12 Week Marathon Training Blog: Week 5
Found bikes & lost pedal wrenches, a retro on the first 4 weeks of marathon blogging, adapting training plans to life, an automatic potato peeling demonstration
With a month on the books since I publicly divulged my deepest running insecurity, I’m well underway to conquer the trail marathon that I’ve signed up for twice and never managed to run. With the race 8 weeks out from today, it’s time to take a look at how the previous 4 weeks of training can inform the next.
👉 Recap: check out this project’s summary page if you happen across this marathon saga after the fact. I’m keeping the page updated weekly with links to each installment in the series.
Or, start at the beginning:
Like many runners treading the tightrope of training and life, I’ve already began deviating from the training plan that I notarized two weeks ago. I didn’t expect to follow the plan to the letter, but I did anticipate the capacity to adhere to it for more than a handful of training sessions.
Some people may be able to print off a 12 or 16 week marathon training plan PDF and maintain strict adherence to the prescribed schedule.
That’s not reasonable for most of us. We have too many responsibilities, contending with the balance of work, family, eating, and the occasional night terror alongside our endurance aspirations. We’re not professional athletes, which ultimately means most of us nap far less than we would prefer.
Rather than squeezing a training plan into my life, I’m opting to integrate one into the existing chaos. I’m shifting workouts around during the week. The plan isn’t rigid. I’m reassessing what’s next for the coming week every Sunday, based on how the previous 7 days of training played out. If the plan is progressing well, why not align the occasional session with the stars, good vibes, and sunshine?
Tip: Relegating your rest days to bad weather is the ultimate hack to carving out more couch time.
Summary: I’m using my original 12 week training plan as guidance, and adapting it to adhere to my weekly life-requirements. It’s easier that way.
I’m assigning a “B-” to the first four-weeks of training. All things considered, the past several weeks turned out “all right.”
Here’s the week-by-week overview and letter-grade:
Week 1: Grade “A+”
The first few weeks of a training plan always feel like the easiest. You’re excited and eager. The ambitions palpable, it’s still possible to fuel a training session on motivation alone.
Week 2: Grade “B”
Life tries creeping in at the seams. In my case, the lifestyle-creep successfully seeped — my training for the second week fell 20% short.
I’m blaming an exhausting work trip along with hurricane induced travel delays. Had I woke up earlier on Monday morning, I could have squeezed another run in before heading to the airport.
On the other hand, I didn’t catch a cold while traveling, and I finished out the week strong. All things considered, the week turned out okay.
Week 3: Grade “A+”
I ran my plan. Another near perfect week on the logs. Confidence is building. I feel like I may actually be able to pull off the full training cycle.
Week 4: Grade “D”
It all starts to fall apart. I push through a nagging Achilles during a midweek training run. I wrote about the experience over here.
Shutting out my Achilles’ screams required three days off from running. I dedicated the first two days to rest and recovery. I ventured out for a two-hour bike ride on day three, which turned out to be an appropriate use of cross training.
I woke up on the fourth post-injury morning pain-free. Having the day off made testing out alternative trail shoes too attractive to pass up, so I went for a slow 90-minute trail run in an old pair of Hoka Speedgoats that never made it outside. We’ll see how my feet, ankles, and calves fair come tomorrow.
The Pros Closet didn’t lose my bike, but I did lose my pedal wrench.
I planned on taking my new-to-me tri bike for a test ride during my Achilles recovery. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find my pedal wrench while fogged by the morning pre-ride-get-out-the-door haste.
I spent the first half hour of my ride reflecting on possible pedal wrench hiding spots. When I got home, the first thing I did was reach into the car’s driver-side back seat pocket. Low and behold, a pedal wrench.
I blame the lost pedal wrench for not being able to take the new bike for a spin. To be perfectly honest, I’m also a bit scared of throwing down while on the tri bars. Speed is a sufficient thrill to overcome the insecurity, but I’m going to ease into it.. or maybe I’ll go for a KOM on the first ride. TBD.
My mom and mother-in-law both have an affinity for kitchen gadgets. Here’s the automatic potato peeler that our house received as a gift last year:
Happy trails!