Marathon Training Cycles

So part of the attraction of running is the science behind the training and the analysis of its effectiveness.  Some would say I am perhaps a little over analytical and should just “run more” but to each their own.

As I come to the end of my Ottawa training cycle I’ve done some comparison to my last marathon training cycle (for Edinburgh in May 2008).  Both were 5-6 months but different in composition.

Since I was coming back from surgery and 4 months of little to no running I knew I was not going to be able to do the same high mileage as I did before, so I laid out a plan that built up the miles gradually and was more reasonable in maximum mileage on the big weeks. In an effort to not get injured again I included a rest day every week.  And to compensate for the lower mileage I had more focus on speed with regular track workouts.

Chart shows the weekly mileage with Ottawa in green.  Mileage was much lower, but more consistent.  As I wasn’t doing any big weeks over 75 miles I didn’t beat myself up so much, and as result didn’t need to take as big a cutback on my easy weeks.  Plus it let me keep relatively fresh for the faster stuff. 

Even though mileage was lower, I still kept the 20+ long run as a staple of the plan.  In 2008 I ran 9 runs over 20 miles and it really helped build the endurance to finish strong. This time I still had 7 over 20, and 6 of those were in consecutive weeks, and a couple were fast (I did a 22 miler at the same pace as I raced Edinburgh last year). The other weeks I was running somewhere in the high teens every Sunday, so I think that I’m covered there.

Another core, every-week-workout, was the tempo run.  Did about the same number, but this time I went up to 7 miles Vs 6 last time, and regularly ran them under 6:30 pace.  For shorter tempos I was faster at 6:13, whereas last time I never got down below 6:20.

And speedwork was night and day.  Only 3 small track workouts last year, but 10 this time, with some pretty quick stuff (1200s in 4:21 = 5:50 pace).  And because of that speedwork I was able to crush my old 5k/10k and half marathon race times, taking over 2 minutes from the half, almost 2 from the 10k and a minute from the 5k.  So speed should be covered too.

Overall I’ve run much more consistently, haven’t had many days when it was a struggle and also run a lot more of my runs on hilly trails.  I feel in very good shape and the weekly rest day has helped keep any niggling injuries at bay.  I finally feel that I am running with no Achilles problem for the first time in about 2 years.  The sports hernia is fine, I get the occasional “feeling” in the neighborhood but nothing even close to how it was before. Compared to 2008 I think I am in better shape (which is good news as I’m trying to run faster this time around)

So the training has been good, and my various charts, data and race times suggest that a sub 3 hour marathon is a possibility, but definitely not a given.  The difference between 2-something and 3-something for a marathon is such a big difference to me that it is my only goal this time around and I’ll be disappointed if I don’t achieve it.  Backup goal, (to be used only in case of emergency), is a PR which means I need to beat 3:06.  I am pretty sure I can do that as I’ve practically done that in several training runs.  However, if I switch to the backup goal it’ll probably be because the wheels have fallen off at about mile 20 so all bets will be off.

Course is described as honest.  It’s a loop so there is no net elevation gain.  It’s got some small hills but nothing major.  Weather is a variable and weather.com shows Ottawa as pretty random (50s-80s, rain-sun, calm-wind) so we’ll see what race day brings although I will be shooting for 2-something pretty much whatever the weather. (There will be no excuses about the wind and running a safe 3:10 this time).

Only a few days to go, and it all comes down to whether I can run 26.2 miles 14 seconds per mile faster than I did last time.