After 6 months of not using this website, I figured I might as well document some of my training in a format that allows others in on longer term updates and thoughts rather than just Strava posts. Maybe it's narcissistic of me to think anyone out there wants to read about what I'm doing, but I'll put it out there and you can choose for yourself whether or not you have any interest... By no means am I a coach. I can hardly coach myself at the moment, and my fitness has been quite the series of peaks and valleys over the last 5 years. But, as I try and experiment with what works for me, my hope is that I can collect/provide references and resources in an accessible format.
I'm currently 42 days out from CIM. This will be my second marathon, but I have no intentions of a PR in December even though it is "the fastest course in the west." A couple of setbacks and living in a new location have taken more of a toll than I originally planned for. I split my head open on a long run on one of the only downhill sections of road in Houma, Louisiana and ended up mildly concussed with 5 staples in the back of my head (by far my worst immediate running injury to date). Then, I bounced back too quickly and the "terrible toos" got the best of my IT band. With that being said, I'm looking forward to running with some friends and am aiming for a sub 3 hour performance as a building block for faster spring performances.
I finally hit my first 50 mile week of the training block this week and was happy with a half marathon time trial I put myself through on Saturday to test the waters. I finished in 1:23:45. The pace felt great for the first 11 miles, and I had to keep reminding myself to take it easy. I paid for my excitement in the last 2 miles and felt like I lost control a little bit despite being able to stay on pace. My goal was to get in the 6:35/mile range. For nutrition I had a Maurten gel 100 caf 100 just before starting with a few swigs of Gu Roctane drink mix, and one Gu Roctane gel around mile 8.5-9.5. I'll definitely need to practice more carb consumption in the coming weeks.
Below are a few subjects that might be useful for others:
I'm using Jack Daniels' Vdot formula to get training paces. The time trial I ran puts me at a 55.4 Vdot which means I should theoretically be able to go 2:54:53 at CIM. Here's a link to the calculator below, but there's also a phone app. I don't live and die by these numbers but it's nice to have a ballpark of where to start.
The Daniels' Running Formula is also my training bible, or at least has been for the last year and a half. I think my high school coach probably used 60-70% of Daniels' in his training concepts and I reacted well to it at the time. College is too much of a fever dream to remember what my training was based on. If you have any other references that work for you, please let me know!
I was too lazy to build my own training plan for my marathon block leading up to CIM so I used this free plan. It's nothing crazy, but has the basics of 1-2 workouts a week plus a long run. It also says advanced at the top to make you feel like less of a hobby jogger. I have it saved in my favorites photo album for easy access.
My shoes of choice this season have been the Altra Torin 5 (they're on the 6 now), Nike Invincible 2, and the Adidas Adios Pro 2 and 3. The Altras feel like they keep my feet and calves working in a positive way and I have to be relative cognizant of my form. The Invincibles save my legs on longer days or when I'm feeling beat up, and have officially replaced the Clifton 8 in my line-up. I suppose racing shoes are a big personal preference, but if you haven't had a chance to get some adios pros on your feet and aren't in love with the new alpha flys, it might be worth a try.
If you made it this far, thanks for looking at the first post in this "series." I'd love any feedback you're willing to share; especially if it's that I would be better off investing my time in something else!! If you're a runner/endurance athlete/currently training for anything and have something you'd like to share or document, I'd be ecstatic to share this platform with you. If you have anything you're interested in hearing about, don't hesitate to reach out. Thanks, and I hope you have a great week.
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