Marathon Training--April 2017

The chase continues!  I am both encouraged and discouraged by the Bearathon half marathon results.  Encouraged because I ran slightly faster than the pace needed to qualify for the Boston Marathon--indicating that I have what it takes to hit that pace for an extended period of time.  The Bearathon with it's long section of steep hills was more difficult then other courses where I hope to run a qualifying marathon.  However, I am discouraged because I was SO physically and emotionally drained after running the half marathon.  I cannot currently fathom continuing at that effort for an additional 13.1 miles.  I have run marathons and ultra marathons before but never at such an extended fast pace.  I need to increase my endurance in order to hold the pace for distances over 14 and into 20+ miles.

My training has now become a cycle of speed and endurance.  There are several key workouts I do and will continue to do for the next couple months.

1. Fartleks: literally translated "speed play" a fartlek workout is limited only by ones imagination.  My fartleks consist of alternating a hard (about 90% effort) with a slow recovery run.  For example, I'll run five minutes at 5K pace followed by 5 minutes of a slow jog, followed by 4 minutes at 5K pace then a 4 minutes jog...continuing down to 1 minute.  Other Fartleks may be 30 seconds hard run followed by a 30 second float, repeated for 20-30 minutes.
2. Recovery runs: these are easy runs, done 1-2 minutes slower than marathon pace.  I do two or three recovery/easy runs a week.  These are vital to the training because they allow for healing from a tough workout and teach the body to run on tired legs.
3. Intervals: When coaches want to punish runners, they schedule intervals.  An interval is a hard run for a specified distance followed by a specified recovery period.  My interval training sessions consist of a warm up, then a half mile at 5K pace followed by two minutes of a slow jog, repeated ten times.  These work outs are tough.
4. Tempo Runs: this is a run at marathon pace for an extended distance.  Generally I warm up then run for 75 minutes at (or close to) marathon pace.  I usually cover 10-11 miles in these workouts (then rush home to shower and get to work!).
5. Long runs: My long runs consist of 16-20 miles.  Often, I'll run the first eight miles at an easy pace, the following eight miles at marathon pace and the final miles at an easy pace.  As the training progresses, I hope to consistently do 20+ mile runs at a pace about 1 minute slower than marathon pace.  I think for me, this workout is crucial to building my endurance level and teaching my body to handle the distance without freaking out.
6. Rest: while it may seem silly, this is another vital part of the training program.  Running seven days a week is too hard on my body (at least at the moment).  I need at least one, sometimes two full days rest each week to allow my body to recover and heal from the workouts.  The worst mistake one can make in marathon training is to overdo it.

My weeks alternate between intervals one week and tempo runs the next week.  Each week has a long run done on the weekend and two or three easy runs along with a fartlek workout--which is usually a shorter distance day.

I have followed this program for about a full month.  It is still too early to tell if I am getting stronger and faster but another test will come soon.