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Nailing your peak week long run, and the long runs in a distance race training block is important. They are one of the cornerstone components of a training plan, and getting them right not only builds your aerobic capacity and conditioning but also gives you the confidence that you can cover the distance on race day. Lucky for you, Queens, we take away the guesswork with our running programs in Femmi and make sure you get those key long runs done at the perfect time for race day.
Race specific peak week
Depending on the distance you’re racing, your peak long run week will vary slightly to ensure you’re properly tapered.
Let’s look at the half marathon training plan first. Running 21.1km (or 13.1 miles for our American girlies) is no small feat. Femmi plans progressively increase your load over time, starting close to what you’re currently running per week and building up your capacity toward your peak week. A half marathon taper should begin two weeks out from race day, therefore your peak week of training should be the week before your taper. For example, if you’re on a 12-week plan, week 10 should be your biggest week of training.
For a marathon, the structure is similar to the half marathon; however, your peak long run will be three weeks out from race day, not two. The reason we place it further out is because the long run in a marathon block will be longer than the half marathon block and will therefore put more stress on your body, meaning you need additional time to absorb that load, recover, and then rebuild so you feel fresh on race day.
Ability specific peak week
Your peak week is when you’ll complete the longest run of the program. Depending on your ability, some more experienced athletes who consistently run longer distances may hit their longest run earlier in the plan and then maintain it until taper weeks. For beginner and intermediate runners, the long run will gradually and safely increase until peak week.
There are so many factors that go into creating a safe running program for women. For beginner athletes especially, it’s more important to progress gradually and stay injury-free than to force one massive long run. Although that might feel counterintuitive, a helpful way to think about it is to focus on your training cumulatively rather than on a single run. You’ll gain more by safely stacking kilometers week after week than by ramping up too quickly just to squeeze in a 20km run before a half marathon. That one big 20km effort could put your body under excessive stress and actually hurt your performance, whereas a 13km long run followed by a 15km the next week is far more beneficial.
Trust the process
It’s easy to forget how tough running is on the body and how much time your muscles and bones need to adapt to the impact. Trust the process of cumulative, consistent training over time and let that consistency fuel your confidence rather than relying on one singular run. Running really is about playing the long game, avoiding injury by being smart, and staying consistent.
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