Most runners do not train right to minimize the risk of hitting the wall in marathons and half marathons. They simply don’t run enough and they also don’t do enough slow running.
The average adult runner who classifies himself or herself as “competitive” runs fewer than 35 miles per week. That’s not a bad baseline, but it’s not enough running to prepare for one’s best possible marathon or half marathon (unless it is supplemented with some cross-training—a topic I’ll address a bit later). Although few runners can handle the volume of running that elite runners take on, it has been my observation that most nonelite runners could run significantly more than they choose to do.
In addition to not training enough, most runners train too intensely. In 1993 a team of researchers at Arizona State University asked a group of women runners to describe their training. According to these self-reports, these runners averaged three easy runs, one moderate-intensity run, and 1.5 high-intensity runs per week. But data collected from heart-rate monitors that the researchers gave the women to wear through one full week of training told a different story. In reality they did less than half of their training in the low-intensity range, almost half in the moderate-intensity range, and less than 9 percent in the high-intensity range.
All of these runners could attain better results from their training by making two simple changes. First, they need to slow down. Specifically, they should follow the 80/10/10 rule, doing about 80 percent of their weekly running at low intensity, 10 percent at moderate intensity, and 10 percent at high intensity. Second, they should run more—something that slowing down would enable them to do without increased risk of injury or burnout.
I’ve seen some amazing breakthroughs happen when runners transition from training in the typical way to the Lydiard way. John Heusner, a thirty-eight-year-old corporate vice president in Eastvale, California, achieved a very respectable marathon PR of 3:24:40 at the 2012 Carlsbad Marathon on a training regimen of 35 miles per week. Trouble was, he had aimed for a Boston Marathon qualifying time of under 3:15 in that race and had been on pace to reach his goal for 20 miles before hitting the wall. Afterward John hired a coach, my friend Mario Fraioli, who gradually increased John’s average weekly running volume to 55 to 60 miles, with a peak of 70 miles. Mario also reduced the frequency of John’s high-intensity runs and encouraged him to slow down considerably in recovery runs. At the 2012 Santa Rosa Marathon John never hit the wall and finished in 3:00:37.
Chances are you could benefit from making similar changes. The training plans presented in Chapters 10 and 11 will help you do that. They adhere to the 80/10/10 rule and they rely on volume more than intensity to stimulate improvement and push back the wall.