Words: Lara Tamsett

So you’ve entered the Gold Coast Marathon?! Firstly, well done you! But by now I am sure the reality of what you have signed up for is slowly setting in. It’s all very well to sign up and pay a registration fee, but that also means you’ve committed yourself to either the Gold Coast Airport Fun Run, Southern Cross University 10km Run, ASICS Half Marathon or Gold Coast Marathon. And that means training! There is no such thing as cramming when it comes to running, so it’s time to get your training program sorted and into action. With the plethora of running advice and training programs out there, it is easy to forget the most basic yet crucial elements of a well-rounded training program. Here are my ‘Top 5 Fundamentals’ not to forget:

1. Be specific

To reach your potential as a distance runner, you need to develop a variety of key attributes, including your endurance base, your lactate threshold, maximal aerobic capacity (VO2 max), basic speed and running technique. The right balance of each depends on your events, your history of training and targeted goals. However, there are some key principles that are fairly universal:

• Volume is crucial – how much varies tremendously, so be your own guide
• Don’t neglect hard running unless you’re at altitude or have another stimulus that wears your body down (e.g. heat). In general, a good training program includes a moderate amount of hard running. It can take the form of threshold running, fartlek, hill work or a mix of these
• Shoot for a weekly long run and try for relaxed but solid pace on most of your other runs
• Incorporate strides after a couple of easy runs each week. Older athletes will especially benefit for these quick, short bursts of speed.

2. Alternate hard training days with recovery

When you’re nearing race weekend, it’s tempting to train hard day after day. However, your body can only handle a limited amount of hard training and will improve quickest if given a chance to recover. When you train hard, you provide the stimulus to progress your fitness, but it is recovery that allows your body to adapt positively and improve. Failure to allow adequate recovery is a well-worn path to overtraining, injury and illness.

3. Increase your training load gradually

Your training load is a combination of your training distance, the intensity of your training and the number of runs you do each week. Your body can only adapt positively to moderate increases in training load in a short period of time. Although there are no hard and fast rules to increasing your training, it is best to only increase ONE of the following – distance, intensity or frequency – in any one week. A slow, steady progression will pay dividends in your long term running performance than an impetus rush into high mileage and/or high-intensity training.

4. Physiological adaptions take time

Your body adapts to the stresses of training, but this takes time. Physiological adaptions occur in their own time, and while can fine-tune your training to optimise the process, you cannot rush Mother Nature. Adaptations in your muscles, such as increased capillarisation, occur gradually over months and years, so be patient. The minimum amount of time needed to begin to see an improvement from training is about six weeks, so do not be discouraged if you do not notice immediate improvements in your running.

5. You are unique

Every runner responds differently to training. What may be too much for your training partner may be just right for you, and vice-versa. Your ability to respond positively to training depends on your genetics, your training history, your general health, your injury history and your lifestyle. In developing your training program, pay attention to how you respond to training and remember you are an experiment of one.

I hope my ‘Top 5 Fundamentals’ help you set a wise and successful training program for the Gold Coast Marathon!