08:22 AM EDT on Tuesday, July 18, 2006

The marathon training cycle, says Danny Gough, can be viewed in three segments that are separated by seamless transition periods.

"The first third consists of building a mileage base, which will increase strength and conditioning and prevent injury during the latter stages of the training cycle," he said. "The second third combines task-oriented strength workouts and extended long runs while maintaining your increased weekly mileage. And the last third of the training schedule involves increased recovery between workouts and tapering your weekly mileage before your target marathon."

Weeks 7 and 8 represent the seamless transition period between the first third and second third of the 20-week training program Gough has designed to prepare runners planning to run the Breakers Marathon, on Oct. 21 in Middletown.

Weekly mileage will not increase as much during this stretch, which should feature some "task-oriented strength workouts and extended long runs" in the form of either a weekly tempo run or fartlek run.

"For a tempo run, take the middle miles of your run and do them at a pace within 10 seconds of your projected marathon pace," Gough said. "If your projected marathon pace is 8 minutes per mile pace, then you should do your tempo running at 7:50 to 8:10 per mile. Work toward trying to maintain a few miles of tempo running on the 10 seconds faster side of your projected marathon pace."

When doing fartleks -- a training tool developed in the 1930s that comes from the Swedish word for "speed play" -- "alternate between running considerably faster than your race pace and running at a base pace -- which is usually at or slightly slower than your projected marathon pace -- basically continuous running with significant 'pick-ups' throughout the run," Gough said.

"The distinction between fartlek training and interval training is that fartlek training is continuous running, whereas interval training has designed recovery breaks between each interval," he added. " Fartlek training is a popular training technique for long distance runners because it simulates putting you in the same fatigued, oxygen distressed state you will be in at the latter stages of a marathon without having to run 20 miles first to get to that state."

Gough suggests trying one of his favorite fartlek workouts -- what he calls the "3-2-1 workout" -- in which he does "pick-ups for 3 minutes, 2 minutes and 1 minute" making sure that "the continuous recovery running between each fartlek is half the time of the preceding pick-up."

Varying where you run, finding softer surfaces and even doing some of your training on a treadmill, at this point in the training program can help bring back the bounce in your step, Gough said.

"Soft surface runs on grass, trails or a track can absorb some of the constant pounding that harder surfaces, such as concrete roads and sidewalks, don't provide relief from," he said. "Similarly, the deck on a treadmill is designed to provide shock absorption and has 'give', which can be a great way to bring some life back into mileage weary legs."

More information about the third annual Breakers Marathon and Nifty Fifty Ultra Race Weekend can be found at http://www.breakersmarathon.org.

FIRST-TIME MARATHONER

WEEK 7 (24 miles): Monday -- off; Tuesday -- 4 miles; Wednesday -- 4; Thursday -- 4; Friday -- off; Saturday -- 8; Sunday -- 4.

WEEK 8 (25 miles): Monday -- off; Tuesday -- 4 miles; Wednesday -- off; Thursday -- 4; Friday -- off; Saturday -- 14; Sunday -- 3.

FIRST-TIME AND INTERMEDIATE-LEVEL MARATHONER

WEEK 7 (27 miles): Monday -- off; Tuesday -- 4 miles; Wednesday -- 5; Thursday -- 4; Friday -- off; Saturday -- 10; Sunday -- 4.

WEEK 8 (31 miles): Monday -- off; Tuesday -- 4 miles; Wednesday -- 5; Thursday -- 4; Friday -- off; Saturday -- 15; Sunday -- 3.

VETERAN TO COMPETITIVE MARATHONER

WEEK 7 (37 miles): Monday -- off; Tuesday -- 5 miles; Wednesday -- 6; Thursday -- 5; Friday -- 4; Saturday -- 13; Sunday -- 4.

WEEK 8 (39 miles): Monday -- off; Tuesday 6; Wednesday -- 5; Thursday -- 5; Friday -- 3; Saturday -- 17; Sunday -- 3.

cthorn@projo.com / (401) 277-7340