Click here to see the video. Training for a Marathon. Training Schedule. Diet Tips. Running. 62 year old does 64 pushups. By David Lentz for Reasonandbalance.com.
Okay as promised here is what worked for me when I completed the marathon.
My strategy of late has been to get to my running weight with my weight loss diet BEFORE I started intense training to get my mileage up. And, to do this with MODERATE exercise. Why? My experience has been that if I dieted while doing intense training that one of two things would happen (i) I’d either pull a muscle; or (ii) that I would succumb and blow the diet because of a ravenous appetite (and thus not lose weight).
DIET and PRELIMINARY CONDITIONING
For as long as it took to get into my actual Marathon running weight (the weight at which I intended to run the marathon), I would run every other day, and do light weight workouts (for all muscle groups including arms and absominals) at the gym on the nonrunning days with maybe 15 minutes on the stationary bike on my gym days. On the days I would run I’d do 2.5 to 3.25 miles. (I had a tendency not to take any days off).
Weight loss diet: I am a male who weights anywhere between 245 and 285 lbs under “normal” circumstances (whatever that is). (It’s hard for me to imagine weighing less than 260 lbs if I didn’t work out.) So the caloric intake limitation for me would be a lot different than a 150 lb woman. So the caloric intake limitations that follow would not apply to a female.
(These are rough figures and not precise) Until I reached my marathon weight goal (MWG) I would restrict myself to under roughly 2200 calories per day. (Now mind you, this includes doing the moderate workout schedule above). (Lighter folks maybe out to do fewer calories, and I found that as I got older I needed and could use fewer calories as well)
Note: I always took a multivitamin supplement during training and dieting.
Diet:
No fried foods EVER. (No fried chicken or French fries etc.). White meats (turkey breast, chicken, and fish). (I ate plenty of protein). I ate lots of green leafy vegetable (spinach, kale) and lots of beans. Most vegetables are okay if in reasonable quantitites. Avoid salad dressing (use salsa, or very slight amounts of vinegar and oil). No ice cream, no donuts, no candy, no pizza. Generally, no sandwhiches or burgers. Avoid bread and rolls. No gravy. No mashed potatoes if they have gravy or butter. (Tobassco or a red sauce like Sriracha are okay)
I ate a lot of grape tomatoes as a snack during TV time as a substitute for chips etc.. I also ate sardines as a snack too, or I would put them in my spinach salads. I love sardines in Lousiana hot sauce. One always has to be diligent, but when it comes to sauces I avoid them
Baked potatoes. ( Avoided them, but occasionally I would eat one, but use just salt and pepper and some kind of “red” sauce like Sriracha, or tobassco, or salsa)…no sour cream or butter.
Fruit is healthy but has a tendency to be high in calories. So I would not eat it whole and put just a very few small pieces of fruit in my salad (which since it had no dressing…needed something to give it some flavor). (For example, I used salsa and diced tomatoes and onions to give salads some flavor and moisture.
I love yogurt, but I found frankly that ….in the end it’s like eating ice cream…so I avoided it. That’s true for low fat etc too.)
My strategy for fighting hunger pangs was to eat protein every time I wanted something sweet or a treat. If I wanted a treat it would be broiled chicken at KFC (just the chicken no fixins or sides). I also ate lots of Turkey breast and sardines in hot sauce….AND….I ate a lot of Egg White Delights from McDonalds…(250 calories and protein).
I weighed myself only once per week. My goal was to lose between 2.5 and 4.0 lbs per week. As time went on in the diet the rate of weight loss went down (more in the 2.5 lb area)…which can be a bummer. And every now and then there would be no weight loss….a real bummer. But normally the following week (the weight loss would be a little more) and so it would not disappoint …if I stuck to the plan.
I ate toasted oats (Cheerios) with and without milk. (Without to cut 1/3 of the calories). Cheerios (dry) and grape tomatoes were my TV foods (often along with Sardines in hot sauce). Once in a while…usually on weekends I would allow myself an apple or a banana.
I never drank my calories ! No beer, no alchohol ! (or smoking or any illegal drugs including MJ) for that matter) Water is best. ButI love Coke Zero, that and diet iced tea and drank plenty of it.
Now the above diet is to LOSE WEIGHT.
Once you have reached your MWG and are ready to go on the 13 week training plan then you can allow yourself more calories and indulge a little bit more.
But as we’ve seen in my case, as one gets up in years it is easier to put on weight and one still has to be a little mindful of caloric intake and to get all of one’s essential nutrients….and watch that scale for sneaky weight gain. Younger folks shouldn’t have that much problem, but like I said, older folks cannot be too sure.
As I said, ONCE I REACHED MY MWG then there is a 13 week training plan. [IMPORTANT: in all events, and regardless of the runners weight (and whether they want or need to lose some weight before the beginning of training) the 13 week program below assumes that one can, without overwhelming strain run at least 15 miles per week for two consecutive weeks. Thus, in the interests of disclosure, someone who is totally out of shape and many pounds over weight and/or aged or in poor health cannot reasonably expect to train for or complete a marathon in 13 weeks, 26 weeks or in 39 weeks for that matter …or perhaps ever (please consult your physician) ] This 13 week plan worked for me three times when I was in my late 20s and 30s and then again when I was 40 years old. Once I got over 40 I needed a little longer to train. When I got to 62 for example I found that although I could progress in running for the assigned amount of TIME…that my “mileage” was so low that I was not really completing my realistic mileage requirements to be successful at the marathon….so, as a 62 year old I probably needed both a longer training period AND to spend more time each day than the following schedule would suggest (which was one heck of a lot of time!).
Also, I continued to work out at the gym (lifting weights) even while I was training under the 13 week program. Be careful, however, you can overdo it…and one year (1983) I actually had to stop training for a marathon because I got mononucleosis (very probably due to overtraining).
In any event, when I was successful, I adhered to the rule that I learned that during the six week prior to the marathon that it was advisable to run at least 50 miles per week for 6 consecutive weeks. So, that mean weeks 7 through 12 are designed to get the would-be marathoner close to that. Now for slower runners it might not get you 50 miles per week. Individuals may have to adjust. (My guess is that when push comes to shove if you can get above 45 miles per week using the schedule I set forth below that’s probably sufficient….much less than that and you may have to run a longer period of time.
[I have to say here that I’ve heard all kinds of stories and seen all kinds of people line up for and complete the marathon. I’ve seen folks at the 20 mile marker still running who looked 20 lbs over-weight and like they probably hadn’t worked out a day in their life still chugging along. One guy I used to work with, who was about 40, insisted that all he did was run 3 miles EVERY DAY….(apparently he had been running for quite a few years)…Well, even if he ran 7 days a week that put his weekly average at 21 miles. And he completed the marathon).
So, who knows? All I can say is that there are always “outliers” –statistical anomalies. All I can say is that the schedule below is designed in large measure to not only put a runner in the PHYSICAL condition necessary to complete the marathon, but also, ….and this is very very important….in the MENTAL condition to complete the marathon. Simply put you have to learn to run when you are very, very tired and very physically challenged, (I’m talking here about running for a period of time (that will seem like forever) when it will be physically uncomfortable (muscle tightness is a big one and perhaps some pain). (I’m not going to go into the warning signs here for heart attack, stroke, heat exhaustion, dehydration, etc. etc….. the reader should consult with a physician.) I think that self-assessing your risk of serious injury or even death during a marathon (while you are running) is often very very difficult . Sometimes I can’t even tell you why I quit running (out of a health or potential injury concern) one time but not another. (I’ve had 3 friends die while running, but in all three it may have been congenital.) (Need I say it again? Consult a physician before the race)
NOTE: Why does this schedule call for running a certain amount of time instead of requiring that a certain distance be run? The simple answer is that it easier to run in many different courses and keep track of time rather than distance. It is suggested however that occasionally one run on a track and time oneself to get a gauge of how many minutes and seconds it takes to run a several consecutive miles in a row. This is so you can get better gauge and estimate how far you’ve ACTUALLY run when you run a certain period of time.
With those caveats, the 13 week Marathon Training Schedule is as follows (but again be sure to consult your physician before you ever start training or exercising to see if its safe for you to do so):
The following assumes that you run for 6 consecutive days and then take the seventh day off. Each number of minutes listed (there are six, one for each day) is the number of minutes that should be run for that day of that week. You take the seventh day off. [The following also assumes that you have been running at least 15 miles per week for at least 2 consecutive weeks.] It is probably best to pick a pace that one can run at during the entire period of time assigned below for that run. [This should reasonably approximate the pace at which you would run during the Marathon. [Note this is a training schedule for someone who is just trying to finish a marathon, not for people who have done a marathon before and want to improve their times (and/or advanced or experienced runners and pros). Note: The seventh day of your race week theoretically should match up with the seventh day of your first week, otherwise you are going to have to make some adjustments during the race week. Note that in Week 12 an extra extra long run is scheduled. It’s recommended that there be at least 14 days between this extra extra long run and the marathon.
Minutes Run Each of Six Days
Week 1 25 40 25 40 25 50
Week 2 30 45 30 45 30 60
Week 3 35 50 35 50 35 70
Week 4 40 55 40 55 40 80
Week 5 40 60 40 60 40 90
Week 6 40 70 40 70 40 100
Week 7 40 80 40 80 40 110
Week 8 40 90 40 90 40 120
Week 9 40 90 40 90 40 120
Week 10 40 90 40 90 40 120
Week 11 40 90 40 90 40 120
Week 12 40 90 40 90 40 150* plus* (if you can handle more beyond 150 minutes)
Week 13 40 90 40 90 40 120
Race Week 40 40 30 optional short run off off * Race Day*
Anyway, I really hope this helps someone out there. Stick to it. There’s no better feeling than finishing a challenging run…whether in practice or otherwise. But finishing a Marathon is an experience you will never forget and the whole training-running-marathoning routine can become very, very addictive. Good luck !!!
** All viewers/readers should consult with a Physician before engaging in any of these exercises and/or starting or following any diet in this or any other reasonandbalance.com video or any other video done by David Lentz to be sure that it is medically advisable to engage in or follow any exercise, diet or other activity suggested or illustrated in this video. All viewers proceed at their own risk.