Hi, I am Dr Milind Pimprikar. And you are listening to fighting fit Fridays with Dr. Pimprikar. Last episode we talked about why I run a marathon and today we are going to talk about how to train for running a marathon. Some of us might feel, what is the big deal in training for a marathon? Running is human instinct and ,why do I need to pay somebody to learn how to run? Well that is a very valid point and all you need to run is may be your feet.
We have been running around in true sense to meet ends in our daily life but, here we are running for ourselves and some people relate this experience as meditation. This is a different ball game. To have an injury free run and to achieve the desired positive health benefits without having had a stress fracture or other medical contingencies, one needs to train. In any skill newly learnt training is an integral part and cannot be ignored.
Well so when one decides to run a marathon, let me warn you that, it is not as simple as it looks and if not trained properly can give rise to running injuries and certain dreadful complications. To avoid them we have to smart train ourselves. When we talk of training,
It is imperative for us to understand the basics of exercise and the science behind it. Injury free training is the key word when we consider any exercise programme. It is highly individualised and needs to be looked at as an exercise prescription rather than a mere simple recreational activity. Thus, it can be said “Exercise is a serious affair.”
One needs to condition the body to undertake this task. There is no point running 10k on a day saying usme kya hai! and then lie down home with pain for next two days.(called as delayed onset muscle soreness) So, we need certain adaptations of human body to perform these activities and it is called as conditioning.
Conditioning of the human body has five different components namely 1. Endurance, 2. speed, 3. Agility, 4. Resistance, 5. Flexibility.
Endurance training-
Running is mainly an aerobic activity meaning it needs good amount oxygen supply to the human body. Running involves intricate interplay of moving joints and muscles and rhythm demonstrating a graceful movement pattern. It is a treat to watch a galloping horse, similarly it is a treat to watch a balanced human form running with grace. THESE MUSCLES REQUIRE ENERGY IN THE FORM OF FUEL. If one has to run for a long distance, endurance training is the key. Endurance training focuses on increased delivery of oxygen to the working muscles. We breath oxygen from the atmosphere and the ability of the human body to extract oxygen from the atmosphere is called as VO2 max. The adaptation of this type of training increases the VO2 max. meaning ability to extract more amount of oxygen and increasing ability of skeletal muscle to generate energy in presence of glucose. The result of endurance training is enhanced aerobic capacity means improved VO2 max.
There are several methods of endurance training. To name them they are,
- Interval training
- Fartlek training
- Maximal aerobic speed training
- Cross training
- Skill training as endurance
We will briefly go through each method to get a gross idea.
Interval training–
This dramatically improves the VO2 Max. Typical training is in bouts of 1 min. fast running bouts with a recovery period of 2 min. between two bouts. Six such bouts are recommended for maximal benefit of increasing aerobic capacity.
Fartlek training–
Fartlek in Swedish means speed play. This typical training is done on a bicycle in the gym conditions where, an athlete performs a 30 seconds high intensity cycling interposed with regular speed cycling every 2.5 min. which means 10 high intensity cycling bouts in about 30 min.
For example, -30-second-high intensity cycling—2.5 min. regular speed—30 seconds high intensity for 30 min.
Maximum aerobic speed training–
This involves calculation of athlete’s maximum aerobic speed and is done by asking the athlete to run 1.5 -2.0 km at 100% perceived efficiency after a warmup of 20 min. The time taken is calculated and is divided by the distance. We also need to understand what active recovery means? Active recovery refers to a period of mild activity done between two bouts of exercise and not the complete rest.
For example, the athlete has taken 5 min. which is 300 seconds. If one puts this in a simple formula if athlete has completed 2 km (2000 mt.) then,2000/300=6.66 Mt/sec. The exercise sessions are planned according to this value of 6.66 Mt/sec.
Typical session-
5×15 sec.at 100% MAS (99 Mt.) -followed by 15 sec. active recovery period
5×15 sec.at 110% MAS (108 Mt.)-followed by 15 sec. active recovery period
3×15 sec.at 120% MAS (119 Mt.)-followed by 15 sec. active recovery period
5×15 sec. at 110% MAS (108 Mt.)- followed by 15 sec. active recovery period
5×15 sec.at 100% MAS (99Mt.)- followed by 15 sec. active recovery period.
That makes a workout of 7 min.30 sec. and the distance covered 2,427 Mt. which is performed at more than 100% MAS.
This can be done best with interval training sessions and helps a great deal to improve the VO2 Max.
Cross training–
This type of training is useful tool for injury prevention. It is characterised by non-weightbearing exercises to avoid over stressing of the joints and musculo-tendinous units. Introduction of swimming, cycling or water run in the similar fashion of interval or fartlek training is helpful. This will also break the monotony which, is important in adherence to exercise programme.
Skill training as endurance–
Skill training also improves aerobic fitness by using sport specific skills and making alterations to challenge the athlete. For example, a mere change in the size of the playing field by increasing it, will increase the aerobic requirement. Decreasing the number of players will also put additional demand on the aerobic capacity of the athlete.
Nutrition
Along with the training one also has to eat smart and make right choices. As endurance running needs aerobic capacity it is mandatory to have sufficient glucose as fuel. Eating complex carbohydrates and having carbohydrate loading is important. As capacity of the muscles to store glycogen has limitations, replenishing all the stores is necessary to have a good performance.
Hydration-
Fluid intake is another important area and a runner should follow a particular pattern of fluid replacement during practice sessions which by and large should not be changed during the actual run. A simple way to know whether the hydration is adequate is to look for the urine colour. A pale looking urine indicates good hydration. In any run which is going to be longer than one hour a regular fluid replacement in the form of electrolytic solution containing glucose should be used. Sodium replacement will reduce the incidence of cramps while running.
Conclusion-
It can be concluded that the most effective way to increase the aerobic capacity and anaerobic fitness, is by means of interval training. There can be many variations possible in terms of intensity and duration of exercise interspersed by period of recovery. In principle, the athlete reaches the level of lactic acidosis with one individual effort and takes a period of recovery before commencing the next bout.
Since running a marathon is very popular sport amongst the population, these practical tips might help them achieve their best timings for half or a full marathon. Although I would urge and request all aspiring runners to seek a professional advice before they try anything which is stated in this podcast.
“Keep running, enjoy your run, compete with yourself, stay injury free.”
Here we come to an end of this episode. You can hear me on VTLPODCAST and all leading podcast platforms on every Friday. If you have liked the views, please share like and comment.
Thank you for listening.
