Don’t run distances
that are too long
in training.THELONDONMARATHONHASBEEN
POSTPONED, BUT EXERCISE IS VITAL
RIGHT NOW. HERE’S HOW TO TACKLE
A 26.2-MILE RUN, WITH SPORTS
SCIENTIST DAN GORDON
NEED TO
K NOW...GETTHOSEMILESIN
A currenttrendis todohighintensity
gymtrainingtogetfitquickly.Thatwon’t
helpwitha marathon.Youhavetoget
mileageintoyourlegsbecausethekeyto
successis havingwhatI callan‘aerobic
base’.Thatdoesn’tmeanyouneedto
covervast distances. For those who are
new to marathons, you need to build up
to 45km (28 miles) a week on average,
with that distance split over several runs.
PLAN A BIG(-ISH) RUN
You need to experience a long run
before the marathon itself. Less
experienced runners tend to do a
longest run of about 29km (18 miles).
You want to do that about three to four
weeks before the marathon. If you are
new to the marathon, you don’t want to
be doing that a lot because you cause
muscle damage, muscle fatigue, pain in
the legs and so forth.
INCREASING THE ‘MILES PER
GALLON’ OF YOUR BODY IS KEY
You want to be able to use less energy
per footfall. As you train, you get more
capillaries in the muscles to get
oxygenated blood to them. Your heart
gets bigger on the outside, and the
cavities inside – the ventricles – also
enlarge. So per beat, the heart can eject
more blood. You get increased levels of aerobic enzymes and
increased mitochondria, where aerobic metabolism takes place.PLAN FASTER RUNS INTO YOUR WEEKLY TRAINING
We’re talking about the kind of running where you can’t quite
hold a conversation. You could run in the ‘tempo zone’, as we call
it, for 40 minutes non-stop, which is pretty hard. Or you could
do it in 10-minute blocks with a short recovery in between.EAT THOSE CARBS TO HELP YOU PREPARE
The big fuel for your body is carbohydrate. It also helps during
recovery. You need to ensure your diet is carb-rich, with plenty
of foods like pasta, and bananas to help recovery. You are
causing muscle damage when you run, so you need protein to
help with muscle repair – things like chicken, fish and pulses. If
you refuel your body within about 60 minutes of stopping your
run, you get metabolic recovery and all the fuels are restored
within 12 to 14 hours. Leave it longer than an hour and you’re
looking at anything up to 72 hours for recovery.ON MARATHON DAY, EAT WHAT YOU CAN KEEP DOWN
Things like muesli or porridge with fruit are good as they release
the energy slowly. If you eat fast-energy-release foods you get an
instant hit, but you might run out of energy.PACE YOURSELF TO AVOID PAIN
The two biggest causes of pain in a marathon are when you lack
preparation – you’ve not run enough miles in training – and poor
pacing in the marathon itself. The former results in just having to
run slowly throughout. The latter leads to pain. Most runners go
too fast at the start of the marathon and will burn energy too
quickly. This will lead to them running out of energy too soonand
having to slow down. It then becomes an uncomfortable run.Training increases
the number of
capillaries in your
muscles and makes
your heart larger.Refuel your body
with food within 60
minutes of a
training session to
speed up recovery.DAN GORDON
is principal lecturer
in exercise
physiology at Anglia
Ruskin University.
He was consultant
physiologist to the
UK Athletics
Paralympic Team
2003-2008.
Interviewed by
Andy Ridgway.1
2
3
A SCIENTIST’S
GUIDE TO LIFE
HOW TO
RUN A LONG,
LONG WAY
ILLUSTRATION: CATHAL DUANE