Marathons

Preparing for the Seville Marathon 2023: Part 2

In Part 2 of a series, Fabio Giudici, marathon runner and SportsShoes ambassador, explains his training in preparation for the Zurich Seville Marathon 2023.

Missed Part 1? You can check it out here.

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For his pre-marathon training Fabio wore Mizuno kit, including the Mizuno Wave Neo Wind running shoes, ideal for those looking for extremely versatile, cushioned and responsive shoes, perfect both for preparing for a marathon and for the most exhausting workouts.

As for clothing, Fabio wore Mizuno Drylite socks, Mizuno Thermal Charge BT running leggings, Mizuno Aero jacket and the Mizuno Shadow t-shirt.

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Fabio on Speedwork

“As runners, we’re always trying to increase our base speed and efficiency when running fast. My training schedule includes one track session per week, which could be short efforts like 200m or 400m, repeated 15–20 times to get around 4 km of workload.
As the training phase develops and the volume goes up to include longer-length efforts, I often turn to a session like 5 x (1,200 + 400 m) or three sets of 1,000 – 800 – 600 – 400 – 200 with 200 m jog recovery. The speed increases progressively, a) as the distance gets shorter and b) as you move into the third set. Here, you’re working with a total distance of around 8–9 km at speed.

I always make sure there’s a sufficient warm-up for these sessions, which means I’ll do strides and drills for around 15 minutes. These are my staples: skipping and bounding, straight-leg skips, heel pick-ups, ankling drills, high knees and others.
The drills are all over in a matter of minutes, but they are so useful if you want to work on technique, coordination and mobility.”

Check out the photos below to see how Fabio performs these movements. 

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At the other end of the spectrum, Fabio’s keen to highlight moments of stopping, periods where you pick the sofa over the gym or the track and where there’s next-to-no dynamic work involved. “In the run-up to any marathon, especially in winter, there’s a risk of getting ill or catching a cold. I don’t think I’ve ever got to a marathon without having once had to stop and take a rest due to illness. Is it just bad luck? I don’t think so – I don’t believe in bad luck. I think it’s largely inevitable when you’re pushing your body hard and ratcheting up your training. Just think how much stress you’re subjecting it to. Add in the stress of daily life and it becomes super clear how little time you’re giving your body to recover. By putting it under constant stress, your immune system is under pressure, which means it could crumble against pathogens.”

Now just weeks out from the Seville Marathon, Fabio looks back philosophically at the involuntary rest he took earlier this winter: “I was pretty certain I’d catch something this winter and it eventually caught up with me in the depths of winter. I tried not to get demoralised and was able to keep a rational head; having been so acutely aware there was a risk, it didn’t come as any surprise. I completely signed off from my training schedule for the first few days, taking complete rest. Any time I’d have spent running was dedicated to stretching and mobility—the aspects that often get neglected. After a couple of days I got onto the indoor bike and kept up the stretching. When I felt notably better, I re-introduced some jogging. In total, I lost around 10 days of training but I feel like I countered the negative effects by gaining flexibility and fresh muscles, which I subsequently butchered by doing three hard days with four runs totalling 71 km.”

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Fabio is quick to recognise how hard it can be for a runner of any level to take a step back and accept the time off:

“I really focused on patience and not rushing back to training – I kept my spirits up by thinking about how well the training had gone so far, and not letting myself get upset by any presumed loss of fitness by lying on the sofa and not being outside.

I use an app called HRV4Training, which tracks your heart rate variability each morning, giving you an insight into your general health and wellbeing. I find it so useful as a training tool. Using it long-term lets you monitor how your body is responding to stress – whether it’s training or life stress – and you can really see how the enforced rest from my ‘illness’ affected me and my sleep.”

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Fabio highlights how it’s great to learn from apps but that listening to your body is also critical.

“I think people lean away from listening to their bodies; there’s a generally accepted mindset about being tough as an athlete, where you’ve got to live on the red line and that pain is gain, but I really don’t agree. Your body sends you so many important signals that we should really listen to; it could be asking for more recovery from training, injuries, or illness. Being fresh and fully fit is fundamental if you want to get the best adaptation from training and then be ready  to race. Sportspeople of all levels should consider rest and nutrition as important as their training. I always do my best to follow a healthy and varied diet, eating food that’s as unprocessed as possible.”

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Thank you, Fabio and good luck with the rest of your preparation for Seville!

Interview with Fabio by Emmie Collinge and Phil Gale

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To ensure he has the best chance possible of achieving a marathon PB, Fabio will be racing in the brand new Mizuno Wave Rebellion Pro*, a premium racing shoe targeted at athletes aiming to run 5K to full marathon distance at pace.

Want to know more about this exciting new super-shoe? Then check out our preview article here

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Fabio Giudici is an elite SportsShoes athlete, based in Northern Italy. His road PB's include 32:30 for 10K and 1:12:26 for Half-Marathon and 2:32:46 for the Marathon.

Click here to keep up with Fabio’s adventures.

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