Marathon Training: Separating Fact from Fiction

Running a marathon requires perseverance and some knowledge. There are hundreds of sites that offer advice on running and marathon training. But how to sort fact from fiction, science from folklore?

Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas note in Advanced Marathoning,

"The key to simply finishing a marathon isn't a secret: Train long to go long. But what about when you want to race a marathon? Then things aren't so simple. Besides getting enough baseline endurance to complete the distance, now your concerns turn to matters such as how fast to do your long runs, what types of interval sessions to do, how to manipulate your diet for maximum performance, how to schedule hard workouts to allow both progress and recovery, and so on. The best answers to those questions aren't so obvious and they require a solid base of knowledge."

As a solution Pfitzinger and Douglas suggest, of course, that we all read their book: "You'll acquire that knowledge through this book." Advanced Marathoning is a very good book indeed, but it begs the question as to what constitutes marathon training knowledge.

This is my second year of marathon training and I have a lot to learn. I think of knowledge about marathon training along three dimensions. The first dimension of knowledge is the one derived from science. Even with scientific knowledge, however, there are degrees of certitude. The second dimension of knowledge is derived from experience (i.e. the wisdom of experienced runners and coaches such as Daniels, Salazar, Pfitzinger.) The third dimension is personal and concerns the specifics of one's circumstance. This dimension tends to be the most neglected in many training programs. The best coaches put all three together. But most of us don't have the luxury of having a full-time coach to give us guidance.

For me the challenge of marathon training then is to evaluate each dimension of knowledge and apply it to my own training. When I read something now I ask myself: "Is the information based on science?  If so, how well established is the science? Or, is the information based on the experience of coaches and other experts? If so, is it the opinion of a one or two people or is there something like a consensus?  Finally, is the information based on my knowledge about myself or someone's personal knowledge about me?"  We all know that self-knowledge is notoriously tricky and as much subject to deception as other forms of knowledge.

Being a nerdy type of guy I have also thought of quantifying each dimension based on a scale of 1 - 5. When I post some "information" or "tip" I will post along with it my score on the knowledge, experience, or personal meter.

Comments

[Middalia Wayman]

I struggle with all the information and running advice out there. There are so many different training philosophies and programs. I am currently researching marathon training programs to see which one I want to use for my fall marathon. I haven't read Advanced Marathoning yet, I'll have to put it on my list.