Know Thyself: My Unfinished Plan For A Sub 2:35 Marathon
I coach runners… it’s what I do and it’s who I am — I’ve coached pr’s out of milers, 5k runners, Half Marathoners, Marathoners, Ultra Marathoners and you get the picture. I’ve just never been as good at coaching myself, I can give advice and hold other people accountable to their actions but when it comes to myself I all to often let myself off the hook.
So why is this? Ultimately it’s probably because I’m a little gun shy — I’ve burnt myself out on being too aggressive so I’ve strayed too far to the other end of the spectrum; too little racing, too few workouts and ultimately too many off days.
What if I go back to what works… what I know works? And what if I can add some of what I have picked up from years of trial and error with my own athletes, countless books and advice from my coaching mentors… well here goes nothing.
The Goal
Let’s start with the marathon itself, I’ll be going home to STL to race on a course I know all too well — GO! St. Louis marathon. As it stands I have 24 weeks until race day which means I have plenty of time to build a proper base and throw in some progress check races along the way.
Back To Basics?
This of course meaning going back to some of the things that worked in college when I was running my best. First (and this may seem minuscule) I’ve decided to leave Strava and take my training log back to RunningAHEAD — this is the training log I used in college and I just love the functionality of the site sooooo much more than Strava. A training log is sacred and it should be used by you to analyse your training and understand why and how you are feeling how you are feeling. I could care less about kudos on my daily easy runs… ultimately I use my training log to gain confidence in my training — I always round up on distances and I run by effort instead of by a watch for the most part. Training logs can be scrutinized but ultimately it is the race result that matters most! we all know a workout warrior whose races don’t add up to their training.
My Training vs. My Athletes training
I will train myself differently than the majority of my athletes, not because I will be using different training methods but because I have workout & race anxiety (if we’re being honest this is why I haven’t excelled post collegiality). I train my best when I don’t have a set schedule — I will give myself 4 quality days in a 10 day cycle: Tempo Run/marathon pace, 5k or cv, Long Run and an efficiency workout. I don’t plan those out because some days when my anxiety is high there is no way I will workout well and a hard workout will exacerbate my mindset especially when I can’t hit my paces. I do train some of my athletes similar to this but there is also knowing that I take a while to recover from longer efforts and I can bounce back from speed work a lot sooner than a tempo run.
Potential Challenges
The biggest hurdle at this point is managing my miles, the goal is to hit 95–100 miles but I also have to manage my hips/glutes/sciatica issue which I have talked about before. I need to be doing 2–3x a week of mobility drills as well as biweekly form checks to make sure I’m getting proper knee lift and ankle rotation (which has been a big efficiency problem for me in the past).
The PLAN
Just like with my athletes I will update you every month with my next training block. I usually dish out 2–4 weeks at a time because everyone responds to training different and I need to respond accordingly — there is always a frame work but the specifics are NEVER set in stone.
3x10 day cycles with the ultimate goal of averaging 5:55 pace for 26.2
- Cycle 1: 83 miles w/1 off day
- 5 x 5 minutes @ tempo w/1 minute rest between reps — 5 minutes rest — 200m tag
- 3 x 200,200,400 @ mile pace — equal rest & 3 minutes after each 400
- 8 x 800 @ cv pace with 90 seconds rest between reps
- 13 mile long run
- Cycle 2: 91 miles w/1 off day
- 20 minute tempo run — 8 x 100 meter strides
- 4 x 200,200,400 @ mile pace — equal rest & 3 minutes after each 400
- 3 x 10 minutes @ tempo pace w/ 2 minutes rest (last rep can be a cut down)
- 14 mile long run
- Cycle 3: 105 miles w/1 off day
- 6 x 5 minutes @ tempo w/1 minute rest between reps — 5 minutes rest — 200m tag
- 4x (4 x 200) @ mile pace — equal rest & 3 minutes after each set
- 3 x mile @ marathon pace w/ 2 minutes rest
- 15 mile long run w/6 x 30 seconds on 90 seconds off over the last 2 miles
How Can You Get Involved?
You can always follow along with my training here — and if you have any questions about your own training you can always email me (justin@anthrophysique.com) or reach out to me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
