Credit: Baltimore Sun (click the pic)
You just ran….
A lot…
Like 26 miles worth.
The worst thing you can do is go run some more. A much better and sustainable approach is to fix your body up, recover and strengthen weak points before training for more self torture another marathon.
If you haven’t, read THIS first…then come right back.
Week 4: NO, you still can’t run….
Yes, you’ve probably lost some aerobic endurance….don’t worry, it’ll come back.
In reality the training residuals from the marathon training are still strong so there is a chance you’ve lost nothing at all.
If you’ve been doing what you’re supposed to your body should be at least in the process of being “rebuilt”.
Your hips, ankles and shoulders should have more motion in them. Hopefully your shoulders are getting pulled back and your ass is finally doing something other than being a chair cushion.
If that’s the case we can start to get into actual training, but not running.
Warmup/ mobility/ activation work can go back to normal. 10-20 minutes at the beginning of your workout.
Strength training goes up.
Take the same circuits you did last week and add some intensity.
Either add reps or weight and keep rest time to a bare minimum, 20-40 seconds between sets. RPE should be around 7-8 out of 10.
Your heart rate should be elevated and you should have a good sweat going by the end of the workout but should NOT be feeling depleted in any way.
If you’re feeling smoked or having a tough time getting through the workout, it’s waaaay to hard. You’re stressing the body too much too soon and creating negative adaptations.
The goal is to get BETTER…not TIRED
You DO NOT want to look like these guys after training.
This should happen 3-4 times this week, with an additional 2 sessions of light sled dragging (forward only) for 15-20 minutes (these can happen in the same day or after training).
In a best case scenario you’d have a heart rate monitor and keep the heart rate between 120-140 beats per minute, if not just use the talk test….
Can you get a sentence out but have trouble holding a long conversation?
If yes, you’re on track.
Total workout should be about 1 hour start to finish at this point…. 15 minute warmup/ 30 minute weights/ 15 minute sleds.
Weeks 5-8: Finally, You Get to Run….But NOT Hard.
We’re a month out and you should be kinda sorta put back together almost ready to get into “training” for another overuse injury marathon.
Warmups stay the same: 10-15 exercises …10-12 minutes..get ready to train.
Weights: After three weeks of circuits you should be ready to get into actual weight training. Weight training ultimately has one goal.
Getting Strong(er).
This will:
- Make you faster: more force per step.
- Keep you injury free: stronger muscles can absorb more force meaning the connective tissue doesn’t have to.
- Help keep your posture: and therefore mechanics from going to hell when you run.
- Help you recover faster: Muscles repair at a much faster rate than bones, ligaments and tendons, you want muscle to absorb the shock NOT connective tissue.
Here’s how we do this, obviously you’re a runner not a lifter. So we keep it simple.
I would use the Easy Strength template:
- Multi-joint compound lifts
- Reps per set 1-5
- Weight high, 80-95% of 1RM
- Total reps per exercise around 10
Good lifts to stick with are:
- Squat
- Deadlift
- Bench Press
- Floor Press
- Pullups/ Chinups (weighted if necessary)
I don’t include overhead press because while it’s awesome about 99.9999% of all runners don’t have even close to enough thoracic extension and scapular retraction and depression to do the move correctly.
Just an FYI..if you do a shoulder press and the weights move in front of you or you have to arch/ lean back to keep the bar over you, you lack these qualities and should not shoulder press.
That is, unless you want a jacked up shoulder, in that case load that sh*t up and press away.
Twice a week I would do the heavy lifting separated with a third lighter session.
As for running, shorter runs of 3-5 miles with a focus on remaining steady and easy. You should never feel tired or out of breath during or after one of these runs.
These can be done 2-3 times this week progressing to 4 times a week over the course of the 4 weeks.
The goal of these runs is just to re-acclimate the body and keep the accumulated stress to a minimum so as not to compete for adaptive resources with the strength training.
Remember we’re training not testing
Training week example:
Mon:
1) Squat: 3 x 3@ 70-95%
2) Bench: 2×5 @70-85%
3a) Dumbbell Row: 2×10
3b) SLDL: 2×10
4a) Core work: 3 sets
4b) Forward Sled Dragging heavy: 3 sets
Tues:
Run 5 miles
Wed:
1a) BSS: 3×10
1b) Pushups: 3x AMAP
1c) Pullups: 3x AMAP
2a) Reverse Lunge: 2x 10
2b) Real row: 2x 10
3a) Core work: 3 sets
4a) Forward Sled Dragging: 10-20 minutes continuous
Thurs:
Run 3 miles
Fri:
1) Bench Press: 3×3 @ 70-95%
2) Squat: 2×5 @ 70-85%
3a) Inverted Row: 3 sets
3b) Core Work: 3 sets
4a) Forward Sled Dragging heavy: 5 sets
Sat:
Run 5 miles
Sun:
1) Stretch/ Foam Roll/ Mobility/ Activation
2) Take a long walk
At this point you should hold this phase for 3-4 weeks at least to allow the body to actually get stronger while slowly…I mean slowly building mileage.
Add 1-3 miles a week at an easy pace, don’t worry about pushing the pace of runs until you start the actual marathon training.
Easy runs allow the body to adapt and become stronger without competing for adaptive resources further stressing the body, delaying recovery and creating counterproductive adaptations.
I think if someone followed this template for the first two months post marathon they would be in a good position to begin training for the next marathon without being “jacked up” from the previous one.
Remember the goal is to stay in the game and get better as we go along.
You can’t do that nursing injuries…
Yes, transition phases kinda suck, but think of them as your off-season. You need to build yourself up for a better next season.
You can’t be “on” all the time without eventually breaking.
If we’re going to do stupid things with our bodies we mind as well try to be smart about being stupid.
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