For experienced/serious marathoners, from sub-elites to pros, I generally see folks hitting their last hard long run workout 2-3 weeks prior to their target race. For sub-elites and elites it seems to trend closer to the 3 week mark where the last big effort is done before a taper of any kind. For the pros, though, I see/hear about many hitting a serious long workout only 2 weeks before race day before starting to think about a taper (source: nearly every pro marathoner on Strava plus what I've heard in podcasts e.g. Sweat Elite -- not just CJ Albertson). By "long hard workouts" I'm talking about 20+ mile runs at 10s slower than goal MP, 16+ mi at goal MP, 25 mile steady runs, and the like. Not your 10-15k volume track workouts.
At a glance it seems the obvious answer would be that professional athletes are, you guessed it, better able to handle hard training than non-professionals and therefore can handle greater volume and intensity closer to their target race because they can recover faster. I wonder, though, what supports the 12-14 day mark as good for a final effort from a physiological perspective?
Recalling what I learned in my junior year exercise physiology class in college ~8 years ago combined with cursory confirmatory googling last week when I thought about this, and speaking broadly, I understand that the body tangibly adapts to aerobic exercise stimulus at a cellular level over the course of 2-4 weeks. The average being the popular 3 week mark we're talking about. Red blood cells also take a few days to progenate in our bone marrow, but if the marrow on a cellular level only adapts to aerobic training after 2-3 weeks then adding a few days on top of that for RBC production seems to be cutting it close.
I'm rambling at this point but I wonder what you all think -- scientifically or anecdotally -- about the 2 or 3 week mark for your last hard marathon specific training effort?
Final marathon specific long run workout - 2 or 3 weeks before race day?
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Anecdote here as a 2:36er. Following the hard lactate style workout 10 days out philosophy, I like to be nearly 100% for said workout. Doing the hardest long effort 14 days out wouldn't give me enough time to be 100% for the hard lactate workout - probably need a whole week which there will still be workouts in that 2.5 week range but just slightly relaxed. Normal LRs and even hard ones during the middle of the cycle I'll give a couple easy days but I want complete absorption for that last one... thus the 3 week taper.
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I think you're right with the science of it all. Volume + recovery time factor in too. I don't think top-end elites are doing their hardest workout 2 weeks out. But they're doing something with quality because they've been doing huge volume all along & can recover from the effort.
If you're doing long runs with 10-15 miles @ marathon pace during your build, maybe 18 w./ 2 x 4 or 5 miles @ GMP is fine 2 weeks out. You've done harder stuff before then. Maybe you're tired from the build and just want to do an easy 17-18 miles.
I think you need to figure out what the athlete needs 2 weeks out. They might be able to handle a big workout but should they do one?
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CJs training is insane and I don’t think he races as good as his workouts. I like 12-15mi at MP 3 weeks out
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Dont forget the special burrito diet helps the pros recover faster .
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You might find this study interesting, OP (it's based on "recreational runners" but it's findings re. marathon taper are interesting):
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