eliminate heat, causing your core temperature to climb, which can increase recovery time. Similarly, as discussed in chapter 2, severe dehydration also increases recovery time. There's great variation in how runners are affected by heat. Monitoring these factors will reveal patterns that can help you make needed adjustments during a stretch of hot weather.
- Hours of sleep. The number of hours you sleep is not particularly important for any one night. Over several nights, however, your quantity of sleep can influence your recovery and ability to adapt positively to training and can, in combination with other measures, explain a lack of recovery and indicate lifestyle changes required to enhance your running performance and help prevent illness or injury.
- Quality of sleep. The quality of your sleep is arguably more important than the number of hours. Evaluate the quality of your sleep each night—How soundly did you sleep? Were you awake a lot in the middle of the night? Did you get out of bed feeling refreshed?—and try to be consistent in your assessment. A reduction in quality of sleep is often associated with overtraining. Reduced sleep quality can also be caused by nonrunning stressors, but the result for your running performance is the same. See “Sleep Better, Run Faster” on page 75 for how to maximize the recovery benefits of sleep.
- Diet quality. Evaluate the overall quality of your diet each day. Did your meals cover your carbohydrate and protein needs? Did you get so hungry that you binged? Did the bulk of your calories come from healthy foods? Often, a lack of energy can be traced back to poor diet in the previous few days.
- Hydration level. Dehydration has a negative effect on running performance and slows recovery from training. Evaluate your hydration level each day. Was your urine clear? Did you drink small amounts regularly so you seldom felt thirsty? Did your mouth and throat often feel dry? Your daily weight also provides a good indication of your hydration level.
- Muscle soreness. It is not unusual for runners to have slightly sore muscles most of the time. An increase in muscle soreness can be due to a hard workout or running downhill. Evaluate your general muscle soreness each day. Did your soreness lessen after a few miles of running? Did your soreness seem explainable by your most recent workouts? If increased general muscle soreness lasts more than 4 or 5 days, it is likely that you are ill or overreaching. Soreness in a specific muscle indicates a potential injury, whereas more general muscle soreness provides an indication of your recovery and adaptation to training.
- Energy level. An assessment of energy level is one of the best indications of recovery from training. Evaluate your energy level each day. Did you have the energy to accomplish your running and daily life goals? Did you feel alert and focused when running or performing a task? If your energy level is reduced for more than 3 days, it is important to determine the cause of the reduction. Typical causes of reduced energy levels are lack of carbohydrate intake, training hard too many days in a row, illness, low iron levels, dehydration, and lack of sleep. By reviewing your training and considering your lifestyle factors, you should be able to identify the likely cause of a low energy level.
- Heart rate at a standard pace. If your heart rate at a set pace is more than about 7 beats per minute higher than usual, you may not be recovered from your previous training sessions. For example, if your heart rate at an 8-minute-per-mile pace is typically 145 beats per minute, and one day you find it is 155 beats per minute at that pace, you likely need additional recovery before doing your next hard training session. Heart rate during running at a given pace varies by a few beats per minute from day to day, and it is also influenced by factors such as dehydration and hot or humid conditions, so take this into consideration in evaluating the implications of a higher-than-usual heart rate.
One runner's approach to healthy masters training
Every December I write down my main running goals for the coming year. A quarter-century ago, the goals usually had to do with setting personal bests.
Every December I write down my main running goals for the coming year. A quarter-century ago, the goals usually had to do with setting personal bests. Now that I'm in my mid-50s, I still have time-related goals, and I often have completion goals, such as finishing a specific trail ultramarathon. For the last several years, however, my main goal has been the same: Lose no days of running to injury. Focusing on this goal is how I get the most satisfaction out of this phase of my running life.
My physical and mental health is best supported by consistently running a decent amount; my current sweet spot is between 2,500 and 3,000 miles a year. But I don't want to just blindly run up the odometer. I want those miles to be as enjoyable as possible—I want to feel good running, and I want to feel good about my running. That's where “lose no days of running to injury” comes in. Rather than the call to obsessiveness it might sound like, it's how I can best stay healthy.
Like any good goal, this one is not just personally meaningful but quantifiable and with obvious steps to take to reach it. Losing no days to injury basically means taking care of myself—not letting myself get too worn down by running or work, eating and sleeping well, not gaining unneeded weight, and striving to maintain a body that can hold up to the amount of running I want to do.
That last point is where the goal really helps me. It means that pretty much every day I do strengthening, core stability, balance, or mobility exercises. Some I do immediately before and after running; others I do throughout the day. I still have my trouble spots, I still wish I were a little more flowing when running, and I still sometimes miss days to injury. (I don't run if I sense that I can't do so with my normal gait—running in that compromised state will both exacerbate the current issue and set me up for compensatory problems elsewhere.) But as someone who has already run more than 110,000 miles, committing to doing nonrunning exercises daily has been the key to consistent, enjoyable running in middle age.
Another practice I credit with meeting the miss-no-days goal is having lots of variety in my running. That's variety in terms of distance, intensity, terrain, and topography. Most of my weeks look a lot like a sample week from the training schedules later in this book. I regularly mix long runs, short recovery days, tempo runs, interval workouts, turnover sessions, and general aerobic runs. It's when I get away from multipace running—when I string together too many medium-length, medium-intensity days—that I start to feel flat, stiff, and achey. A bonus: When I do decide to focus on a competitive goal, the default setting of variety sets me up well for more structured training.
On the weekend I wrote this sidebar, I did a 16-miler on Saturday and runs of 5 and 4 miles on Sunday. The last one was on a dirt road alongside a snowy stream at twilight: I had to restrain myself to not go farther or faster. If doing nonrunning exercises most days means I can regularly have similar experiences into my late 50s and beyond, I'll happily take that trade-off.
—Scott Douglas
What shoes should you wear for a marathon?
Marathoners vary widely in the types of shoes in which they prefer to race. On the theory that even an extra ounce adds up over the course of 26.2 miles (42.2 km), some like to wear as light a shoe as possible.
Marathoners vary widely in the types of shoes in which they prefer to race. On the theory that even an extra ounce adds up over the course of 26.2 miles (42.2 km), some like to wear as light a shoe as possible. On the other hand, some runners figure that during such a long run, they'll need as much cushioning and support as they can get.
Most competitive marathoners should choose race-day shoes on the light end of the spectrum. Most shoe companies make a lightweight trainer that works well in the marathon—these are minimalist enough so that you can feel light on your feet but are built up enough in the heel and midsole to provide some protection, especially as you fatigue late in the race.
Most elites, of course, race the marathon in flats. Bear in mind that these runners are usually whippet thin and have excellent biomechanics. Flats have less support, less cushioning, and less heel lift than training shoes. The lack of support increases the risk of injury and can make muscles that have to work harder fatigue because of the decreased support. In addition, the lower heel lift puts more strain on Achilles tendons and calf muscles.
In the last few years, many companies have introduced a broader range of racing flats so marathoners have more choices between the shoes they race 5Ks in and their training shoes, no matter how light the latter are. Usually weighing around 8 ounces (230 g) with a decent amount of cushioning and some heel support, these longer-distance flats are a good choice for marathoners attempting to race the marathon significantly faster than normal training pace. Regardless of which shoes you choose for race day, be sure to try them out on tempo runs and at least one of your longer marathon-pace training runs in addition to the short dress rehearsal run during taper week.
Following are some rough guidelines about the most likely candidates to wear racing flats in the marathon.
Men Faster than 2:40 Weighs less than 160 pounds (73 kg) History of being relatively injury free Good biomechanics | Women Faster than 2:55 Weighs less than 140 pounds (63 kg) History of being relatively injury free Good biomechanics |
Elite marathoner profile: Yuki Kawauchi
There are elite marathoners who hole up most of the year for one big race. And then there’s Yuki Kawauchi.
Fastest marathon: 2:08:14 (Seoul, 2013)
Marathon highlights: 1st place, 2018 Boston Marathon; most sub-2:20 marathons in history
There are elite marathoners who hole up most of the year for one big race. And then there's Yuki Kawauchi.
The surprise 2018 Boston Marathon champion is the fastest of a small number of elites who race marathons with the frequency more often seen in 10K specialists. In 2018 Kawauchi ran 11 marathons, with five other victories besides the one in Boston. The previous year he ran 12 marathons, all faster than 2:16, including four wins. Every year he also contests several half marathons—he did so each of the weekends before and after winning Boston—and at least one ultramarathon. (He won the longest race of his life, a 71K, one month after winning Boston.) Kawauchi holds the world record for the most sub-2:20 marathons (80-plus).
Kawauchi obviously has an extraordinary talent for quick recovery. Even many elites have difficulty walking normally, much less running, in the immediate aftermath of a marathon. His apparent immunity to typical soft-tissue soreness is a genetic gift in the same way that others' muscle-fiber composition or running economy is. That said, there is much to learn from Kawauchi, even if you have no interest in becoming a serial marathoner.
For starters, why does Kawauchi race so much? Mostly because he enjoys it. In chapter 1 we talked about the importance of personally meaningful goals. What's most important to you should affect how often you race. The broader way to state that is that you should do with your running whatever best speaks to you. That might be racing one marathon a year with the goal of setting a personal best. That might be making as many attempts at a Boston qualifier as it takes. Or, like Kawauchi, it might be regularly experiencing the unique thrill of competition. Know what aspects of running you most enjoy, and train and race accordingly.
Kawauchi's frequent racing also gives him more chances at success. Of course, there's a limit to the try-and-try-again approach to the marathon, depending on your physical and mental recovery. And it's natural to think that Kawauchi's personal best of 2:08:14 could be even faster if he were more selective. A compelling counterargument is that doing something like running two marathons every three years might also not be the way to reach your potential, given how many things can go wrong in any one marathon. At a less extreme level than Kawauchi, Meb Keflezighi has said that regular racing—his marathon career spanned 15 years—increased his odds of race day aligning with his firing on all cylinders.
On a practical level, Kawauchi's racing schedule meshes well with his nonrunning schedule for most of his career. Before becoming a full-time runner in 2019, Kawauchi was a Japanese government clerk, working from noon until 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. He generally had the time for one run a day, in the morning, during the work week. (Most of his competitors run twice a day most days of the week.) In a typical week, Kawauchi ran an easy 70 to 100 minutes on work mornings except for an interval session on Wednesdays. Regular weekend races gave him a chance to combine volume and quality. They also helped him build to his key races. His 71K ultramarathon, for example, was a (very) long training run for his next marathon. For someone with a 2:08 marathon best, half marathons in 65 or 66 minutes are more marathon-pace medium-long runs than all-out efforts. If you often struggle to do typical marathon training during the work week, weekend races can provide an opportunity to still get the necessary work done.
Finally, all runners can learn from how Kawauchi handles the inevitable subpar days—he moves on to the next challenge rather than beating himself up. There's something to be said for showing up and persevering even when you know it won't be a perfect day. It's not surprising that, in cold rain and heavy winds, Kawauchi prevailed in Boston while many of the world's best marathoners crumbled.
Monitoring your body's recovery during marathon training
Monitoring your body provides valuable information on your adaptation to training, your risk of injury or illness, and your readiness for the next hard training session.
Monitoring your body provides valuable information on your adaptation to training, your risk of injury or illness, and your readiness for the next hard training session. There are several good ways to determine when you are overreaching so you can avoid overtraining and remain healthy. You can use this information to improve your recovery by modifying your training schedule to your individual limits. A variety of apps exist for runners and other endurance athletes to monitor the key factors that influence recovery from training, such as resting heart rate and amount of deep sleep. These apps take just a few minutes each day; they make it easy to track both your training and recovery factors and typically provide warning signs when several factors are heading in the wrong direction for several days.
There are many ways to monitor your recovery, but the simplest measures are useful and the easiest to adhere to. In combination, these measures provide insight into your adaptation to training. Typically, when results on these measures decrease, running performance and recovery deteriorate a few days later. In addition to the details of your training, try tracking the following factors and review the data periodically to find the patterns that predict overtraining, illness, and injury. It is important to be as consistent as possible when measuring these factors.
- Weight. Check your weight at the same time of day each day or several times per week. While weight may naturally fluctuate slightly from day to day, decreases in weight over a few days may indicate dehydration. Decreases in weight over a few weeks can indicate that you are not eating enough calories, have an illness, or are overtraining.
- Morning heart rate. Your heart rate when you first wake up in the morning provides an indication of your recovery. It is important to check your heart rate soon after you wake because it increases as soon as you start thinking about your plans for the day and by about 10 beats per minute when you get up. In addition, waking to an alarm can increase your heart rate and make the data less reliable. To find your resting heart rate, therefore, wear a heart monitor or take your pulse immediately upon waking for several days. Your true resting heart rate is the lowest rate you find. If your morning heart rate is more than 5 beats per minute higher than usual, this may be an indication of inadequate recovery or may be the first sign that you are not well. Early detection can be particularly useful in preventing illness.
- Environmental conditions. Record the temperature and humidity on hot days. Because of increased core body temperature and dehydration, your body undergoes substantially more stress when you run at 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) and 80 percent humidity than at 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees Celsius) and low humidity. If you train hard or compete on a hot, humid day, the heat you generate can overwhelm your body's ability to eliminate heat, causing your core temperature to climb, which can increase recovery time. Similarly, as discussed in chapter 2, severe dehydration also increases recovery time. There's great variation in how runners are affected by heat. Monitoring these factors will reveal patterns that can help you make needed adjustments during a stretch of hot weather.
- Hours of sleep. The number of hours you sleep is not particularly important for any one night. Over several nights, however, your quantity of sleep can influence your recovery and ability to adapt positively to training and can, in combination with other measures, explain a lack of recovery and indicate lifestyle changes required to enhance your running performance and help prevent illness or injury.
- Quality of sleep. The quality of your sleep is arguably more important than the number of hours. Evaluate the quality of your sleep each night—How soundly did you sleep? Were you awake a lot in the middle of the night? Did you get out of bed feeling refreshed?—and try to be consistent in your assessment. A reduction in quality of sleep is often associated with overtraining. Reduced sleep quality can also be caused by nonrunning stressors, but the result for your running performance is the same. See “Sleep Better, Run Faster” on page 75 for how to maximize the recovery benefits of sleep.
- Diet quality. Evaluate the overall quality of your diet each day. Did your meals cover your carbohydrate and protein needs? Did you get so hungry that you binged? Did the bulk of your calories come from healthy foods? Often, a lack of energy can be traced back to poor diet in the previous few days.
- Hydration level. Dehydration has a negative effect on running performance and slows recovery from training. Evaluate your hydration level each day. Was your urine clear? Did you drink small amounts regularly so you seldom felt thirsty? Did your mouth and throat often feel dry? Your daily weight also provides a good indication of your hydration level.
- Muscle soreness. It is not unusual for runners to have slightly sore muscles most of the time. An increase in muscle soreness can be due to a hard workout or running downhill. Evaluate your general muscle soreness each day. Did your soreness lessen after a few miles of running? Did your soreness seem explainable by your most recent workouts? If increased general muscle soreness lasts more than 4 or 5 days, it is likely that you are ill or overreaching. Soreness in a specific muscle indicates a potential injury, whereas more general muscle soreness provides an indication of your recovery and adaptation to training.
- Energy level. An assessment of energy level is one of the best indications of recovery from training. Evaluate your energy level each day. Did you have the energy to accomplish your running and daily life goals? Did you feel alert and focused when running or performing a task? If your energy level is reduced for more than 3 days, it is important to determine the cause of the reduction. Typical causes of reduced energy levels are lack of carbohydrate intake, training hard too many days in a row, illness, low iron levels, dehydration, and lack of sleep. By reviewing your training and considering your lifestyle factors, you should be able to identify the likely cause of a low energy level.
- Heart rate at a standard pace. If your heart rate at a set pace is more than about 7 beats per minute higher than usual, you may not be recovered from your previous training sessions. For example, if your heart rate at an 8-minute-per-mile pace is typically 145 beats per minute, and one day you find it is 155 beats per minute at that pace, you likely need additional recovery before doing your next hard training session. Heart rate during running at a given pace varies by a few beats per minute from day to day, and it is also influenced by factors such as dehydration and hot or humid conditions, so take this into consideration in evaluating the implications of a higher-than-usual heart rate.
One runner's approach to healthy masters training
Every December I write down my main running goals for the coming year. A quarter-century ago, the goals usually had to do with setting personal bests.
Every December I write down my main running goals for the coming year. A quarter-century ago, the goals usually had to do with setting personal bests. Now that I'm in my mid-50s, I still have time-related goals, and I often have completion goals, such as finishing a specific trail ultramarathon. For the last several years, however, my main goal has been the same: Lose no days of running to injury. Focusing on this goal is how I get the most satisfaction out of this phase of my running life.
My physical and mental health is best supported by consistently running a decent amount; my current sweet spot is between 2,500 and 3,000 miles a year. But I don't want to just blindly run up the odometer. I want those miles to be as enjoyable as possible—I want to feel good running, and I want to feel good about my running. That's where “lose no days of running to injury” comes in. Rather than the call to obsessiveness it might sound like, it's how I can best stay healthy.
Like any good goal, this one is not just personally meaningful but quantifiable and with obvious steps to take to reach it. Losing no days to injury basically means taking care of myself—not letting myself get too worn down by running or work, eating and sleeping well, not gaining unneeded weight, and striving to maintain a body that can hold up to the amount of running I want to do.
That last point is where the goal really helps me. It means that pretty much every day I do strengthening, core stability, balance, or mobility exercises. Some I do immediately before and after running; others I do throughout the day. I still have my trouble spots, I still wish I were a little more flowing when running, and I still sometimes miss days to injury. (I don't run if I sense that I can't do so with my normal gait—running in that compromised state will both exacerbate the current issue and set me up for compensatory problems elsewhere.) But as someone who has already run more than 110,000 miles, committing to doing nonrunning exercises daily has been the key to consistent, enjoyable running in middle age.
Another practice I credit with meeting the miss-no-days goal is having lots of variety in my running. That's variety in terms of distance, intensity, terrain, and topography. Most of my weeks look a lot like a sample week from the training schedules later in this book. I regularly mix long runs, short recovery days, tempo runs, interval workouts, turnover sessions, and general aerobic runs. It's when I get away from multipace running—when I string together too many medium-length, medium-intensity days—that I start to feel flat, stiff, and achey. A bonus: When I do decide to focus on a competitive goal, the default setting of variety sets me up well for more structured training.
On the weekend I wrote this sidebar, I did a 16-miler on Saturday and runs of 5 and 4 miles on Sunday. The last one was on a dirt road alongside a snowy stream at twilight: I had to restrain myself to not go farther or faster. If doing nonrunning exercises most days means I can regularly have similar experiences into my late 50s and beyond, I'll happily take that trade-off.
—Scott Douglas
What shoes should you wear for a marathon?
Marathoners vary widely in the types of shoes in which they prefer to race. On the theory that even an extra ounce adds up over the course of 26.2 miles (42.2 km), some like to wear as light a shoe as possible.
Marathoners vary widely in the types of shoes in which they prefer to race. On the theory that even an extra ounce adds up over the course of 26.2 miles (42.2 km), some like to wear as light a shoe as possible. On the other hand, some runners figure that during such a long run, they'll need as much cushioning and support as they can get.
Most competitive marathoners should choose race-day shoes on the light end of the spectrum. Most shoe companies make a lightweight trainer that works well in the marathon—these are minimalist enough so that you can feel light on your feet but are built up enough in the heel and midsole to provide some protection, especially as you fatigue late in the race.
Most elites, of course, race the marathon in flats. Bear in mind that these runners are usually whippet thin and have excellent biomechanics. Flats have less support, less cushioning, and less heel lift than training shoes. The lack of support increases the risk of injury and can make muscles that have to work harder fatigue because of the decreased support. In addition, the lower heel lift puts more strain on Achilles tendons and calf muscles.
In the last few years, many companies have introduced a broader range of racing flats so marathoners have more choices between the shoes they race 5Ks in and their training shoes, no matter how light the latter are. Usually weighing around 8 ounces (230 g) with a decent amount of cushioning and some heel support, these longer-distance flats are a good choice for marathoners attempting to race the marathon significantly faster than normal training pace. Regardless of which shoes you choose for race day, be sure to try them out on tempo runs and at least one of your longer marathon-pace training runs in addition to the short dress rehearsal run during taper week.
Following are some rough guidelines about the most likely candidates to wear racing flats in the marathon.
Men Faster than 2:40 Weighs less than 160 pounds (73 kg) History of being relatively injury free Good biomechanics | Women Faster than 2:55 Weighs less than 140 pounds (63 kg) History of being relatively injury free Good biomechanics |
Elite marathoner profile: Yuki Kawauchi
There are elite marathoners who hole up most of the year for one big race. And then there’s Yuki Kawauchi.
Fastest marathon: 2:08:14 (Seoul, 2013)
Marathon highlights: 1st place, 2018 Boston Marathon; most sub-2:20 marathons in history
There are elite marathoners who hole up most of the year for one big race. And then there's Yuki Kawauchi.
The surprise 2018 Boston Marathon champion is the fastest of a small number of elites who race marathons with the frequency more often seen in 10K specialists. In 2018 Kawauchi ran 11 marathons, with five other victories besides the one in Boston. The previous year he ran 12 marathons, all faster than 2:16, including four wins. Every year he also contests several half marathons—he did so each of the weekends before and after winning Boston—and at least one ultramarathon. (He won the longest race of his life, a 71K, one month after winning Boston.) Kawauchi holds the world record for the most sub-2:20 marathons (80-plus).
Kawauchi obviously has an extraordinary talent for quick recovery. Even many elites have difficulty walking normally, much less running, in the immediate aftermath of a marathon. His apparent immunity to typical soft-tissue soreness is a genetic gift in the same way that others' muscle-fiber composition or running economy is. That said, there is much to learn from Kawauchi, even if you have no interest in becoming a serial marathoner.
For starters, why does Kawauchi race so much? Mostly because he enjoys it. In chapter 1 we talked about the importance of personally meaningful goals. What's most important to you should affect how often you race. The broader way to state that is that you should do with your running whatever best speaks to you. That might be racing one marathon a year with the goal of setting a personal best. That might be making as many attempts at a Boston qualifier as it takes. Or, like Kawauchi, it might be regularly experiencing the unique thrill of competition. Know what aspects of running you most enjoy, and train and race accordingly.
Kawauchi's frequent racing also gives him more chances at success. Of course, there's a limit to the try-and-try-again approach to the marathon, depending on your physical and mental recovery. And it's natural to think that Kawauchi's personal best of 2:08:14 could be even faster if he were more selective. A compelling counterargument is that doing something like running two marathons every three years might also not be the way to reach your potential, given how many things can go wrong in any one marathon. At a less extreme level than Kawauchi, Meb Keflezighi has said that regular racing—his marathon career spanned 15 years—increased his odds of race day aligning with his firing on all cylinders.
On a practical level, Kawauchi's racing schedule meshes well with his nonrunning schedule for most of his career. Before becoming a full-time runner in 2019, Kawauchi was a Japanese government clerk, working from noon until 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. He generally had the time for one run a day, in the morning, during the work week. (Most of his competitors run twice a day most days of the week.) In a typical week, Kawauchi ran an easy 70 to 100 minutes on work mornings except for an interval session on Wednesdays. Regular weekend races gave him a chance to combine volume and quality. They also helped him build to his key races. His 71K ultramarathon, for example, was a (very) long training run for his next marathon. For someone with a 2:08 marathon best, half marathons in 65 or 66 minutes are more marathon-pace medium-long runs than all-out efforts. If you often struggle to do typical marathon training during the work week, weekend races can provide an opportunity to still get the necessary work done.
Finally, all runners can learn from how Kawauchi handles the inevitable subpar days—he moves on to the next challenge rather than beating himself up. There's something to be said for showing up and persevering even when you know it won't be a perfect day. It's not surprising that, in cold rain and heavy winds, Kawauchi prevailed in Boston while many of the world's best marathoners crumbled.
Monitoring your body's recovery during marathon training
Monitoring your body provides valuable information on your adaptation to training, your risk of injury or illness, and your readiness for the next hard training session.
Monitoring your body provides valuable information on your adaptation to training, your risk of injury or illness, and your readiness for the next hard training session. There are several good ways to determine when you are overreaching so you can avoid overtraining and remain healthy. You can use this information to improve your recovery by modifying your training schedule to your individual limits. A variety of apps exist for runners and other endurance athletes to monitor the key factors that influence recovery from training, such as resting heart rate and amount of deep sleep. These apps take just a few minutes each day; they make it easy to track both your training and recovery factors and typically provide warning signs when several factors are heading in the wrong direction for several days.
There are many ways to monitor your recovery, but the simplest measures are useful and the easiest to adhere to. In combination, these measures provide insight into your adaptation to training. Typically, when results on these measures decrease, running performance and recovery deteriorate a few days later. In addition to the details of your training, try tracking the following factors and review the data periodically to find the patterns that predict overtraining, illness, and injury. It is important to be as consistent as possible when measuring these factors.
- Weight. Check your weight at the same time of day each day or several times per week. While weight may naturally fluctuate slightly from day to day, decreases in weight over a few days may indicate dehydration. Decreases in weight over a few weeks can indicate that you are not eating enough calories, have an illness, or are overtraining.
- Morning heart rate. Your heart rate when you first wake up in the morning provides an indication of your recovery. It is important to check your heart rate soon after you wake because it increases as soon as you start thinking about your plans for the day and by about 10 beats per minute when you get up. In addition, waking to an alarm can increase your heart rate and make the data less reliable. To find your resting heart rate, therefore, wear a heart monitor or take your pulse immediately upon waking for several days. Your true resting heart rate is the lowest rate you find. If your morning heart rate is more than 5 beats per minute higher than usual, this may be an indication of inadequate recovery or may be the first sign that you are not well. Early detection can be particularly useful in preventing illness.
- Environmental conditions. Record the temperature and humidity on hot days. Because of increased core body temperature and dehydration, your body undergoes substantially more stress when you run at 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) and 80 percent humidity than at 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees Celsius) and low humidity. If you train hard or compete on a hot, humid day, the heat you generate can overwhelm your body's ability to eliminate heat, causing your core temperature to climb, which can increase recovery time. Similarly, as discussed in chapter 2, severe dehydration also increases recovery time. There's great variation in how runners are affected by heat. Monitoring these factors will reveal patterns that can help you make needed adjustments during a stretch of hot weather.
- Hours of sleep. The number of hours you sleep is not particularly important for any one night. Over several nights, however, your quantity of sleep can influence your recovery and ability to adapt positively to training and can, in combination with other measures, explain a lack of recovery and indicate lifestyle changes required to enhance your running performance and help prevent illness or injury.
- Quality of sleep. The quality of your sleep is arguably more important than the number of hours. Evaluate the quality of your sleep each night—How soundly did you sleep? Were you awake a lot in the middle of the night? Did you get out of bed feeling refreshed?—and try to be consistent in your assessment. A reduction in quality of sleep is often associated with overtraining. Reduced sleep quality can also be caused by nonrunning stressors, but the result for your running performance is the same. See “Sleep Better, Run Faster” on page 75 for how to maximize the recovery benefits of sleep.
- Diet quality. Evaluate the overall quality of your diet each day. Did your meals cover your carbohydrate and protein needs? Did you get so hungry that you binged? Did the bulk of your calories come from healthy foods? Often, a lack of energy can be traced back to poor diet in the previous few days.
- Hydration level. Dehydration has a negative effect on running performance and slows recovery from training. Evaluate your hydration level each day. Was your urine clear? Did you drink small amounts regularly so you seldom felt thirsty? Did your mouth and throat often feel dry? Your daily weight also provides a good indication of your hydration level.
- Muscle soreness. It is not unusual for runners to have slightly sore muscles most of the time. An increase in muscle soreness can be due to a hard workout or running downhill. Evaluate your general muscle soreness each day. Did your soreness lessen after a few miles of running? Did your soreness seem explainable by your most recent workouts? If increased general muscle soreness lasts more than 4 or 5 days, it is likely that you are ill or overreaching. Soreness in a specific muscle indicates a potential injury, whereas more general muscle soreness provides an indication of your recovery and adaptation to training.
- Energy level. An assessment of energy level is one of the best indications of recovery from training. Evaluate your energy level each day. Did you have the energy to accomplish your running and daily life goals? Did you feel alert and focused when running or performing a task? If your energy level is reduced for more than 3 days, it is important to determine the cause of the reduction. Typical causes of reduced energy levels are lack of carbohydrate intake, training hard too many days in a row, illness, low iron levels, dehydration, and lack of sleep. By reviewing your training and considering your lifestyle factors, you should be able to identify the likely cause of a low energy level.
- Heart rate at a standard pace. If your heart rate at a set pace is more than about 7 beats per minute higher than usual, you may not be recovered from your previous training sessions. For example, if your heart rate at an 8-minute-per-mile pace is typically 145 beats per minute, and one day you find it is 155 beats per minute at that pace, you likely need additional recovery before doing your next hard training session. Heart rate during running at a given pace varies by a few beats per minute from day to day, and it is also influenced by factors such as dehydration and hot or humid conditions, so take this into consideration in evaluating the implications of a higher-than-usual heart rate.
One runner's approach to healthy masters training
Every December I write down my main running goals for the coming year. A quarter-century ago, the goals usually had to do with setting personal bests.
Every December I write down my main running goals for the coming year. A quarter-century ago, the goals usually had to do with setting personal bests. Now that I'm in my mid-50s, I still have time-related goals, and I often have completion goals, such as finishing a specific trail ultramarathon. For the last several years, however, my main goal has been the same: Lose no days of running to injury. Focusing on this goal is how I get the most satisfaction out of this phase of my running life.
My physical and mental health is best supported by consistently running a decent amount; my current sweet spot is between 2,500 and 3,000 miles a year. But I don't want to just blindly run up the odometer. I want those miles to be as enjoyable as possible—I want to feel good running, and I want to feel good about my running. That's where “lose no days of running to injury” comes in. Rather than the call to obsessiveness it might sound like, it's how I can best stay healthy.
Like any good goal, this one is not just personally meaningful but quantifiable and with obvious steps to take to reach it. Losing no days to injury basically means taking care of myself—not letting myself get too worn down by running or work, eating and sleeping well, not gaining unneeded weight, and striving to maintain a body that can hold up to the amount of running I want to do.
That last point is where the goal really helps me. It means that pretty much every day I do strengthening, core stability, balance, or mobility exercises. Some I do immediately before and after running; others I do throughout the day. I still have my trouble spots, I still wish I were a little more flowing when running, and I still sometimes miss days to injury. (I don't run if I sense that I can't do so with my normal gait—running in that compromised state will both exacerbate the current issue and set me up for compensatory problems elsewhere.) But as someone who has already run more than 110,000 miles, committing to doing nonrunning exercises daily has been the key to consistent, enjoyable running in middle age.
Another practice I credit with meeting the miss-no-days goal is having lots of variety in my running. That's variety in terms of distance, intensity, terrain, and topography. Most of my weeks look a lot like a sample week from the training schedules later in this book. I regularly mix long runs, short recovery days, tempo runs, interval workouts, turnover sessions, and general aerobic runs. It's when I get away from multipace running—when I string together too many medium-length, medium-intensity days—that I start to feel flat, stiff, and achey. A bonus: When I do decide to focus on a competitive goal, the default setting of variety sets me up well for more structured training.
On the weekend I wrote this sidebar, I did a 16-miler on Saturday and runs of 5 and 4 miles on Sunday. The last one was on a dirt road alongside a snowy stream at twilight: I had to restrain myself to not go farther or faster. If doing nonrunning exercises most days means I can regularly have similar experiences into my late 50s and beyond, I'll happily take that trade-off.
—Scott Douglas
What shoes should you wear for a marathon?
Marathoners vary widely in the types of shoes in which they prefer to race. On the theory that even an extra ounce adds up over the course of 26.2 miles (42.2 km), some like to wear as light a shoe as possible.
Marathoners vary widely in the types of shoes in which they prefer to race. On the theory that even an extra ounce adds up over the course of 26.2 miles (42.2 km), some like to wear as light a shoe as possible. On the other hand, some runners figure that during such a long run, they'll need as much cushioning and support as they can get.
Most competitive marathoners should choose race-day shoes on the light end of the spectrum. Most shoe companies make a lightweight trainer that works well in the marathon—these are minimalist enough so that you can feel light on your feet but are built up enough in the heel and midsole to provide some protection, especially as you fatigue late in the race.
Most elites, of course, race the marathon in flats. Bear in mind that these runners are usually whippet thin and have excellent biomechanics. Flats have less support, less cushioning, and less heel lift than training shoes. The lack of support increases the risk of injury and can make muscles that have to work harder fatigue because of the decreased support. In addition, the lower heel lift puts more strain on Achilles tendons and calf muscles.
In the last few years, many companies have introduced a broader range of racing flats so marathoners have more choices between the shoes they race 5Ks in and their training shoes, no matter how light the latter are. Usually weighing around 8 ounces (230 g) with a decent amount of cushioning and some heel support, these longer-distance flats are a good choice for marathoners attempting to race the marathon significantly faster than normal training pace. Regardless of which shoes you choose for race day, be sure to try them out on tempo runs and at least one of your longer marathon-pace training runs in addition to the short dress rehearsal run during taper week.
Following are some rough guidelines about the most likely candidates to wear racing flats in the marathon.
Men Faster than 2:40 Weighs less than 160 pounds (73 kg) History of being relatively injury free Good biomechanics | Women Faster than 2:55 Weighs less than 140 pounds (63 kg) History of being relatively injury free Good biomechanics |
Elite marathoner profile: Yuki Kawauchi
There are elite marathoners who hole up most of the year for one big race. And then there’s Yuki Kawauchi.
Fastest marathon: 2:08:14 (Seoul, 2013)
Marathon highlights: 1st place, 2018 Boston Marathon; most sub-2:20 marathons in history
There are elite marathoners who hole up most of the year for one big race. And then there's Yuki Kawauchi.
The surprise 2018 Boston Marathon champion is the fastest of a small number of elites who race marathons with the frequency more often seen in 10K specialists. In 2018 Kawauchi ran 11 marathons, with five other victories besides the one in Boston. The previous year he ran 12 marathons, all faster than 2:16, including four wins. Every year he also contests several half marathons—he did so each of the weekends before and after winning Boston—and at least one ultramarathon. (He won the longest race of his life, a 71K, one month after winning Boston.) Kawauchi holds the world record for the most sub-2:20 marathons (80-plus).
Kawauchi obviously has an extraordinary talent for quick recovery. Even many elites have difficulty walking normally, much less running, in the immediate aftermath of a marathon. His apparent immunity to typical soft-tissue soreness is a genetic gift in the same way that others' muscle-fiber composition or running economy is. That said, there is much to learn from Kawauchi, even if you have no interest in becoming a serial marathoner.
For starters, why does Kawauchi race so much? Mostly because he enjoys it. In chapter 1 we talked about the importance of personally meaningful goals. What's most important to you should affect how often you race. The broader way to state that is that you should do with your running whatever best speaks to you. That might be racing one marathon a year with the goal of setting a personal best. That might be making as many attempts at a Boston qualifier as it takes. Or, like Kawauchi, it might be regularly experiencing the unique thrill of competition. Know what aspects of running you most enjoy, and train and race accordingly.
Kawauchi's frequent racing also gives him more chances at success. Of course, there's a limit to the try-and-try-again approach to the marathon, depending on your physical and mental recovery. And it's natural to think that Kawauchi's personal best of 2:08:14 could be even faster if he were more selective. A compelling counterargument is that doing something like running two marathons every three years might also not be the way to reach your potential, given how many things can go wrong in any one marathon. At a less extreme level than Kawauchi, Meb Keflezighi has said that regular racing—his marathon career spanned 15 years—increased his odds of race day aligning with his firing on all cylinders.
On a practical level, Kawauchi's racing schedule meshes well with his nonrunning schedule for most of his career. Before becoming a full-time runner in 2019, Kawauchi was a Japanese government clerk, working from noon until 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. He generally had the time for one run a day, in the morning, during the work week. (Most of his competitors run twice a day most days of the week.) In a typical week, Kawauchi ran an easy 70 to 100 minutes on work mornings except for an interval session on Wednesdays. Regular weekend races gave him a chance to combine volume and quality. They also helped him build to his key races. His 71K ultramarathon, for example, was a (very) long training run for his next marathon. For someone with a 2:08 marathon best, half marathons in 65 or 66 minutes are more marathon-pace medium-long runs than all-out efforts. If you often struggle to do typical marathon training during the work week, weekend races can provide an opportunity to still get the necessary work done.
Finally, all runners can learn from how Kawauchi handles the inevitable subpar days—he moves on to the next challenge rather than beating himself up. There's something to be said for showing up and persevering even when you know it won't be a perfect day. It's not surprising that, in cold rain and heavy winds, Kawauchi prevailed in Boston while many of the world's best marathoners crumbled.
Monitoring your body's recovery during marathon training
Monitoring your body provides valuable information on your adaptation to training, your risk of injury or illness, and your readiness for the next hard training session.
Monitoring your body provides valuable information on your adaptation to training, your risk of injury or illness, and your readiness for the next hard training session. There are several good ways to determine when you are overreaching so you can avoid overtraining and remain healthy. You can use this information to improve your recovery by modifying your training schedule to your individual limits. A variety of apps exist for runners and other endurance athletes to monitor the key factors that influence recovery from training, such as resting heart rate and amount of deep sleep. These apps take just a few minutes each day; they make it easy to track both your training and recovery factors and typically provide warning signs when several factors are heading in the wrong direction for several days.
There are many ways to monitor your recovery, but the simplest measures are useful and the easiest to adhere to. In combination, these measures provide insight into your adaptation to training. Typically, when results on these measures decrease, running performance and recovery deteriorate a few days later. In addition to the details of your training, try tracking the following factors and review the data periodically to find the patterns that predict overtraining, illness, and injury. It is important to be as consistent as possible when measuring these factors.
- Weight. Check your weight at the same time of day each day or several times per week. While weight may naturally fluctuate slightly from day to day, decreases in weight over a few days may indicate dehydration. Decreases in weight over a few weeks can indicate that you are not eating enough calories, have an illness, or are overtraining.
- Morning heart rate. Your heart rate when you first wake up in the morning provides an indication of your recovery. It is important to check your heart rate soon after you wake because it increases as soon as you start thinking about your plans for the day and by about 10 beats per minute when you get up. In addition, waking to an alarm can increase your heart rate and make the data less reliable. To find your resting heart rate, therefore, wear a heart monitor or take your pulse immediately upon waking for several days. Your true resting heart rate is the lowest rate you find. If your morning heart rate is more than 5 beats per minute higher than usual, this may be an indication of inadequate recovery or may be the first sign that you are not well. Early detection can be particularly useful in preventing illness.
- Environmental conditions. Record the temperature and humidity on hot days. Because of increased core body temperature and dehydration, your body undergoes substantially more stress when you run at 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) and 80 percent humidity than at 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees Celsius) and low humidity. If you train hard or compete on a hot, humid day, the heat you generate can overwhelm your body's ability to eliminate heat, causing your core temperature to climb, which can increase recovery time. Similarly, as discussed in chapter 2, severe dehydration also increases recovery time. There's great variation in how runners are affected by heat. Monitoring these factors will reveal patterns that can help you make needed adjustments during a stretch of hot weather.
- Hours of sleep. The number of hours you sleep is not particularly important for any one night. Over several nights, however, your quantity of sleep can influence your recovery and ability to adapt positively to training and can, in combination with other measures, explain a lack of recovery and indicate lifestyle changes required to enhance your running performance and help prevent illness or injury.
- Quality of sleep. The quality of your sleep is arguably more important than the number of hours. Evaluate the quality of your sleep each night—How soundly did you sleep? Were you awake a lot in the middle of the night? Did you get out of bed feeling refreshed?—and try to be consistent in your assessment. A reduction in quality of sleep is often associated with overtraining. Reduced sleep quality can also be caused by nonrunning stressors, but the result for your running performance is the same. See “Sleep Better, Run Faster” on page 75 for how to maximize the recovery benefits of sleep.
- Diet quality. Evaluate the overall quality of your diet each day. Did your meals cover your carbohydrate and protein needs? Did you get so hungry that you binged? Did the bulk of your calories come from healthy foods? Often, a lack of energy can be traced back to poor diet in the previous few days.
- Hydration level. Dehydration has a negative effect on running performance and slows recovery from training. Evaluate your hydration level each day. Was your urine clear? Did you drink small amounts regularly so you seldom felt thirsty? Did your mouth and throat often feel dry? Your daily weight also provides a good indication of your hydration level.
- Muscle soreness. It is not unusual for runners to have slightly sore muscles most of the time. An increase in muscle soreness can be due to a hard workout or running downhill. Evaluate your general muscle soreness each day. Did your soreness lessen after a few miles of running? Did your soreness seem explainable by your most recent workouts? If increased general muscle soreness lasts more than 4 or 5 days, it is likely that you are ill or overreaching. Soreness in a specific muscle indicates a potential injury, whereas more general muscle soreness provides an indication of your recovery and adaptation to training.
- Energy level. An assessment of energy level is one of the best indications of recovery from training. Evaluate your energy level each day. Did you have the energy to accomplish your running and daily life goals? Did you feel alert and focused when running or performing a task? If your energy level is reduced for more than 3 days, it is important to determine the cause of the reduction. Typical causes of reduced energy levels are lack of carbohydrate intake, training hard too many days in a row, illness, low iron levels, dehydration, and lack of sleep. By reviewing your training and considering your lifestyle factors, you should be able to identify the likely cause of a low energy level.
- Heart rate at a standard pace. If your heart rate at a set pace is more than about 7 beats per minute higher than usual, you may not be recovered from your previous training sessions. For example, if your heart rate at an 8-minute-per-mile pace is typically 145 beats per minute, and one day you find it is 155 beats per minute at that pace, you likely need additional recovery before doing your next hard training session. Heart rate during running at a given pace varies by a few beats per minute from day to day, and it is also influenced by factors such as dehydration and hot or humid conditions, so take this into consideration in evaluating the implications of a higher-than-usual heart rate.
One runner's approach to healthy masters training
Every December I write down my main running goals for the coming year. A quarter-century ago, the goals usually had to do with setting personal bests.
Every December I write down my main running goals for the coming year. A quarter-century ago, the goals usually had to do with setting personal bests. Now that I'm in my mid-50s, I still have time-related goals, and I often have completion goals, such as finishing a specific trail ultramarathon. For the last several years, however, my main goal has been the same: Lose no days of running to injury. Focusing on this goal is how I get the most satisfaction out of this phase of my running life.
My physical and mental health is best supported by consistently running a decent amount; my current sweet spot is between 2,500 and 3,000 miles a year. But I don't want to just blindly run up the odometer. I want those miles to be as enjoyable as possible—I want to feel good running, and I want to feel good about my running. That's where “lose no days of running to injury” comes in. Rather than the call to obsessiveness it might sound like, it's how I can best stay healthy.
Like any good goal, this one is not just personally meaningful but quantifiable and with obvious steps to take to reach it. Losing no days to injury basically means taking care of myself—not letting myself get too worn down by running or work, eating and sleeping well, not gaining unneeded weight, and striving to maintain a body that can hold up to the amount of running I want to do.
That last point is where the goal really helps me. It means that pretty much every day I do strengthening, core stability, balance, or mobility exercises. Some I do immediately before and after running; others I do throughout the day. I still have my trouble spots, I still wish I were a little more flowing when running, and I still sometimes miss days to injury. (I don't run if I sense that I can't do so with my normal gait—running in that compromised state will both exacerbate the current issue and set me up for compensatory problems elsewhere.) But as someone who has already run more than 110,000 miles, committing to doing nonrunning exercises daily has been the key to consistent, enjoyable running in middle age.
Another practice I credit with meeting the miss-no-days goal is having lots of variety in my running. That's variety in terms of distance, intensity, terrain, and topography. Most of my weeks look a lot like a sample week from the training schedules later in this book. I regularly mix long runs, short recovery days, tempo runs, interval workouts, turnover sessions, and general aerobic runs. It's when I get away from multipace running—when I string together too many medium-length, medium-intensity days—that I start to feel flat, stiff, and achey. A bonus: When I do decide to focus on a competitive goal, the default setting of variety sets me up well for more structured training.
On the weekend I wrote this sidebar, I did a 16-miler on Saturday and runs of 5 and 4 miles on Sunday. The last one was on a dirt road alongside a snowy stream at twilight: I had to restrain myself to not go farther or faster. If doing nonrunning exercises most days means I can regularly have similar experiences into my late 50s and beyond, I'll happily take that trade-off.
—Scott Douglas