Once I made the decision to compete in the Scotiabank Marathon in October, the next step was to find a training program to follow. Some of the best road races I’ve had have come as a result of following a strict training program. Even though I consider myself an experienced runner I still rely on a program to guide me and “reel” me in a little bit at the same time. Sometimes the hardest part of the training program is actually doing less than what you would like to do.
Basically the training program consists of the following:
Monday: TRX upper body workout
Tuesday: 6 to 7 mile run
Wednesday: 7 weeks of Hill Training, 7 weeks of tempo runs
Thursday: 4 to 6 mile run
Friday: TRX upper body workout
Saturday: Long run (up to 22.5 miles)
Sunday: Recovery run – 6-8 mile recovery run
Mondays and Fridays are reserved for cross training on the TRX suspension trainer. My goal is to increase my core strength while resting my legs at the same time.
The hill training is starting to get harder as each week I add one more hill. I will be doing 7 hills on Wednesday. The workout starts with a 2 K warm-up run followed by the hills and then a 2 K cool down. Each hill is 350 Meters long and takes me about 1:30 to run. I then will walk down the hill for 1 minute and do a light jog until I get to the bottom and then it’s back up again. I’m working on improving my technique by pumping my arms and trying to bring my knees up high while landing on the midpoint of my foot as opposed to my toes. My quads are burning after this tough workout.
I just completed week 4 of my 17 week training program. This was a down week so I reduced the mileage on my long runs. The previous week I completed a 16 mile run Saturday and then followed that up with a 6 mile recovery run Sunday.
This past weekend I ran 11.5 miles on Saturday and 7.5 miles on Sunday. The weather this weekend was very hot so I left early on Saturday to beat the heat. Unfortunately I left later than I would have liked on Sunday and the heat really started to affect me. Running truly challenges my mind but I love the battle that takes place internally throughout a long run, especially when it’s not ideal outside.
I prefer to run early in the morning (5:00 AM) as it really gets my day started off on the right foot and the weather is perfect. I start in darkness but am lucky that I get to see the sun rise in the morning. Along the way I know that I’ll see some rabbits and have also been lucky enough to see some foxes. I get up at 4:00 AM to prepare for each run as I really love to get into a mental zone before I step outside. Runners are very ritualistic and I am no different. Some people tell me that I am sacrificing so much because I’m so disciplined with my training but to me it’s not a sacrifice, it’s a choice. I know that I need my sleep so that means I typically I am in bed by no later than 10:00 PM (usually 9:00 PM). I try not to eat anything past 7:00 PM as I would like to drop another 10 lbs by the time the race happens in October. My typical running weight is 165 lbs. I have to watch that I don’t lose strength just to get to a certain weight and I usually can feel when I’m lighter because the running becomes easier.
I used to run with a GPS which would track my speed and distance. Lately, though, I have been running without a watch and I really love the feeling. I use gmapspedometer.com to track my distance before I leave my house. The reality is that I know the streets of Ajax/Pickering pretty well but I like to know the distance that I am running so I’ll map out my route before I venture outside.
The next 4 weeks will challenge me both mentally and physically as my long runs will approach 19 miles by the end of the 3rd week. Each week I will continue to update my progress and I hope that this can help you stay focused for whatever goals you are trying to reach. I understand that some of you are also running the Scotiabank ½ or full Marathon. Good luck and keep running!
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