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When it comes to training for a marathon, many people probably use the monthly running distance as their primary metric.
Since you're running 42 kilometers, it's natural to prioritize distance to ensure you can run it without any worries.
However, if we only consider mileage, there's something missing: durability.
As mentioned last time, LT was the highest intensity I could run without feeling too strenuous.
If distance is your primary consideration, then running at an intensity near your lactate threshold (LT) will allow you to cover the most distance.
I actually run at an intensity close to my lactate threshold (LT) even in real marathons.
In that case, training that covers distance without getting too strenuous, like at lactate threshold (LT), would be effective.
That's fine, but there's another way to look at it. As we discussed last time, running up to the lactate threshold (LT) is primarily done using slow-twitch muscle fibers, and from the LT onwards, as the intensity increases, fast-twitch muscle fibers also begin to be used.
The effects of training basically occur in the muscles and muscle fibers that are used.
In other words, training at an intensity up to the lactate threshold (LT) is not very effective at strengthening fast-twitch muscle fibers.
You might think that since marathons are run at lactate threshold intensity, you only need to train slow-twitch muscle fibers.
However, by training fast-twitch muscle fibers, the number of mitochondria in these fibers increases, giving them the properties of slow-twitch muscle fibers. In that case, even when running at your lactate threshold (LT), the fast-twitch fibers that have become slow-twitch will also be active.
Therefore, an increase in lactate threshold (LT) speed means an increase in marathon pace.
Therefore, training at an intensity exceeding the lactate threshold (LT) to give fast-twitch muscle fibers the properties of slow-twitch muscle fibers is also effective in marathon training.
Training at intensities equivalent to 2.5 mmol or 3.5 mmol of blood lactate concentration, which is commonly practiced in Scandinavia, is one such training method that focuses on intensities exceeding the lactate threshold (LT).
Furthermore, there's also high-intensity interval training. You might think that's irrelevant to marathon running.
However, training that involves repeating high-intensity runs of a few tens of seconds to a minute with short rest periods increases mitochondria in the muscles.
Of course, because it's high intensity, it also affects fast-twitch muscle fibers.
Even more interestingly, although high-intensity running primarily uses carbohydrates as its energy source, it has been reported that it also increases the body's ability to utilize fat. Therefore, incorporating this type of training effectively into marathon training can be beneficial.
This may be because the lactic acid produced in large quantities during high-intensity running acts as a signal that also has an effect on the body's ability to utilize fat.
There isn't one single, absolute right way to train, so the important thing is to do the training that you feel is right for you. If you have a lot of slow-twitch muscle fibers, you'll probably find it easier to focus on LT (lactate threshold) running and increasing your distance.
Also, consider incorporating some training at an intensity that exceeds your lactate threshold (LT).
On the other hand, those with a speed-type physique, who have a high proportion of fast-twitch muscle fibers, might consider incorporating high-intensity interval training from time to time as a change of pace. Of course, no matter what kind of training you do, be careful to avoid injuries.
Information about courses at Kanagawa University
As part of a tie-in project with the Yokohama Marathon, I will be giving a lecture at Kanagawa University's extension course, focusing on the topics I've written about in this column, over three Saturdays in November.
For the third session, I'd like to invite you to hear from Hiroaki Furukawa, who I assisted with watering the Hakone Ekiden, about his actual marathon training and other topics (fee applies, advance registration required).
asian games
This year, the Asian Games will be held in Nagoya. This will be the third time Japan has hosted the Games.
The first time was in Tokyo in 1958, which was before I was born.
The second time was at the Hiroshima tournament in 1994. I have some personal memories of that tournament.
However, it wasn't the tournament itself that I was involved, but rather the fact that I was in charge of the administrative work for the international conference on sports science (Asian Conference on Sports Science, Hiroshima '94) that took place before the tournament.
Back then, it was common to have academic conferences related to sports science before major tournaments like these.
The photo shows the Hiroshima International Conference Center, which was the venue for the event.
