Bed and karaoke wrote:
Thank you for the correction agc5k.
So in the fundamental phase, for marathoners, are we talking about 10k pace/type workouts?
I thought Mutai's mileage was much higher? At least in that Boston Globe article his easy days were a 2hr/1:50 double?
The Boston Globe article was misquoted (language barrier issue). In multiple sources he says 110-125 mpw is his training. So at the very highest training replace the 1:50 with 1hr to 50 min (50-60 min) and then it is accurate for his peak training.
For the marathoners, the fundamental phase stuff depends on coaching philosophy. Many top marathoners(like Mutai) are self coached. So for Mutai he just does his workouts a little shorter volume in the fundamental phase and either more recovery and/or slower(he never has addressed this in an interview).
Some coaches, like Canova(according to a runningtimes article) has his athletes do 5k pace work in the fundamental phase and adds volume, reduces recovery, and makes it more marathon specific as the race gets closer. But that is just one methodology.
Another good one, as is likely the case with Mutai/Kimetto/Kipsang, is just shorter workouts at a relaxed pace with longer recovery. As the marathon gets closer speed up the workouts, shorten recovery, and add volume(not all at once of course).
The thing, is you have to experiment and find what works for you individually. Kipsang's schedule is different than Mutai and Kimetto because he responds better on his schedule than their schedule.
That's why many top international marathoners are self coached, because they have a few seasons to experiment. Obviously, they have role models and other influences, but they experiment and adjust accordingly.
Early in his career, Mutai used to run everyday but had injury issues frequently. When he started resting on Sunday he never had injury issues and had more time to spend with his family (that is why he only runs once on Saturday, so after a morning workout he has the entire weekend with his family). By staying healthy, and being more fresh after a day off, he was able to string together lots of consistent hard work and have a meteoric rise to prominence (to date) at its peak in 2011.
Another example, is Brad Hudson. He's a coach now, but he started running when he was a kid because it was fun. By 6th grade he did 100 mpw, and over 120 mpw by 8th grade. After HS senior year I believe he ran 2:17 marathon(too lazy to look up the old flotrack interview right now to check). But Brad found out that for him just lots of mileage at any easy pace is all he could do. Sure he needed speed work and such to get 100% race-fit, but he'd get burnt out or injured after only 4-6 weeks of workouts so he was very cautious about doing workouts. A bit on an extreme example, but just shows you're an individual and need to find out what you respond well to.
Ultimately, to be success, emulate someone or a group of athletes. Draw on your past experiences and write up a program using elements of your role models' training program but tweaked and adjusted to your needs. Each season experiment along the way until you find the perfect program for you as an individual. If you're lucky, you stumble on it within 1-2 seasons. If you're unlucky, it may take 3-5 years.