Running debates

www.sport-fitness-advisor.com

If you go to this site and look up the beginer's marathon training schedule you will see the plan that I am roughly trying to follow.
Its basic and has many of the same elements as you will see laid out in other plans such as increasing weekly long runs and a fartlek two out of three weeks. It also has a bit of cross training to mix it up.

In contrast to this plan here are some interesting articles that dispute the precepts underlying the kind of guide I am using.

www.active.com
go to - running
then - Articles
then - Eleven_major_marathon_mistakes
and - 27 Ways to run better every day

The points of contention are:
-walking with running
-weekly long runs
-water and energy drinks
-stretching or not stretching


Walking with running:
One side says it helps prevent injuries, helps people finish marathons and in some cases even imroves people's times.
On the other side they say this notion is absurd, how can you get to A to B faster by doing part of it slower.
I think that both are right. The first aproach is probably the better one for most of us beginners or relative beginners. If you walk for part of the distance you reduce the repetetive strain and doing it segments gives the runner breaks in which they recover a little force, all the while advancing towards there objectives (improved health and the finish line). It possibly even helps certain people that might have run the whole distance but finished with a longer time because their running was hampered by more pains and strains than they would have had with walking breaks and a faster rythm during the running segments which acount for the majority of the time( most are 10 min running for every 1 walking).

Weekly long runs:
The vast majority of marathon preparation plans include 1 increasingly long run each week followed by a tapering off period just before the marathon. The argument raised against this type of preparation is that it does not give the runner sufficient recuperation time to be effective during their other training runs where they should be running harder and faster over a shorter period of time/distance. They argue that there should be fewer long runs to favour higher quality short intensive runs.
I can't say that I have much of an opinion on this. I try to do a little of both. If that helps me finish a marathon great and if not it should probably be good for my health and make me a better all around runner anyways. At least this is my present reasoning.

Water and Energy Drinks
There is one camp which thinks energy drinks should be drunk to the exclusion of water because water dillutes their effectiveness and absorbtion and many people take to mutch water and over hydrate.
I am yet to take an energy drink while running and I am hesitant to start because I don't like sugar, I easily develop cavities and at heart I am a bit of a naturalist. I can more easily imagine myself in the no gels or energy drinks camp than in the opposite -drink energy products to the exclusion of all else.
My biggest marathon fear is having digestive problems mid route, the wine, cheese and raw oysters in the Medoc marathon will already be big enough challenges for this.

To stretch or not to stretch?
Personally I warm up and cool down by walking and I do a bit of stretching before I hit the shower. I have heard people with equally impressive credentials argue vehemenently on both sides of this debate and I don't know what to make of it.

I would be interested in hearing other views on this.