Philadelphia Marathon training log

[DC Runner]

Hi all - I decided to start a training log for Philadelphia (November 20, 2011). Philadelphia is one of my favorite marathons and this year will be my third year running it. Last year, I went for a big PR and after about 7 miles, starting feeling pain in my lower abdomen. It forced me to slow down but I continued and ended up finishing the race. My pain was diagnosed as psoas tendinitis, which left me unable to run for five weeks. I have all of my pain issues resolved (as much as they can be for a marathoner) and I'm going back to Philly for a big PR.

I ran a spring marathon and ended up barely getting a PR and then went on a 6-week bicycle touring trip with no runs during the trip. I ran an 8k race two weeks back into running and was surprised at my time (29:55) after very little mileage, so I'm pretty optimistic. Most of my running up until now has just been building the mileage with no quality runs. I started adding workouts two weeks ago. I'll start this log with a summary of last week.

Week ending August 21, 2011:
Mon - 8 miles easy pace
Tue - 12 miles easy pace with 2 miles hard uphill
Wed - 8 miles easy pace
Thu - 1 mile w/u, 3 x 2 miles (5:47 avg, 6:03, 6:11) with 3 minutes recovery between intervals, 1 mile c/d
Fri - 8 miles easy pace
Sat - 9.5 miles easy pace
Sun - 18 miles easy pace with a 2-mile fast finish

Total: 71.5 miles

Summary - I had a decent week, but I really fell apart in the workout on Thursday. My legs are still getting used to the mileage and the speed is not there yet. Hopefully the legs come around soon.

[soniczip]

good luck with the training what's your marathon pb?

[DC Runner]

Thanks, sonic!

My marathon PB is from Boston this year - 2:41:36, just beating my time from Boston the previous year by 7 seconds.

[HumanGazelle]

Wow, inspiring to see an elite log!

I am amazed that your rest days are an easy 8 miles!

[DC Runner]

HumanGazelle - Thanks, but I'm far from elite. I'm just a dude who's obsessed with running.

Here's my training for the week ending August 28, 2011:

Mon - 8 miles easy pace

Tue – AM: 3.5 mile w/u, 6 x 800m (2:36, 2:36, 2:36, 2:40, 2:45, 2:45) with 2 minute recovery, 2.5 mile c/d;
PM: 11 miles easy pace

Wed – 5.5 miles easy pace

Thu - 1 mile w/u, 2 x 3 miles (5:55 avg, 6:30) with 4 minutes recovery between intervals, 1 mile c/d

Fri – 8.5 miles easy pace

Sat - 18 miles moderate pace

Sun - 14 miles very easy pace

Total: 82 miles

Summary - This week was about the same as last week with two workouts and more miles. My legs are still just getting used to the beating and aren't ready to turn over very quickly yet. Usually, it takes a while for me to really start nailing workouts and it's not a gradual change - more like a switch being flipped. I'm hoping that switch gets flipped by the end of September. I'll keep at it.

[DC Runner]

Week ending September 4, 2011:

Mon - 8 miles easy
Tue - 3.5 miles w/u; 6 x 1,000m (3:15, 3:24, 3:23, 3:27, 3:25, 3:32) w/ 2 minutes rest; 2 miles c/d
Wed - off
Thu - off
Fri - off
Sat - off
Sun - all-day cyclocross clinic

Total: 17.5 miles

Summary - The week started off pretty good, but after the workout on Tuesday, I felt a strange pain in my right foot. Not so much pain, but more discomfort and it freaked me out. It felt like there was a rock stuck in the sole of my shoe at my forefoot. It had me really worried so I took the rest of the week off. I've started running again this week and the pain isn't there when running and it's only slight when walking, so I'll keep at it.

[DC Runner]

Week ending September 11, 2011:

Mon - 9 miles easy
Tue - 1 mile w/u; 4 x 1 mile (5:30 pace on treadmill) with 1/4 mile rest; 1.25 mile c/d
Wed - 9 miles with ~4 miles at marathon pace or faster
Thu - off (no free time)
Fri - off (no free time)
Sat - 5 miles easy
Sun - 21 miles, including a half marathon race in 1:22:10

Total: 51 miles

This week went pretty well, but I was frustrated I couldn't make time on Thursday or Friday for running. Either way, I was happy with my half marathon this weekend. The course is very challenging and my best time on the course is about 80 seconds faster that what I ran. Considering that my marathon is over two months away, I'm ok with where I am now fitness-wise.

[DC Runner]

Week ending September 18, 2011:

Mon - 8 miles easy
Tue - AM: 3.5 miles w/u; 3 x 1 mile (5:31, 5:31, 5:42) with 1/4 mile rest; 2 miles c/d;
PM: 10 miles easy
Wed - 0 (I brought my running shoes with me to run during lunch, but forgot my running clothes - WHOOPS!)
Thu - 8 miles easy
Fri - 9 miles easy
Sat - 3 miles very easy
Sun - 27 miles, including the Yonkers Marathon in 2:55:30

Total: 74 miles

I had a pretty good week. Tuesday's workout was tough because my legs were still pretty sore from my half marathon on Sunday. Yonkers marathon was fun - Yonkers is the second oldest marathon in the world (started in 1907, but was not run between 1918 and 1934). Yesterday was the 86th consecutive running of the race. It's a very small race and I knew it wouldn't be terribly fast, especially since there's a half marathon too. I led the entire race for the first 20-30 seconds and then let the lead half marathoners go. I was alone, clicking off 6:10s-6:20s through the first 5 miles. I got some company for the next 2 miles but nobody was interested in pushing it. I picked up the pace a little up a long hill and nobody came along. This is where I got greedy and pushed a bit harder than I should have. The course is not flat by any means and I had no business going out that fast. I came through the half in 1:22:09, which was 1 second faster than my half marathon race the previous Sunday and this course was not any easier. After the half, I slowed a little, but hung onto the lead through about 16.5 miles. The two guys that passed me at that point were much fresher than I was, so I let them go and decided not to risk damaging myself before my goal race this fall. I decided to jog it in from there and ended up in 5th place overall. I'm happy with that result two months out from my goal race.

[DC Runner]

Week ending September 25, 2011:

Mon - 8 miles easy
Tue - 12.5 miles easy
Wed - 13 miles easy
Thu - 8 miles, including 4.25 miles marathon pace effort
Fri - 10 miles easy
Sat - 50 states bicycle ride (65 miles - see below)
Sun - 17 miles very easy

Total: 68.5 miles

I skipped my Tuesday workout because I wanted to rest my legs a little after the marathon on Sunday. By Thursday, I thought I was recovered enough to get in a hard tempo run. I was very wrong - my legs felt awful from the start. My splits through four miles were (6:00, 5:57, 6:06, 6:15) and I just packed it in and jogged after the next quarter mile. I couldn't wake up early enough on Saturday to run before the bike ride, but I figured the ride was equivalent to at least 10 miles of running. The ride on Saturday was an organized bicycle ride that covers at least one block on each of the 50 diagonal state streets in Washington, DC. It's a very fun ride and you get to see many parts of the city you wouldn't normally see. Because some of the streets are spaced out quite far, the ride ended up being just short of 65 miles and with lots of hills. I'll try to post a map of the route soon. I hope to get in a good training week this week with lots of miles and good workouts.

[HumanGazelle]

Hey DC, awesome work on the marathon, and nice account too.

How is preparation for Philly coming along, and do you have a target time?