Before I jump into how training went on week two, I want to make a few notes about how I am adapting the training plan from Hanson’s marathon method to match my fitness level at the start of this training cycle – since my Chicago registration happened a bit last minute, I signed up about 19 weeks before race day, which did not give me much time to ramp up my weekly training load. For most of 2021 I was averaging about 25 miles a week, but had been derailed for two weeks before training started, first when I threw out my back for a week, and then when my knee started acting up while on vacation.
I did not want to jump from 25 miles weeks to 35+ mile weeks, because I know from previous training that my body needs to ease into training load increases like that. So, while the Hanson’s plan calls for 6 days of running a week, for the few weeks I decided to cut one of the 6 mile “easy” runs down to 3 miles, and make one of the easy runs “optional,” depending on how I was feeling with the weeks training load. This would allow me to increase my mileage by about 10% per week, which I know is more my speed.
I also modified the tempo runs at the start of the program – Hanson’s marathon method training plan starts tempo runs at 6 miles., holds you there for three weeks, and then adds a mile and repeats that cycle. As I started this training plan, I was really only doing easy runs and 6 miles at my goal tempo pace did not seem attainable. As marathon training approached, I started throwing in a mile at a sub-9 pace during these runs, so that I could start to get the feel for running fast (for me) again. When my training plan called for me to start adding tempo runs on week three, I decided to start them up with a two mile “tempo” effort, and then bring them up by a mile each week, rather than pushing for a fitness level that I just was not at. Since the whole tempo run was mean to be 6+ miles, I tried to keep the mileage at the right amount, just with a slower pace for some of the miles, so that I could focus on building up the load before adding speed.
These may seem like big modifications, but I felt like they were necessary if I wanted to ease into this training plan and not wind up injured. As I get deeper into training and I gain fitness, I hope to ramp up the training back to the full schedule. Could I just opt for one of the “lighter” Hanson’s plans? Sure. But I would really like to hit my “sub-4” marathon goal, and I think this plan gives me the best chance at that.
So, without further ado – onto week 2!
I opted to sleep in on Monday morning, and figured that I would get in some miles after work. When I got outside I somehow settled into a decent pace, and actually felt really good with. It was one of those runs where it just felt like things were flowing, and when I returned home I had a full blown glazed doughnut look going. It was a short run – just a 5k, but it was a reassuring reminder that there are days that running really feels good. Nothing like a run that leaves a smile on your face to start the week.
The next morning was not as magical – in fact, I kinda wanted to throw the whole marathon training plans into the trash. It was meant to be the first speedwork session of this training cycle – my calendar told me that the goal was twelve 400m repeats, at a 7:50 pace, with a 400m recovery between each effort.
It was a humid morning. I got through the warmup mile with no issue, and then hopped into pushing the pace for the first interval. I went a little too fast on the first one, and had to remind myself to reel it in – there were a lot of repeats ahead of me. The second one didn’t feel as good as the first, and by the end of it I felt like I was going to puke. That was promising.
I took my recoveries as needed, made pit stops for water during the rest intervals, and I honestly wanted to quit. I told myself to just make it to six repeats. I could quit after six repeats if I really needed to. I got to six repeats, and I told myself I would make it to eight. It wasn’t too many more than six – even if I needed to slow down the pace, I would make it to eight.
My recoveries turned into walks more than jogs, and there was a lot of self-encouragement happening. I knew that I could decide to quit and try the workout again on another day. But I was so close to finishing the workout – if it was a friend struggling through their workout, I would encourage them to do what they could. The intervals slowed down, hitting in the low 8s instead of the high 7s like they should. But I got through 12 of them and was elated that the workout was DONE. It wasn’t perfect, but I didn’t quit.
After a hard Tuesday, I was happy that Wednesday was a rest day. I needed time to mentally recover from Tuesday’s workout as much as I needed to physically recover. I took my day off from running but did complete an hour long strength session to check off a cross training session from my weekly goals. I created a nice strength stack with peloton, and worked my way through a strength for runners class, some core work, and some total body workouts.
Thursday meant another quality run on my calendar – this time the first tempo run. While the schedule said I should be doing 6 miles at an 8:58 pace, I set my goal for two miles at that pace, sandwiched between a two mile warm up and a two mile cool down. By some small miracle, I even managed to get up early enough that I got out to run before work. It was under 60 degrees outside, and it was a comfortably hard run. I struggled to get the pace under 9 minutes for those two “tempo” miles, but did my best to work towards the pace goal. I was happy with my overall effort at the end of the run. I was a little discouraged that two miles felt so hard, but I am trying to trust the process and choosing to believe that my fitness will catch up with my goals, eventually.
The end of the week brought another no-run day for me, and an hour long strength stack. I like to start with a “strength for runners” class, and then make my way through other muscle groups. I sometimes dread strength training, or worry that it will make my runs harder, but I know that I need to take time to focus on it so that I can support my body as much as possible.
I just could not get my body moving on Saturday morning, and decided to commit to a treadmill run – since I had the time I headed over to my parents house so I could run on the peloton tread. I set up a stack of classes, since I wanted to total 6 for the day, starting with a warm-up class, then a 45 minute endurance run with Becs, and a 20 minute fun run with Matty.
The endurance run had a surprising number of hills sprinkled in, and at times I felt like I was just trying to hang on as I moved through the miles. I know that hills are important though, and that even though I didn’t always want to listen to the incline instructions, I clicked up as they directed, and made my way through the treadmill “hills.”
Now Sunday, Sunday was a great day. After a long year apart from the Merrick Bicycles tri team, I finally got myself up and out for a group run! Was I a little late? Yes. But thankfully Katie and Michal were nice enough to wait for me.
We made our way through the rolling hills on the Bethpage bike trail, and were grateful for every bit of shade that the trees were willing to give us. We ran a total of 7 miles together, swapping stories and comparing fueling plans as we ran. When we stopped to stretch at the end of the run, another group of runners from the tri team found us, and since they had a few more miles to run, I decided to join them for their last 3 miles so I could get up to 10 total… because I really thought that I was supposed to run 10 miles that day. It wasn’t until I got home and checked my schedule that I learned I only needed to run 8…. Whoops!
The last three miles were somewhat strenuous, but I talked with Rob and Laura about their training goals – an Ironman and a ultra marathon! Makes my fall plans feel like chump change, but I love hearing about how people prepare for these big challenges!
All in all week two felt pretty solid, even if the summer humidity started to rear its ugly head. I was discouraged early in the week after a tough interval workout, but was so happy to finally make it to a group run again, and I hope that I can make it to more this summer!