303. How to Plan a Marathon Breakthrough (A Case Study Approach)

This week’s episode is a repost from the Adaptive Zone Podcast, hosted by Matthew Boyd. Matt is a physiotherapist and running coach who specializes in helping runners overcome injury while setting new PRs. His podcast addresses runners and triathletes to help them move from injury and rehabilitation into performance.

On the podcast Matt gives Jason a hypothetical case study for “Carrie”, a marathoner with a 3:48 PR who is looking to go sub-3:45 but can’t quite seem to get there. She runs 2 marathons each year and averages between 40 and 60 km (25-37 miles) each week.

Matthew and Jason look at how Carrie’s training can change moving forward to help her earn a new personal best in the marathon. While they focus on two possible overarching changes in training, we also dive into the details, including:

• Why time away from the marathon can make you faster
• The difference between fast and hard running
• How both mental and physical recovery can help you improve
• The principle of specificity in race training
• Why hill workouts prepare you run faster on the flats
• Treating racing as a skill that can be improved

Our case study is applicable to the training of so many runners - you’re bound to learn something that helps you improve!

Links & Resources from the Show:

• Learn more about Matt
• Listen to the Adaptive Zone podcast
• Learn more about how to engineer a marathon PR
• Let me help you reach your goals

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