How to run a 3 hour marathon
An interview with my client Any Esary. She ran the Eugene Marathon in 3hrs flat!!
Amy is 37 years old and ran her first marathon on her 26st birthday. A group of her friends encouraged her to run a marathon with them even though she was ill prepared. However, she ran the race and finished with a Boston Marathon qualifying time! From here on Amy says she was hooked on running. Not only did she discover a natural running ability, but she had fun running her first marathon which encouraged her to start a training program and race.
When did you run your first marathon? 11yrs ago on my 26th birthday. I ran the San Francisco Marathon in just under 3:40
What is your best marathon time? 3:00.46, Eugene marathon
Favorite pre-race meal? Sandwich made with spelt bread and almond butter. I think too many runners make the mistake of eating a carb only pre race meal when it is really important to get in protein as well. That’s why I add the almond butter.
What do you eat the night before the marathon? For years I have eaten the same meal the night before. I go to Whole Foods Market and make a large salad mixed with lots of veggies, beans, nuts, and hard boiled eggs. I never introduce new food the night before in case my stomach can’t process it. There’s nothing worse than an upset stomach
How many marathons do you run a year? 2. I think this is the appropriate amount to keep my body healthy and injury free.
How many miles per week do you run? It varies from 55-85 miles per week. It all depends if I’m training in-season or off. When training for a marathon I follow my coaches 16 week program.
Give us an example of your weekly in-season training schedule?
Monday: Recover & Rest
Tuesday: Track (fast repeats of 400 to 800m. 8-10 sets)
Wednesday: Longer, Easy Run (8-12miles)
Thursday: Longer distance speed session (2 x two mile repeats or 4x 1 mile repeats)
Friday: Easy Run or Day of Rest
Saturday: Long Run (longest run is 21 miles)
Sunday: Rest
What (do you believe) is the secret to your success and fast marathon time? A coach and a plan. I hire a coach to develop a specific plan based on my race goals. 16 weeks is the minimum amount of time I give myself to prepare for a marathon. Also, I improve my strength with a body weight workout twice per week. In fact, I still use the program you (Jill) gave me a couple years ago. I found this simple and easy to follow workout really made a difference in my speed and endurance because I was stronger, especially in the core area. In the beginning, I did not incorporate any type of strength training and I believe that was a huge mistake. My body (upper and lower) is very strong and the strength helps me through the long distance runs and powers me through the speed sessions.
Anything else in your training you believe helps you run a 3 hour marathon? Yes, I started taking Yoga about two years ago. I started with classes and now I follow a video at home. Just doing it once per week is enough to improve my flexibility and helps me stay injury free. It is the program you (Jill) follow and recommended to me. It really is great. I think yoga just adds one more dimension to my running success. Runners Yoga
Any tips? suggestions to others looking to run a faster marathon. The biggest tip is to have a plan. I know so many runners who just continually go out and run and follow no schedule. In order for your body to improve you need to have a carefully designed plan. This is why I love your product because I know it is 16 week marathon training program and all the workouts, schedule, and strength is written out for me and I just follow. Don’t be afraid to hire a coach or buy a program. I’m not an exercise physiologist nor a running coach, so its nice to have a program to follow from the experts in the running community.
Thank you Amy. She really is an inspiration and provided us with many great tips to run a better and faster marathon.
Posted by admin | in Faster Marathon Time, Marathon | 2 Comments
Interesting to see the comments about strength training being important from the beginning. I struggle with finding a routine that I like and that’s not impossible to follow through–so often, I wind up sore afterward, which makes my next run miserable. I’m going to try doing the set of exercises you posted last week, and we’ll see what happens!
It can be difficult to fit in a routine that doesn’t trash your legs for the next run. That’s why I only include 3 lower body exercises then leave the hills and speedwork for strengthening my legs.
Good luck