Training to last the distance

To continue the discussion from the last two articles in which we discussed optimal training paces, let's look at a real-life example.

In May this year, a young runner named Johan Galea came to me for coaching. He had one aim: to finish first Maltese in the Malta Challenge Marathon by November.

Last weekend he came within 37 seconds of doing just that when he finished second local runner behind Drew Lang (which actually means he finished first Maltese-born runner).

As soon as we started working together, I lactate-tested him.

Among other information, this showed me that Johan could not run the final 25km leg of the Challenge at his anticipated race pace, because his current fuel-mix at that pace was too rich.

The test showed that he was using mainly glycogen at this pace, and I knew from experience that his body was not capable of storing enough to last him for the full 25km. Somewhere along the way it was obvious that he would have to slow down drastically as his glycogen fuel stores ran out.

To avoid having to slow, he could simply run the race at a reduced pace the whole way, but then he would not finish among the leaders.

What Johan needed was to improve his ability to burn a higher percentage of fat at his planned race pace, this would allow his glycogen stores to last till the finish line.

Many runners mistakenly believe that if they improve their race performance at short distances (5km or 10km) then they will automatically improve at longer distances.

In almost all cases, this is not true. The problem lies in which type of fuel system they are training.

When you train for 5km and 10km, you are improving your ability to burn glycogen as fuel. These races are short enough that you have sufficient glycogen stores to last the whole race. This is not so when the distance lengthens to half marathon and marathon.

The runner's body can no longer store sufficient glycogen to last the whole way, so the runner must train to access fat as fuel and to access it as fuel while running at race pace.

Many runners can keep their half marathon pace up for 10 miles.

But, their glycogen stores then begin to run out and they are forced to slow to a crawl from Pietà or Ta' Xbiex to the finish. What they need to understand is that their fuel mix was too rich for the first 10 miles.

Instead of believing that they need more speed training for the following year's event, what they really need is to improve their ability to burn a greater percentage of fat at race pace.

At first Johan found running at 70% HRmax to be slow, but within a few short weeks the pace at that effort began to rapidly improve. So, too, did his running pace at 80-85 per cent HRmax, and we lengthened his running time at this intensity as the weeks progressed.

Although these paces were not fast, over the months Johan set personal best times (PBs) on the track at 5,000 and 10,000m. He also set PBs in almost every road race including slicing a healthy four minutes off his time in the Zurrieq Half Marathon.

During all that time, he rarely ran faster than 10km pace in training.

After a disastrous, over-ambitious, second stage in the Challenge, Johan stood on the start-line on the third morning as fourth-placed among the Maltese. His dream looked over.

Yet at 25km the third day is the longest leg, the one he had trained for, and by Sliema, Johan was the one at the front pushing the pace to break the pack.

As the others dropped one by one, he finished the strongest up the tough hills through Pietà and Valletta and on to the finish line.

johnwalsh42195@yahoo.it