Dr. J on Running
Dropping the M-Word21 January 2010At the eve of the most important meeting of my professional career, I called my wife for strength and support. She shared with me her day in the country, and concluded with a stunning surprise. Our friend Stacey put a bug in her ear � training for the Wineglass Marathon on 3 October 2010. In our running community, dropping the M-word brings a range of emotions from the memories of Marathons run to the tribulations of aborted training and unfinished Marathons. Yet this particular M-bomb triggered a surge of excitement and ebullience, and dissipated the stress and apprehension of the meeting ahead. I accepted immediately the challenge, and declared my intention to join Stacey and Marla in training for, and finishing the Wineglass Marathon. Training safely for a Marathon requires 26 weeks of preparation on top of a sound base. The long run constitutes the basis for every training program. A gradual increase of the distance of the long run onto the vicinity of 26.2 miles increases the likelihood of a successful race. So, I set to develop a training program for the Wineglass. The raining program requires three runs each week � two short runs and one long run. The short runs represent the base fitness at the start of the 26-week program, and range between 3 and 5 miles. The weekly long run increases by one mile each week initially until it reaches 10 miles, then increases by two miles every other week, allowing for a race or a tempo run in the off week. The following table illustrates a basic training program for a runner who seeks to complete safely the Marathon without a time target.
So, Wineglass here we come � ready or not. Dr Kamal Jabbour runs and writes on the hills of Pompey. His RUNNING Column appears in Cyberspace whenever endorphines call. |