By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

Let\’s start by stating something basic that even veteran runners tend to forget: The Marathon is a 99% aerobic event. Yes, even Ekiud Kipchoge and the East Africans who run around him run the marathon as an aerobic endeavor.

Having a solid aerobic base to sustain continuous action for 26.2 miles is one of the keys to a successful marathon. And when I state \”successful,\” I don\’t mean setting a PR; I mean finish. Sure, we all know someone who has finished a marathon without training, but those are outliers, and most of those go through a sufferfest during their race. So, don\’t take any cues from them.

Race at 100% but only train at 80% (Photo Pexels)

Your aerobic base is the cornerstone of your long-distance running journey. Think of it as a pyramid\’s broad, solid foundation, supporting the peak over which speed and performance are built.

Developing an aerobic base requires time, work, and patience. It covers hundreds, if not thousands, of miles and comes from years of engaging in activities that keep your heart rate elevated for long periods of time. Many runners achieve this base through previous activities in sports like soccer or swimming, while others have honed it just by running over the years. A strong aerobic base is essential to improving your speed and excelling in endurance events.

Running beyond the correct rate of perceived effort, performing all your long runs at race pace every single week or running your repetitions and intervals with all your might are not conducive to developing a solid aerobic base. It is counterproductive and not only won\’t make you faster in the long run, it may lead to injury.

The aerobic base can be developed by:
• Running consistently
• Learning where your conversational pace lies
• Accepting you must go slow to run fast
• Trusting the process

 As your aerobic base develops, you will:
• Become a more efficient runner
• Become a faster runner
• Improve the rate of lactate removal
• Improve muscle and energy output

Train at 80%, Race at 100%

Running every rep at max effort is not conducive to sustainable running (Photo: Caique Araujo, Pexels)

I firmly believe you shouldn\’t go all out on your training runs, drills, and reps. Since your body needs to recover to realize the adaptations of your efforts and still keep the training moving forward, ending a rep or a training session on the verge of collapse is not the best practice. When you do so, you put your body through extreme stress, which will require a longer period of recovery. It would be best if you ended the rep knowing you could have gone even faster. Finish the workout knowing you could have gone an extra rep or two is a better strategy.

When you train for a race, that effort is in the future; you are working towards that goal. This means you train at today\’s fitness level, not at the level you expect to be at race time. Focus on the prize.

Once race day is here, after a tapering period during which you are recovered and ready to go, you give it your all on race day. You are not saving anything for tomorrow. You invested your mind, body, and resources through a test of fitness and will. Then, you cross the finish line at the edge of your endurance limit.

In Conclusion

Running slow is counterintuitive. It feels weird when you know you could be running faster. It takes practice to go slow. Anyone can run itself to the ground by sprinting every day and racing their training runs. There is no merit in that. What takes guts is to accept that you must be patient, play the long game, and be willing to defer your gratification so you can enjoy your running for a very long time.

Sure, these are fundamental concepts for most runners, but we all need to be reminded of the obvious at one point or another to remain grounded during a difficult training cycle.

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