I was looking at what races I should do before my big goal in the fall. Working backward, the Voyageur 50 mile or Afton 50K (but not both, for once) seemed logical and then I'd have the Superior 50K in May and ignore all the tempting races of April. Then I thought it'd be a good idea to do a more typical marathon training schedule leading into that race, while still keeping up the mileage and long runs for the fall slogfest.
That's when I looked at the training schedules different coaches have created for the marathon and noticed...
I'm already supposed to be in the first week of hard training! Less than an hour after thinking about training, I'm already behind schedule. Great. Okay, I'm fine with that (really). No, no, I mean it.
Oh, who am I kidding? This is not good, especially as I'm probably only in shape to run a 3:30 marathon... or in shape to train for a 3:30 marathon.
Ugh. I feel old and slow. It didn't help that I ran into some old friends this week and I'm the only one who's grey, bald, wrinkled, age-spotted, etc., even though we're all the same age.
And I have a cold.
Still, how's my mood?
I'll teach your grandmother to suck eggs!
So, what in the world will next week's training look like on paper?
M 60 minutes (with short sprints?)
T 90 minutes with 10x3min hard- 3 min easy
W 60 min. with 10 strides at mile pace
Th 90 min. with 8x 200m. uphill @ current 5K pace
F 60 min.
Sa 17-18 miles with last 3-5 @ current marathon pace plus powerwalking to 4-4.5 hours
S 120 min with last 5 miles at increased pace
What'll it probably look like in the rearview mirror?
M 0. Sick
T 30 min, dead on my feet
W 60 min, threw in a fast burst to look good in front of pretty girl
Th 0. Nursing sore back from yesterday's run
F 60 min., slow
Sa 120 min; waited all day for the temperature to rise and the wind to die, then forced myself to do something before nightfall, but it was right after a meal and I didn't feel like it.
S 90 min. Spent day rewriting next week's plans.
First big snow
4 days ago
7 comments:
Don't pop that bubble! You'll let reality in!
O, it's too late! What were you thinking, man? You've been exposed to reality! Now, you'll be able to enjoy Faux News only on an ironic level ...
So sad.
Thanks to you I had "happy happy joy joy" stuck in my head all through my run today at lunch! Now how do I get it out?!?
I think being realistic is a good plan (although I suspect you're actually in better than 3:30 marathon shape). Realistic goals plus consist training should have you in good form by the Superior 50K ... after all, that's still nearly 12 weeks off and it's not like you've been sitting on your butt so far this year!
Let me know if you end up doing the Afton 50K -- I could be convinced to give that one a go. No 50 milers (or longer) for me, though!
Colin, there's two ways to get a song out of your head that work for me. 1) Think of another very repetitious but short song, the ending of which you know (the continuous looping comes from not having an end); I use Popeye, the Sailor Man - though I have to use the complete orchestration and get to the muted trombone "wah-wahhh" at the end. 2) Try singing it to yourself in a Bob Dylan impersonation; it throws off the pacing and rhythm.
Oh, and Jenny read this post and its complaining about getting older and left me a message saying "At least you don't have codger todger!" Now that phrase is stuck in my head.
Okay, if the marathon training plan doesn't work out, you can always be a ghostwriter for other people's blogs :) I could always use a funny writer to spice up my posts. And what's up with guys sprinting to show off (see realistic training plan)? Don't you guys know it just ticks us off! :)
Now the various training books I come across limit interval work to once a week, but looks like you've got FOUR in that one week?
What am I missing?
@Carilyn: If we can't turn you on, we'll do our best to make you mad; it's the guy's code. Not saying it's smart or even that it works - but any reaction's better than indifference!
@joyRuN: Sprints, strides, hills and fartlek: not a true interval workout in the bunch! One hard interval workout per week for marathoners is plenty and the Tuesday workout in that made-up mess of mine fits the bill. The others are just busywork.
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