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Photography by Charlene Stokowski

Winter marathon training begins with a trip to the mountains.

It is absolutely shocking that a runner willing to travel could participate in a marathon any weekend of the year. Choosing the marathon is easy; however, training for one during our cool falls and cold winters is tricky. Even more difficult is training the body and mind to reach peak fitness for a personal best or Boston qualification.

Over the years of training many endurance runners, I have created a number of unusual training methods that will compliment and enhance a runner's fitness when, quite frankly, the weather is just too miserable to accumulate mileage on the roads. Here are some of the techniques that you can try when preparing to run an off-season marathon. Some of these suggestions are new to most, while others are simply an important review. Either way, if you incorporate all these ten suggestions, you are likely to be in great marathon shape and on a level running field as those who live in warmer climates!

Photo by Charlene Stokowski.

1) Try hiking or snowshoeing to expose the body to long, continuous, low-impact training. Take it one step further and do these activities in the mountains where you can accumulate vertical gain and develop more connective tissue and muscular strength. Once you achieve durations greater than five hours or vertical gain greater than four thousand feet, start adding weight to your backpack. I just carried forty pounds of water (best to carry water so you can unload if necessary) up and down four thousand feet for five hours in preparation for my October XTERRA World Championship.

2) Use the treadmill for overspeed sessions to coordinate fast running and to overstress the cardiorespiratory system in optimal atmospheric conditions (warmer and moist air). Set the treadmill at two-per-cent grade and a speed that will likely cause fatigue in four to five minutes! For most people, this would be your 1,200-metre, time-trial pace! Do not do more than twelve minutes of total work at this intensity. Start at nine minutes total work with your running interval between ninety seconds to two and a half minutes long. For instance, six sets of two minutes, with enough rest to allow your heart rate to drop to sixty per cent of your maximum. After it reaches this number, take an additional minute, then right into your next interval!

3) Create a long indoor training session by combining indoor biking, step machine, treadmill, and elliptical machine. I suggest the total duration starting at two hours and peaking at four hours! Create a circuit such as thirty minutes of each activity done twice! After that is completed, add leg weights, but with a high-repetition, low-resistance protocol, such as three sets of thirty to forty reps on a leg press, hamstring curl, leg extension, and calf raises. Make sure you take a day off or swim the next day!

4) Implement double midweek outside runs adding to the weekly mileage necessary to run well. Try running in the morning for forty-five to ninety minutes, then another run sixty to ninety minutes at least four hours later on the same day. Both runs can be low intensity at first; however, as you near six to three weeks out from your marathon, you can dedicate the afternoon or evening training run as race pace or half-marathon interval speed sessions. You could even use a treadmill for the second run.

5) Completing mile repeats at half-marathon speed still remains critical for marathon racing. Keep the intensity below your anaerobic threshold (slower than ten-kilometre race pace) when running in the colder temperatures. Choose roads that are predictable and provide good traction. Build up to 12 X 1 mile, starting at six, then eight, then ten, and finally twelve, and keep your rest under two minutes. Try to remain relaxed and smooth. Often your interval performances are slower than in the warmer months due to additional clothing and poor running traction. If the weather is colder than minus-fifteen Celsius, I suggest doing mile repeats indoors on a track. If you can, change running directions after each mile repeat to prevent possible injury. If you have to use a treadmill, set the grade at one per cent, but keep in mind that the speed on the treadmill may not be accurate. Most treadmills are rarely calibrated.

6) Run long every two weeks outside. Dress warm and even change your clothing midway through the run to stay warm. However, you can run these long-distance runs twenty per cent slower than your marathon-goal performance pace. It should be quite slow! Try to build up your mileage so that four weeks out from your marathon, you are able to run eighteen to twenty miles. If the temperatures are colder than minus-fifteen, I suggest not running longer than two hours. You can always start outside completing two hours, then finish the final six to eight miles on a treadmill or indoor track. The ground vibration forces are unique in cold temperature, and most often the body is overstressed when you exceed durations greater than two hours.

7) As you get within four weeks of your marathon, add marathon race pace within your long run. You could go outside for the first sixty minutes to run slow, then onto a track or treadmill for the final hour to ninety minutes, running at your exact race pace. Stay outside, if possible, unless the conditions are too cold (minus-fifteen or colder) or slippery. Be very cautious of running your entire sixty to ninety minutes at race pace on a two-hundred-metre track. You might be setting yourself up for injury, even though you change directions. Choose the lanes that are longer around with less severe corners.

8) Plan a running (training) camp in a warmer climate if possible. Between six and four weeks from your important race, maybe choose a place you can train in warmer climates. Training should include other modalities such as cycling and swimming, if possible. Research the location well by e-mailing local runners through running clubs. You are looking for great trails, run-friendly routes, avoiding pollution and traffic, and running tracks that the public can access. Try to avoid locations where it may be too hot or humid to train every day.

9) Of course, eat well throughout your training. Focus on essential fats in your diet along with natural proteins that have good sources of heme iron (red meats). If you are vegetarian, make sure you are getting enough iron in your diet with your food combining or supplementation. Running high mileage is very stressful on your blood health and cardiovascular system.

10) Pamper yourself whenever possible to keep the body happy and supple. Under high training volume, schedule a massage once per week. You can also use other modalities such as acupuncture, personalized stretching sessions, yoga, and even intravenous therapy to keep your hydration and immune systems optimal.

Even though the weather might present training challenges, by being creative you can achieve great fitness for a stellar marathon. Try these ten tips over the next few months to race faster this winter. Always listen to your body, and be preventative rather than reactive in keeping it healthy. Enjoy your winter racing, and see you on the pathways!