Marathon three, week one

If you Google 'marathon training plan' you'll get thousands of results for every level of runner. Some might promise to get you ready for the distance in just 12 weeks, others you'll need to commit 16 or even 20 weeks to getting yourself prepared. 

But if the two marathons I've done so far have taught me anything, it's that if you really want to get the most from it, you need to look at it as a year-long project. 

I'm absolutely not saying that I'll be doing 20 mile training runs every week between now and October. I'm sure that would be counter productive if anything. 

Based on last year, I'll be loosely chunking my plan down as follows:

January-May - putting the sprints, hills and non-event half marathons in. These built up confidence last year by chipping away at PBs and showing good pace progress while keeping my body and my mind comfortable with running for a couple of hours at a time at least once a month

June-September - building in the distance. I guess this is the 'traditional' marathon training phase. The long slogs on a Sunday morning which feel amazing when they're done but take a lot of physical and mental effort to get there. There'll be a few half marathon races in this phase too, to check progress under event conditions. 

October-December - completing the marathon, then recovering. Recovery isn't about stopping, quite the opposite!! This bit is about enjoying running for the sheer hell of it and making the most of the fitness I've built all year.  

It helps massively having a lot of the technical side planned out for me by the DOdaily coaching programme, so I don't need to think about what I'm doing week on week, I just need to turn up and trust Des to get it as right as he did last year!

So what did week one look like? 

In short, it was hard work!! After doing absolutely no running between Christmas and new year (the only week of the year my mileage was zero!) It was straight back to it with both feet all in! After a benchmark time trial on Sunday 2nd, the proper training started with a jolt at 6am on Tuesday with four freezing cold laps attacking Musters Road then topping up the miles with another chilly run with the City Slickers in the evening. 

Then back to Musters Road on Thursday, this time for five reps!! This was a bonus session for me because usually I'm at Brownies, although it didn't feel like much of a bonus as the time!

parkrun on Saturday was a very muddy affair! If you know Colwick parkrun, you'll know it's famous for the winter mud and yesteday it was in full glory!! Being quite clumsy, I'm always fairly tentative in any potentially slippery conditions, so I used it as a recovery run and had a lovely chat with my friend on the way round. Which is probably for the best because this morning's training session was a gruelling 5x1km interval sprint session which really hurt! 

All in all I've ran just under 26 miles which I'm pleased with, supplemented by around 10 miles of walking thanks to dog-sitting a hyperactive terrier pup. 

I definitely feel like I've started as I mean to go on...if the weather could just warm up a bit I'd be living my best marathon training life!!

Post time trial, it's fair to say we all worked hard!!

Me and Des at parkrun, look out for his vlog on it!!
 

We go again!! What I learned from 2021 and what I'm planning for 2022.

2021 was easily my best year for running since I started back in 2015.

Not because I smashed the Manchester Marathon.

Not because I did more miles than ever before.

Not because I checked off new PBs across every distance.

Not even because, after over a year of being unable to, I revelled in the joy of returning to mass events.

2021 was my best year for running because I can honestly say I enjoyed every single step. Even the ones that hurt or the ones I wasn't sure I could complete. And after years of my love hate relationship with running, this breakthrough has been really something special. 

Obviously it's not a coincidence. When you push yourself consistently, you see changes and get results so it becomes a bit of an addictive cycle which takes hold. Then on the runs which aren't your best, it's easier to keep your head in the right place, knowing that all the miles add up and make a difference in the end, you just need to keep shuffling on. 

Before last year, a bad run for me could have easily put me off for a week or two. The more I didn't run or just scraped together a mile or two, the more reluctant I became to go again. Almost a polar opposite trajectory! 

So how did I do happen? 

The three points I've narrowed it down to weren't something I sat on January 1st last year and said I'd base my year around, it just kind of happened. That being said, they're heavily influenced by the principles of the DOdaily coaching programme!

1. Accountability 

Make a plan, tell people about it and you'll find it much easier to stick to it. There's absolutely nothing wrong with targets and resolutions, you'll definitely need them if you want to see progress.

For me, I'm terrible for having vague things I'd like to achieve, so I've found that being specific about what I want to do and how I'll go about it really helps. Then tell anyone who'll listen all about it!

2. Consistency 

Parts of this overlap a bit with accountability. Being led by the DOrunning group schedule and DOdaily coaching  timetable means I'm automatically committed and accountable to running on Tuesday (twice!), Wednesday, Thursday (when I'm not at Brownies) and Sundays. Add in a parkrun on a Saturday and that's the week's runs sorted! 

I think this is where the biggest improvements have come from. I do all the sessions because I like to be an ambassador for the group (back to that accountability). By doing all of them and not bailing out part way through like I regularly used to,  naturally my mileage has increased and my fitness with it.

3. Measure, record and reflect 

This is where you really need to find what works for you. It can be as brief or detailed as you like, but it has to be done. 

I do this in a couple of ways. There's the apps for stats, numbers and facts: strava, garmin connect and myfitnesspal. Then there's the more descriptive methods, such as writing blog posts, keeping a daily diary and writing down monthly targets. The facts let me look over what's happening and the rest helps me to think about the what's working and what isn't, along with the wider mental health as well as physical progress.

What are my plans for 2022?

The over-arching running goal for the year is to run a sub 4:30 at the London Marathon in October. The race takes place four weeks after our wedding so that's two huge milestones that I'll want to be feeling my absolute best for, so the motivation to keep the mileage up and food and drink on track should be easy to find!

In the process of this, I'd like to achieve 5km and 10km PBs too, along with running the getting comfortable at the sub 2 half marathon - this is something I know I need to build my confidence for that big 26.2 goal! 

Aside from running, we've got a massive fundraising target between us for our London Marathon places. We're running in support of Childhood First and we'll be sharing more about this in the next week or two. 

With so much to look forward to, it's no wonder I'm going into 2022 with such a positive mindset! Let's see how it goes!!