Marathon key workouts week 9 and 10 in 2:45 plan

by Goran Edenro
(Mölndal)

Effort 3 - going into Effort 4

"Hi Marius!

I'm in the 9th week of the 2:45 program. I have a question about the marathon-specific workouts of these weeks. They are 40'E1-30'E2-40'E3 and 40'E1-40'E2-40'E3.

I did the first one yesterday. On the E3 part I was in high E3-zone for about 20min. Gradually rising into E4 for the last 20min.

In your explanation for the workout you say that these workouts will prepare you for the last 10k of the marathon. I figured one will most definitely be in E4 for the last 5k of the key race. I let my pulse stop just under the anaerobic threshold (168, my E4 zone is 161-171).

My question is how you view this. Are you destroying the training effect for marathon endurance or is it okey to do this or should you stricktly stay in E3 for the whole of the 40min? Giving that one is able to recover sufficiently for next workout.

I really enjoy your program. By mixing the easy and hard days I manage to run high mileage without wearing down as I tended to do before. The variation in workouts makes it a lot of fun and I don't get bored. Basically, your program gives me the continuity in training and this is a key to success.

Answer: Hi Goran and thanks for your question.

I would (as much as possible) try and stay in Effort 3. Even though it feels ok to go into Effort 4, it takes away the controlled effect of keeping the lactate at a very steady level right at your lactate threshold. This is from long experience - I've definitely tested the approach of moving more into Effort 4 like you describe, but my experience with it, has left me back to the original approach.

I wish you all the best,
Marius