Running tip Andreas Butz: The regeneration around the marathon

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Fit for the marathon: Endurance running, tempo training, regeneration

Photo: James Manning / dpa

Regeneration – I have to emphasize this again and again, especially for runners who are very diligent in training – is the most important training component. It is only in these valuable phases that the renewal of performance takes place. Ideally, the renewal in the recovery phases goes a little further. By adapting to the training stimuli, the body systems become more efficient. We are getting faster, more enduring, more athletic and therefore better at the marathon.

Stimulate, recover, get stronger

In the Laufcampus method, we distinguish between the three basic training modules of endurance running, tempo training and regeneration – and I am very happy that my two previous articles on endurance running and tempo training have met with so much interest and approval. Here I discuss the training stimuli mentioned in the introduction. Without stimuli, no adaptation, and that takes place during recovery.

About the importance of regeneration

Regeneration refers to the process of restoring physiological and psychological balance after physical and mental exertion. In the recovery phases, the adaptation to the training stimuli takes place, which leads to an improvement in performance. Therefore, regeneration is an essential part of any running training. In particular, cell renewal, metabolism, is responsible for physical adaptation. Optimal food intake is crucial for this process, more on that at the end.

The required duration of the recovery periods depends on the type of load and the intensity of the previous training sessions. Here are some examples:

· Heart rate and body temperature: a few minutes

· Lactate: a few minutes to hours

· Fluid intake: a few hours (after training) to several days (after a marathon)

· Glycogen stores and mineral depots: from a few hours to several days

· Immune system (defenses): several days

· Musculature: several weeks

· Bones, ligaments and tendons: possibly several months

· Psyche: After particularly stressful events such as marathon runs, a recovery period of several weeks may be required.

Rules for regeneration in the training plan

Good training plans take into account the different recovery times. On the one hand, I have set up the regeneration formula "Sum of kilometers run at race pace : 2" for the running campus method, with which every athlete and every coach can calculate when they can train quickly again after a race or interval training. If you pay attention to this, you give your body systems enough time to recover. 6 kilometers of interval training means three days without further tempo training and a half marathon about ten days.

And I have established the rule about the key units. Key units are tempo training, for example interval training, the brisk endurance run (ZDL) and the long run (LALA). The key unit rule states that the day before or after a key unit, no further one may occur. Slow running is possible, please do not train a key unit. Also, this rule is aimed at recovery, adaptation to the training stimuli, your becoming stronger.

If you consistently follow these two simple rules, you are doing a lot of things right. If you are already training according to the training plan, try to recognize the observance of these two rules in your plan. If this is not the case, then please change your running training. Otherwise, you risk overtraining – a persistent form of exhaustion – or injury from overexertion. Of course, I also take the simple regeneration rules for running training to heart myself. This was the only way I was able to run my 2023th marathon in Edinburgh at the end of May 190.

Food for regeneration

I am passionate about running, collecting marathon experiences and I train like an ambitious amateur athlete. But I'm recovering like a pro. That's why I, born in 1965, an entrepreneur who trains early in the morning before work, am largely spared from injuries and persistent phases of exhaustion. Of course, in order to recover professionally, running breaks alone are not enough. Equally important is a wholesome diet.

I have walked an average of about 300 kilometers per month in the last 15 years. That's 3,600 kilometers a year in running shoes. During this time, I did not take any dietary supplements. No vitamins, no minerals, no powdered proteins. Dietary supplements are needed by people who have been prescribed dietary supplements by their doctor in case of illness and to support their self-healing powers. Or people who have deficits in their everyday diet. If you take in enough nutrients and vital substances with your breakfast, lunch and dinner, like me, you have no deficits in your diet and do not need any supplements. And that's exactly what I would like to recommend to you, to take advantage of the opportunities that meals offer us.

For regeneration, the renewal of our body cells, the body needs macro- and micronutrients. And this is what our everyday diet provides. Too little or even poor nutrients provide, for example, light rolls with jam. This means insufficient regeneration and a lack of performance in sports and everyday life. A whole grain muesli, without sugar, but with lots of fruit and nuts, on the other hand, enables good regeneration and full performance. A mixed salad with legumes and olive oil is valuable for regeneration, spaghetti bolognese unfortunately not. A snack in the evening with sausage and cheese may also taste good, but it is really bad for your health. Stir-fried vegetables with herbs, on the other hand, are very valuable. I can warmly recommend the NDR series on the nutrition docs for background information and also the courses of the Vitality Cooking School for practical implementation, if manager-magazin.de allow me this reference to our wholefood cooking school in the Laufcampus Academy.

Of course, with this article on the subject of regeneration around marathon training, I can only touch on the topic of wholesome nutrition on the surface. And I haven't even mentioned the value of sleep for your performance as an athlete. But I would like to recommend that they get into whole food nutrition intellectually and practically. Because as described at the beginning, if you set the right stimuli with tempo training and endurance running, you will only become really good during the recovery breaks.