Running your best marathon is about more than just logging miles. In this episode, I’m joined by running coach and author John Davis to dive deep into the periodisation, workouts, and science of marathon preparation and running performance. You can expect plenty of actionable takeaways whether you’re targeting your first marathon, chasing a Boston qualifier, or even thinking about bringing some marathon training principles to your triathlon training.
HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY TOPICS:
- John's five principles for marathon training success
- How to use periodisation for optimal marathon results (and what it means for your training)
- Creating your marathon training plan: structuring weeks, mileage, long runs, and key workouts
- How to build the right base before shifting toward marathon specificity
- When and how to integrate marathon-specific intensity into your training
- Practical guidelines for setting and adjusting marathon race pace
- Taper tactics: why less isn’t always more for marathoners
- Canova inspired special blocks and double threshold training
- Listener questions
DETAILED EPISODE SHOWNOTES:
- We have detailed shownotes for all of our episodes. The shownotes are basically the podcast episode in written form, that you can read in 5-10 minutes. They are not transcriptions, but they are also not just surface-level overviews. They provide detailed insights and timestamps for each episode, and are great especially for later review, after you've already listened to an episode. Naturally, as great as they are, they do not cover absolutely everything in as great detail as we can do in a 45-90 minute podcast episode.
- The shownotes for today's episode can be found at www.scientifictriathlon.com/tts472/
LINKS AND RESOURCES:
- Marathon Excellence for Everyone - John's brand new book
- Running Writings - John's website
- All of John's calculators
WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NEXT?
If you enjoyed this episode, I think you'll love the following episodes:
- John Davis – Coaching, physiology, and running calculators | EP#464 - John's previous appearance on That Triathlon Show, with more general running topics (less marathon-centric), and a special focus on some of the sceince and physiology of running, as well as John's excellent tools and calculators
- Q&A on run training (part 1) | EP#385 - listener questions, and answers from Scientific Triathlon coaches Mikael Eriksson and James Teagle
- Q&A on run training (part 2) | EP#388 - listener questions, and answers from Scientific Triathlon coaches Mikael Eriksson and David Dhooge
- Michele Zanini (part 2) | EP#394 - a deep-dive into Renato Canova's training methods, from somebody who spent a lot of time working together with Canova
- David Roche – The training and racing strategy behind his epic Leadville 100 course record | EP#444 - inspiring episode about ultra-running, with lots of interesting thought experiments for any endurance athlete
You can find our full episode archives here, where you can filter for categories such as Training, Racing, Science & Physiology, Swimming, Cycling, Running etc.
You can also find separate archives for specific series of episodes I've done, specifically Q&A episodes, TTS Thursday episodes, and Beginner Tips episodes.
LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON:
- The Scientific Triathlon website is the home of That Triathlon Show and everything else that we do
- Contact us through our contact form or email me directly (note - email/contact form messages get responded to much more quickly than Instagram DMs)
- Subscribe to our Newsletter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Learn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals.
HOW CAN I SUPPORT THAT TRIATHLON SHOW (FOR FREE)?
I really appreciate you reading this and considering helping the show! If you love the show and want to support it to help ensure it sticks around, there are a few very simple things you can do, at no cost other than a minute of your time.
- Subscribe to the podcast in your podcast app to automatically get all new episodes as they are released.
- Tell your friends, internet and social media friends, acquaintances and triathlon frenemies about the podcast. Word of mouth is the best way to grow the podcast by far!
- Rate and review the podcast (ideally five stars of course!) in your podcast app of choice (Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the biggest and most important ones).
- Share episodes online and on social media. Share your favourite episodes in your Instagram stories, start a discussion about interesting episodes on forums, reference them in your blog or Substack.
SPONSORS:
- Precision Fuel & Hydration help athletes personalise their hydration and fueling strategies for training and racing. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event. That Triathlon Show listeners get 15% off their first order of fuel and electrolyte products. Simply use this link and the discount will be auto-applied at the checkout.
