Confidence-Building Workouts From The Pros

2) Josh Cox’s ‘Marathon Simulation’ Workout

The Workout: “10-12 miles at a good clip (5:45-6:15 pace), then we have the option of changing into our racing flats or just rolling straight into the final 8-10 miles at close to goal marathon race pace 4:55-5:20, capping it off with 2 miles easy. As we near race day we’ll add in a few 200 meter sprints before running the final 2 mile cool down.” To put things in perspective for a mortal runner aiming to run a 2:40 marathon, aim for those first 10-12 miles at 7 minute pace before cutting down to 6:10-6:20 pace for the next 8-12 miles before cooling down for 2 miles.
The Confidence: Cox shares that this workout stands out in his mind because, “It simulates the marathon, mentally and physically, like no other run.”
The Results: Post-workout Cox was able to roll out a stellar 2:13 marathon on three occasions, it then ushered him into winning the 2011 PR Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona enroute to his American Record-setting 50k (2:43:45).
Why it Works: “The workout simulates race day and the fatigued feeling one has from the 30k to the marathon finish…[it’s] a dry run for race day. From what we eat the day before and the morning of, to what we wear: singlet, shorts, socks, etc. The idea is to get race day to be a ‘turn-key’ as possible.”

FILED UNDER: Training TAGS: 5K training / Marathon Training / Racing / speed workouts / Tempo Runs / track workouts