Within a 12-16 week marathon training block there are many options you have in order to ensure you get to the start line in peak condition and without injury. Deload weeks are a great example of one such choice.
What is a deload week?
Not everyone has used or heard of deload weeks, and of those who have, you might not have considered the different ways to achieve a deload.
Deloading just means a reduction in training load. Our training load is a combination of training volume (how much we’re training, often expressed in time or miles) and training intensity (how hard we’re training). Typically speaking we see deloading achieved by reducing time or miles only, with the same intensity applied. You could however, run just as many miles or for just as long, but at a lower intensity.
Should you lower intensity or volume?
One of the main reasons people need or want a deload week is because they’re busy or tired. Both valid reasons. To that end, I would suggest a reduced volume, allowing you a more relaxed evening or two, or the option to have a lay-in and catch up on some important sleep.
If you want a deload week but being active is part of your mental health routine, then keep running but lower the intensity by taking it a little easier.
Which is the better option? I’ve yet to find any conclusive studies on the topic, but my instinct is that reducing volume will be more beneficial as it will still involve challenging sessions which will push you, but with more time to recover. That said, the reasons for wanting a deload must take priority.
Deloading by default
Some people always include 1-2 deload weeks in any 12-16 week programme, and that’s fine of course, but my question with any change to training stimulus is “is it needed?”. Whilst it may be needed for the individual, it isn’t a necessity for most amateur athletes, not with certain needs being met anyway.
There’s also a good chance that somewhere within marathon training you’ll have a naturally lower training load at some point anyway, for Spring marathons this often comes from getting a cold, and in Autumn it’s usually related to a Summer holiday.
How to dodge the deload
I try to avoid deload weeks for myself and my clients since one of the biggest predictors of faster maratons times is more miles run. One week is unlikely to make much of a difference, but if you were to miss your target by a few seconds, you’d almost certainly be cursing the easy week you took, especially when it’s avoidable from an injury prevention and fatigue perspective.
It all comes down to one of my favourite topics… active recovery. This encapsulates many areas.
Eating healthily for physical and mental health (yes, include some enjoyable junk every now and then). Sleeping with enough quantity and quality to fight fatigue. Doing some form of strengthening exercises regularly to reduce injury risk. Stretching, massage or foam rolling to keep muscles and connective tissue moving well.
If you do even a few of these things, you’ll likely not need a deload week.
That’s my advice. Assess whether you’re deloading by default. Ask yourself what you can do to dodge the deload. If you need to deload, work out why you need the week and take the best type of deload to suit your struggle.
Written by Kyle Brooks, Running Coach based in Norwich, Norfolk