Marathon training sounds hard, but at first it's actually quite easy. Easy six miler here. Some intervals there. A tempo run. Long runs. Eventually there's a time in a marathon training when it just gets real. As I'm writing this, it is the month of August when all three of my 16 mile long runs are scheduled. Also my interval distance has inreased from meters to miles. My tempo run also increased in distance which is now up to 9 miles. The month of August is the month I push through this training summit.
Back in June and July, intervals were in meters: 12 x 400m, 8 x 600m, etc. There was even a ladder interval workout which was 400m-800m-1200m-1600m-1200m-800m. The speed at which I trained for these exercises were based on my marathon goal time of 3:40; so the intervals were set at 7:50 pace. I didn't realize how fast I was really running until I started doing the mile intervals (6 x 1 mile) at 7:13, 7:11, 7:09, 7:05, 7:00, and 7:05. This week's intervals (4 x 1.5 mile) were done at 11:05, 10:57, 10:57, and 11:09. The pace was suppose to be 11:45. Next week's intervals will be 3 x 2 miles. Intervals will top off at 2 x 3 miles, eventually dropping down to 6 x 1 mile before the taper.
This year the tempo runs have been difficult for me to be consistent with the pace of 8:01. I've gone as slow as 8:20 pace; however, I did manage to run at pace twice, and I have run it faster than 8:01 pace twice. Ultimately the tempo runs have taught me to push at a comfortable speed, to find that effecient running form. Tempo runs started at 6 miles back in June, and after three weeks they inrease by another mile until they reach 10 miles, just a week before the taper.
As I have mentioned earlier, the long runs now are up to 16 miles--the longest distance I will run using the Hanson's Marathon Method. Apart from improving my aerobic capacity, the long runs have shown me that I also need to work on the mental side of running long distance. I have been reading and searching articles online on the topic. I try to go over the course in my head as I run from milemarker to milemarker, reminding myself to be present and what it was like at last year's marathon. I had my doubts about running up to only 16 miles for the long run last year, using the Hanson's Marathon Method for the first time. But it worked! I tell myself that over and over again. The 16 miles simulate not the first 16 miles of a marathon, but the last 16 miles. I reassure myself, "I hope the last 16 miles of the marathon actually feel like what I feel on this long run." I was off pace by 11 seconds for the first long run in August--I'"m marking that off as "did not eat spaghetti the night before" error. For the next long run, I will fuel up on pasta the evening before the long run to see if there's any improvement.
The rest of the marathon training is easy runs, which I consider the glue that holds all these marathon elements together (intervals, tempo, and long run). I also take these runs seriously by running them slow and easy. They are part of the principle of the Hanson's Marathon Method: cumulative fatigue. This is why the long run simulates the last 16 miles of a marathon rather than the first 16 miles.
I have my training schedule in my phone and it tells me what my training is when I check my phone in the morning. September is right around the corner which means the marathon is fast approaching. The first two weeks of September will be the tail end of the training. The third week is the taper: no intervals, no tempo, no long runs. All easy runs, including a last 3-miler the day before the marathon which I find interestingly short and sweet.
So that is my update for my training. I sometimes feel crazy for being out there running on the rurals roads as cars pass me. But this is what I do to train, to be ready and prepared to run 26.2 miles in September. Personally, running helps clear my mind and fills my spirit. I'm breathing, churning out the miles in sunshine or rain, while people enjoy their breakfast or morning coffee. Coffee! When I return home, I'm exhausted, but I feel personally accomplished. One step, one day closer to the Montréal Marathon. I will be ready in September because I know I did a workout today.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
Back in June and July, intervals were in meters: 12 x 400m, 8 x 600m, etc. There was even a ladder interval workout which was 400m-800m-1200m-1600m-1200m-800m. The speed at which I trained for these exercises were based on my marathon goal time of 3:40; so the intervals were set at 7:50 pace. I didn't realize how fast I was really running until I started doing the mile intervals (6 x 1 mile) at 7:13, 7:11, 7:09, 7:05, 7:00, and 7:05. This week's intervals (4 x 1.5 mile) were done at 11:05, 10:57, 10:57, and 11:09. The pace was suppose to be 11:45. Next week's intervals will be 3 x 2 miles. Intervals will top off at 2 x 3 miles, eventually dropping down to 6 x 1 mile before the taper.
This year the tempo runs have been difficult for me to be consistent with the pace of 8:01. I've gone as slow as 8:20 pace; however, I did manage to run at pace twice, and I have run it faster than 8:01 pace twice. Ultimately the tempo runs have taught me to push at a comfortable speed, to find that effecient running form. Tempo runs started at 6 miles back in June, and after three weeks they inrease by another mile until they reach 10 miles, just a week before the taper.
As I have mentioned earlier, the long runs now are up to 16 miles--the longest distance I will run using the Hanson's Marathon Method. Apart from improving my aerobic capacity, the long runs have shown me that I also need to work on the mental side of running long distance. I have been reading and searching articles online on the topic. I try to go over the course in my head as I run from milemarker to milemarker, reminding myself to be present and what it was like at last year's marathon. I had my doubts about running up to only 16 miles for the long run last year, using the Hanson's Marathon Method for the first time. But it worked! I tell myself that over and over again. The 16 miles simulate not the first 16 miles of a marathon, but the last 16 miles. I reassure myself, "I hope the last 16 miles of the marathon actually feel like what I feel on this long run." I was off pace by 11 seconds for the first long run in August--I'"m marking that off as "did not eat spaghetti the night before" error. For the next long run, I will fuel up on pasta the evening before the long run to see if there's any improvement.
The rest of the marathon training is easy runs, which I consider the glue that holds all these marathon elements together (intervals, tempo, and long run). I also take these runs seriously by running them slow and easy. They are part of the principle of the Hanson's Marathon Method: cumulative fatigue. This is why the long run simulates the last 16 miles of a marathon rather than the first 16 miles.
I have my training schedule in my phone and it tells me what my training is when I check my phone in the morning. September is right around the corner which means the marathon is fast approaching. The first two weeks of September will be the tail end of the training. The third week is the taper: no intervals, no tempo, no long runs. All easy runs, including a last 3-miler the day before the marathon which I find interestingly short and sweet.
So that is my update for my training. I sometimes feel crazy for being out there running on the rurals roads as cars pass me. But this is what I do to train, to be ready and prepared to run 26.2 miles in September. Personally, running helps clear my mind and fills my spirit. I'm breathing, churning out the miles in sunshine or rain, while people enjoy their breakfast or morning coffee. Coffee! When I return home, I'm exhausted, but I feel personally accomplished. One step, one day closer to the Montréal Marathon. I will be ready in September because I know I did a workout today.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
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