Between the Lines: Dave Fereday

What is your current training program for the London Marathon? 

I adopt a 26-week program for the late April event starting in October. During the summer months, I play a lot of golf, a bit of tennis, and I have a large allotment with two gardens to look after. I have a weekend house at the seaside (or by the ocean, as they say in the States, I believe), so training is limited to just a few miles a week in the summer. 

My training philosophy is to gradually build up the mileage in 4-week stints as follows: 4 weeks at 20/week, then 4 weeks at 25, and so on up to 30, 35, 40, 45 miles with the last 2 weeks tapering down to 25, then 15 for the final week. 

The problem this year was that I caught a virus over Christmas causing four weeks of no mileage - my plan was in tatters. Knowing the adage not to try and get back to good mileage immediately after a problem, I revised my plan for the remaining 15 weeks to try to get back on the original plan - gradually. 

So I planned my training weeks as follows: 15, 20, 25, 30, 30, followed by 4 weeks of 35, 4 weeks of 40, and finally, the 2 week taper. Currently I am on the first week of the 40-week block having been able to train according to the revised plan. I feel that I may not have necessarily lost out on the 4-week illness period as my times for set courses are similar to last year. 

As I am now 74, it is best to be prudent. Therefore, two rest days are planned in the weekly program which, at the moment, consists of two long sessions of 13 and 10 miles at 20 seconds per mile slower than marathon pace; a speed session of either 2 miles at 10K racing pace with warm up/down miles; or six 800m repetitions at 5K racing pace. Then, over the other 2 days, I run 12 miles split approximately 8 miles at 10  seconds per mile slower than marathon pace and a 4-mile tempo run 20 seconds per mile faster than marathon pace. This gives me a good balance of different speeds.  

My trusty Garmin is set to show the average speed during a session, so it is like a governor. If I fall behind the planned speed, that is a cue I am being lazy so I must up the effort. If I am ahead of the planned speed, I cut off the gas a bit. 

An important session I always plan for approximately two weeks before the  marathon and have been doing this for years is to do a half marathon at the planned marathon pace. This is an excellent indicator of how race day will feel - except, of course, there will be another 13.1 to do. However, with a number pinned on and the euphoria of the day, keeping going at the same pace is usually no problem.   

A great test of fitness is to calculate the average number of heartbeats per mile during a session. Now that I am race walking, my heart rate is slower - around 125 at 12:30 per mile, giving 1563 beats per mile. As fitness increases, the beats per mile reduce. When I was running five years ago, cruising speed was around 8:30 with at a heart rate of 155 giving 1318 beats per mile. This shows that race walking is harder work than running. Race walking is like driving along the motorway in first gear - you cannot change up a gear to gain efficiency of motion.    

• Analyze the training from one year to the next and estimate an even pace that will keep you going the whole way yet leave you completely exhausted at the finish.
• There must be a structured training plan that must be followed through thick or thin, though caution must be exercised if tiredness creeps in - no gain in doing tired miles.
• Keep fairly religiously to the planned pace - never exceed it by more than 5 seconds per mile unless, in the later stage, you still have loads of gas and functioning legs.
• Prepare the mind during the week before the marathon: In bed at night, imagine floating through the first 10 miles and then at 13.1 thinking, "This is where the race really starts - the first 13.1 is nothing. Then on to 15. Getting a bit tough, but soldier on to 20. Now the last bit."
• You know there will be pain, but just relish it while passing the shoals of "plan-less" fools who are supposed to be running, and you are only walking.
• Then the last mile - just go for it.           

What advice do you have for the older runner? 

I always thought that once past 60 I would stop running and concentrate on other things in life, but now the philosophy as one approaches our maker is to keep on, even if it means just fast walking. There must be a challenge, however simple.

If you like long, slow distance, do not be put off by your elders saying you are too young for that. As long as you enjoy it, do LSD. After all, young African boys routinely run 10K to and from school each day.