If you're running a marathon this spring, you're about to enter the most critical – and difficult – four weeks of training, when 1) your weekly mileage is at its peak; 2) your motivation may be flagging; and 3) you're most likely to get sidelined
goal pace) except for two miles run in the middle of a mid-week four-miler at marathon goal pace. “Even this small amount of goal-pace running is important because it physically and mentally reinforces the pace you want to run on race day,” says Baldaro
can slow your finish time by several minutes, and heat or cold by even more. A survey of marathon finish times suggests that 12°C is the ideal temperature, a temperature of 0°C or 25°C adds seven per cent to your time, and if the day hits 30°C, you can
inspired the trend in 1954 with epic sessions like 10 x 200 metres followed by 50 x 400 metres – a combined 13.67 miles of speedwork. Ambitious runners the world over have aspired to that imposing standard ever since, in a quest for that elusive PB
– and it shows. When children draw stick figures, you’re the model. Just right Twice a week, spend about 30-45 minutes in the gym. Choose weight amounts that you can lift 10-12 times before fatiguing, and do a variety of exercises and stretches for upper