Marathon Training Cycle - Elevator Pitch

When I worked in the business world we had something called an "elevator pitch" which was a brief overview of our company/product that would give someone the key points they needed to know in a quick 1-2 minute period of time (i.e. the length of an elevator ride).   Here is my marathon training cycle elevator pitch:

My marathon training cycles are usually broken into 3 phases: Regeneration, Fundamental, and Specific.

The Regeneration Phase follows the previous training cycle and consists of 2-3 weeks of easy aerobic running, resting and allowing the body and mind to recharge its batteries.  No stress workouts are performed during this phase.

The Fundamental Phase is next and usually lasts between 10-16 weeks long.  In this phase we are working on gradually improving our all around fitness as a runner, with a regular mix of stress workouts focused on improving our speed, stamina and endurance.  During this phase we also work on shoring up any weaknesses we have that may hold us back from further development, and ensuring we have proper muscular balance and biomechanics.  Because of the good mix of workout types, we can race very effectively from 5k to the half marathon distances during this phase.

The Specific Phase is the last phase in the cycle and is between 8-12 weeks long.  In this phase we focus our training on the specific demands of the marathon distance, taking our balanced fitness from the fundamental phase and building it to a peak for the marathon distance.  Marathon pace based workouts will become a larger and more frequent part of our workout mix and we will begin adding more quality into our long runs.  During this phase we are preparing the mind and body to successfully deal with the challenges it will face on race day.  The end of this phase includes our taper and goal marathon.

Racing:  We periodically schedule races or time trials in the Fundamental and Specific Phases to gauge fitness gains and keep a good feel for maximum efforts, usually 1 race every 4-6 weeks during the last 2 phases of the cycle. 

Hallmarks:  During all of our training there are two overriding themes that are the hallmarks of my programs: 

• Consistency:  consistency week to week and month to month, becoming a creature of routine and consistenly following a balanced and sustainable routine within each training phase.
• Effort:  working hard but staying within yourself in workouts.  We gain fitness through a consistent series of workouts done in a controlled and sustainable manner rather than through heroic efforts in just a few workouts.  We train hard but save our racing for actual races.