Richard Mohacsi is a Director of Summit to Sea Adventures. He has trained for and finished several endurance events. These include running mid-distance races, half-marathons and full marathons; the 132-km white water Avon Descent in Australia; and a number of cycle endurance races in New Zealand. He has trained in mountain survival and has hiked extensively in the Himalayas.

L?express-outlook continues its 18-week training countdown to the International Marathon of Mauritius in 15 weeks. How are you doing? If you haven?t started training yet, it?s starting to get late.

The marathon is an endurance event and the focus of these programs is Endurance Training. They are for Novice and Intermediate runners who want to finish a marathon in a good time. The very experienced and serious long-distance runner would be running longer distances and may include a mix of Stamina, Speed and Sprint Training.

The goal of Endurance Training is to build endurance. Changes occur to the cardio-respiratory system, nervous system and the muscles through endurance-zone training.

Your cardio-respiratory system will increase the amount of blood pumped with each heartbeat. Fewer heartbeats will be needed to deliver the same amount of blood to the muscles. Your resting pulse will become slower and your heart rate becomes lower for a given running pace. The number of tiny blood vessels in the muscles (capillaries) will increase, delivering this greater volume of blood per beat. The number and size of mitochondria (the power plants of the muscle cells) will increase. You?ll become more efficient at using fat as fuel, decreasing reliance on carbohydrate stores. And the muscles will store more glycogen, making this fuel readily available for long duration and high intensity workouts.

These adaptations will be experienced soon after starting Endurance Training. You?ll go from being out-of-breath to chatting during runs. Your breathing will become easier and your legs less heavy. The effort of running up hills will be a mild increase compared to the huge effort you experienced before. And your resting pulse rate will drop.

Heart Rate is commonly used as the key indicator for training intensity: as the muscles work harder, the heart beats faster. Many athletes use a heart rate monitor to record their actual heart rate. However, if you don?t have a heart rate monitor, use your finger on your pulse on your wrist or throat. Stop running and immediately count the number of beats over the next 15 seconds. Multiply by 4 to get your heart rate per minute. Don?t count over a 1-minute period, since the body recovers quickly from exercise and you won?t get a true indication. It will take practice, but persevere.

Optimal Endurance Training occurs when your heart rate is between 60 and 75% of your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR). Your breathing should always be comfortable and the effort easy. Check the table and mark your MHR and your Endurance Zone.

There are four types of Endurance Workouts: Recovery Runs are slow jogs. Your heart rate must stay below 65% of maximum (it may reach around 70% by the end of the jog). It may be difficult to run this slow at first, but effort must be kept very, very light. The goal is to get the muscles warmed up and blood flowing to deliver essential rebuilding nutrients to the muscles. These runs work out the tightness that occurs from hard running. They last only 30 to 45 minutes.

Long Runs: Their purpose ? to improve endurance. It?s the most important run of the week. Rearrange the schedule if necessary, cut workouts during the week, but run the long run. Keep your heart rate around 70% of maximum. These are slow, steady pace runs for the entire duration of the run. Keep the effort easy: resist the temptation to increase the pace just to get home sooner.

Easy Runs: Their purpose ? to fully develop your aerobic fitness and then maintain it. Heart rate should be around 75% of maximum though it can reach 80 to 85% near the end of the run. Again, one of the common mistakes is running too fast. Keep them steady and don?t get into a pace where your breathing becomes noticeably faster.

Marathon Target Pace Runs: It?s important to spend some training time practising your target race pace. These workouts help the body become more economical at your target pace and establish a rhythm that you?ll be familiar with, come race day.

Don?t forget to warm-up and cool down. The warm-up period should gradually take your heart rate up to the training intensity - don?t start by running up a hill! And cool down should gradually bring the heart rate back to rest levels.

?Keep heart rate at target levels. Or run at a conversational pace?