11 Weeks out from race day and with any luck, you already have one week of consistent training under your belt. With Week 1 focusing on consistency, this week we want to continue building and improving strength and aerobic fitness. In terms of training, much of our approach will remain constant with last week – slowly building up fitness and mileage whilst avoiding injury.
To provide some variety, hill sessions will be incorporated into our training program this week. Hill training is fantastic for enhancing cardiovascular fitness, posture and breathing rhythms. Running up those hills also improves lung function, leg strength and running speed. Tackling hills helps to prepare you mentally- when you learn to successfully manage hills, your tolerance and ability to maintain control through the pain improves.
Hills aren’t just fantastic for building strength and endurance; they’re also great for improving your technique. Once you start incorporating hills into your training, you’ll notice huge improvements in your performance when you return to running your usual course. Running downhill is just as beneficial- having to decelerate requires different muscle groups to work, improving your balance and stability.
This week will also see you taking it up a notch with an additional day of training per week. Stepping up the training with an extra day will assist in really building your endurance. Running those extra kilometers and increasing your stamina is what will truly pay off when it comes to marathon performance.
This week’s focus: Motivation. Whilst you might have started out super motivated, it’s hard to maintain every day. It’s important to build mental resilience both in the lead up and on race day. For the most part, running a marathon or half marathon is mental, not just physical!
If you haven’t started training yet, it’s not too late! Our 12 week training plans are now available for the following events (it’s Week 2!):
