Peak Week Training Secrets: Mileage, Racing, and Recovery Before the Big Race

Peak week is the most demanding part of any training cycle — but how much mileage is enough, should you race, and how do you recover properly?

In this episode, we dive into peak week mindset (00:00), share our most inspiring runners including Courtney Dauwalter and Cam Levins (02:00), compare old-school training intensity with modern approaches (08:30), and break down ultra vs. marathon peak week mileage (14:15). We talk about structuring peak week around intensity vs. volume (19:25), the debate on racing during peak week (25:10), racing strategy and whether to go all out or tempo it (31:40), and why practice races matter for strategy and logistics (35:00). We also cover running tech, recovery lessons (37:20), avoiding peak week burnout with sleep and nutrition tips (40:00), the importance of avoiding common mistakes like “licensing” (47:15), plus gear news with the ASICS MegaBlast & SonicBlast review (51:00), our new “7 Runners You Meet on the Sidewalk” reel (53:20), and a Couch to 5K video for beginner runners (55:00).

This episode is sponsored by Skratch Labs. For a free starter pack (just pay for the shipping!) go to the link below and enter the promo code:

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https://www.skratchlabs.com/products/hydration-bundle?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=Marathon-Handbook&utm_campaign=August&utm_term=hydration-bundle&utm_content=2025-5

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