Jesse:
Since you "cheated" and posted the same thing as CR, I'll do the same. ;o)
Runawayjesse:
Well, I was sort of avoiding this message because (1) I wanted to see if someone else responds, and (2) I didn't want to give you a half-a$$ answer (seriously!).
Coordination phase is just that--to coordinate what you've got. You need to look at what you need (in the case of marathon, obviously, it will be a bit stamina-heavy) and what you've so far developed; and coordinate those accordingly.
When you look at Arthur's marathon schedule, you need to remember a few things: (1) back then, marathon races were won somewhere around 2:15~2:20, (2) Arthur's runners were probably the strongest bunch other than fast emerging Ethiopians, and (3) they were basically track runners who ran a lot and didn't think much of running 26 miles. To me, even Frank Shorter wasn't a pure marathon runner. He was a track runner who ran a lot. Most of his marathons, execpt perhaps for the Montreal Olympic marathon, he slowed in the second half. Of course, he never had any competiton (in most cases) and could afford to slow in the last 10km. I still think he would have been the first man running 2:07.
I think in most cases with most people, you also got to realize that Arthur's runners were so strong that they would think nothing of going out for a 10-mile run in the morning. In other words, even the day they'd do 20X400m, they would never neglect the volume side of weekly running. I think it's a big mistake trying to do workout like 20X400 when you feel absolutely shatterd and can't really do much more a few days that follow. In other words, I think it would be so much better if you look at workout days like 20X400m in Arthur's schedule as more or less leg-speed days and try to work on your anaerobic development by doing 5 and 10k time trial or tempo runs.
So, by the time you start the final 6 weeks--or however many weeks you may need (this is an important commnt, buddy!), you should have developed your good speed (runnnig technique), anaerobic capacity or the ability to run fast (solid) 5k and 10k, and the ability to go the distance. So the final phase of the program should be devoted to combining these developments so you can run the entire distance without apparent flaws. All this time, of course, you don't want to lose the most important ingredient--endurance, so you continue doing lots of nice easy jogging including the weekend long runs. And how you put them all together is entirely up to you.
I think the potential downfall in the original schedule is, like I pointed out, many people forget how strong Arthur's runners were and how much they "jogged", and many lose good condition while engaging "anaerobic phase" by doing repetitions and some shorter time trials (5k and 10k). So by the time they start the coordination phase, they need to get their mileage back up again. I almost feel like it may pay to start including some long tempo runs during the anaerobic phase, all along being very cautious about not overdoing things (reps and long tempo runs...take it easy!).
So if you stick with the original schedule, you'd be doing fast 20~25k every week for the coordination phase (4 weeks) along with 3000~5000 time trials. I'd rather see this stretched out 8 weeks or so (every other week). You see, Arthur said 10 weeks of "track" schedule. It wouldn't have to be 10 weeks. If you can get your anaerobic capacity to maximum, meaning, if you do any more than that, you'll start to slide downhill; then do it 3 weeks instead of 4. Or if you need 8 weeks for coodination instead of 6, so be it. If you need 4 weeks to coordinate and 4 weeks for (marathon) taper, then make it 8 weeks. 10 weeks is just a guide.
It seems that most Japanese runners would take 3 months (12 weeks) for what they call "leg-building phase" which is more or less equivalent to Lydiard's marathon conditioning; then take 3 months (12 weeks) for more marathon specific training. Now coach Sakaguchi, coach of Tsuyoshi Ogata (the bronze medalist at Helsinki WC), told me that he does basic Lydiard. They would "run a lot" for 3 months, then do what he calls "anaerobic" training--specifically, 10X1000m at about 2:45~2:50 with 200m recovery. But that's their 10k pace, so basically they are doing 10k tempo with 200m recovery jog breaks. That's not that too hard to do and probably, strict physiology term, not even anaerobic. But that's their sharpening. And he said he would do 30k time trial 3 weeks before the marathon. That also depends. I know Fujita (2:06 guy) likes to do 30k 2 weeks before. Now a word of caution, though... You have to be careful--I still believe he (Fujita) screwed up at Fukuoka 2 years ago because he did this too fast. That WAS his peak. If you're doing it and know it's going too fast and, yet, you absolutely feel great, the coach side of you should stop you after 15k or so and instead should go for a long easy jog. This is because you don't want to get your speed back too quickly. You need to get to the start line feeling slightly sluggish. If you feel ready to go and ready to fly, you'd most likely bonk at about 15 miles or so. You should feel a bit heavy. This means you need to restrict your sharpening work and "put the rid on" by going for a long jog. Now, you'll have to put them all together based on your personal information. It's not good following Arthur's schedule blindly; do coordination for 4 weeks just because it says 4 weeks. You may need 6 weeks or you may need 3 weeks. You may need 2 weeks taper, or you may need 4 weeks taper. But either way, you need to put them all together, and the best way to do it is to do a long tempo runs of 20~40k at close to the marathon pace--I'd say add something like 20~30 seconds per mile???
You should feel a bit heavy a few days before the marathon. Then you'd want to do a mile or 2~3k tempo (not necessarily all-out) 3 or 4 days before the marathon to get the speed back in your legs. I think Seko liked to do 2000m, I belive, 2 days before. It's not the time to go after your PR. It's to get the rhythm back in your legs so the final time is almost irrelevant. Tosa did 5000m (on the road) 4 days before Boston. So the pattern is a bit different from the individual to individual, situation to situation.