You have your plan: You registered for the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon on the 29th of October and this is your highlight for the Fall season. Good decision, are your already getting excited about crossing the finish line in the Frankfurt Festhalle? In order to enjoy this special moment, you should start your training. Why train now? The classic marathon trainings plans are usually 12 to 14 weeks. Yeah, that’s right, but the better condition you have, the more success you will have in your August, September and October trainings months.
Basic training is the foundation for all other trainings forms. This isn’t just for runners, but you can profit from this in a time period from 6 to 8 weeks with little intensity and an increase in the amount of training.
Also, professional athletes start their marathon training with a basic training. They train here for a foundation with a higher-intensity, that will come in the later trainings phase. “You can imagine building your training like a pyramid”, says Carsten Eich, “the wide diverse the foundation is symbolic, then the middle is the intense tempo training and the top of the pyramid represents the competitions. Basically, “the wider the foundation of your pyramid, the better your performance by the Frankfurt Marathon. With this, you can answer the question, “does running slower, really make you faster?”, the answer is definitely YES.
Many runners make the mistake, to form and complete their basic training in a one-sided manner. To run 3 times a week 8 to 12 kilometers is less effective, then to change up your training methods. The tempo of the long runs should be a little slower, but afterwards, you can integrate speed variation training or interval training in the mountains. Whoever training regularly in areas with higher elevation, gives his or hers running specific training that extra strength. This also function with other alternative methods, such as spinning, cycling, ergometer training, aqua jogging or swimming. Of course, the intensity of the training should not be so high as normal. By strength training, it’s about training and preparing the muscles for the load that comes later. A thirty-minute strength training once a week is an extremely valuable.
Training methodically serves the basic training first, to raise the aerobic capacity. That is why the training should be chosen so that the body gets enough oxygen to keep producing energy. Optimally, that long distance runs training in the heart rate range from about 70 to 75 percent of the maximum heart rate (HF Max). Such runs in “a comfortable pace” lead to an optimization of the metabolism and an economic use of energy. By the same heart rate, one can run faster, without stressing the muscles. Use this trainings phase and build the foundation to a successful marathon!
