This week I am going to take a look at my three previous marathon blocks and maybe come up with something for future training.
The Chicago result earlier this month was disappointing and while I was out there over the final miles, struggling to bring it home, the thought of ‘this is it, I can’t keep doing these marathons’ did creep in. For the first couple of days following the race that was my plan. However, by Day 3 I was thinking, nah I have to keep going for sub 3 at least a couple more times. Or until I can’t.
There are things I can improve upon. First is training, which I will cover today. The next two, diet and mental training, will also factor in. In my case, I don’t think either of those are as big as the training component.
Overall Approach and Feel to These Marathons
First caveat is I am not sure if I am at all a ‘natural’ marathoner. There are both physical and mental aspects to that. The natural marathoner might not have a lot of fast twitch muscles and their stride is very efficient, so they can run for 2-3+ hours and not develop as much fatigue over the stretch. As far as the mental component goes, they often like the longer runs and center their training around running for a long time.
In some contrast, with decades of aerobic training think that i still have a fair amount of fast twitch muscle fibers that are easily activated. That’s how I was able to run within 3 seconds of the American age group record for the road mile last summer, and over 90% age grade, with minimal speed training, I did just a few speed-oriented workouts in the four weeks leading up to the race. I don’t really like racing the mile, let alone a 5K, but a few times a year I’ll throw down some training and within a few weeks I’m fairly ready.
Not so fast with the marathon!
While the range of about 8K to 25 or 30K (30 minutes to maybe 2 hours) of hard running are my sweet spot, once I get over that 2 hour range things get harder, and that even includes fairly easy effort running. Through much of the year I cap off m longer runs at 2 or a little over (usually 16-17 miles), only venturing further when starting a marathon block. (winter xc skiing is an exception, but even then a 2:20 or 2:30 venture at 9000 feet elevation is not an easy task).
There are probably biomechanical and physiological factors at play. My wife is my best critic on form, and she says that my running technique has actually improved since my 30s-50s, when I was often cross country skiing for half the year, but I don’t have an efficient marathoners stride. More like a 10K runner.
As far as the feel part of it goes, since moving back to altitude nearly ten years ago, training for marathon pace (MP) has been somewhat vexing. Based on shorter races, MP should be around 6:40-6:50 (or even 6:30s as recently as a few years ago), and in my head that should feel fairly easy in training. It doesn’t. While threshold pace at 6:20s-30 pace feels fairly reasonable for up to 20 or 30 minutes, running 6:40-6:50 in a long run or mid-long run is a challenge. And once I get to sea level on race day, 6:50+/- does not feel at all comfortable. I can hold it for about 2:00 or 2:10, and then things start coming apart.
That’s my marathon conundrum.
Overview of Recent Marathon Training Blocks
Before I get into some problem-solving, in this section I’m going to break down my three most recent training blocks, going back to Boston last year. I’ll say right up front, that was my best marathon as age 60+ runner and I came agonizingly close to that sub 3, missing the mark by just 19 seconds–most of which I lost in a windy stretch in the 25th mile. I took a gradual start and overall just felt good that day.
Boston 2022
This Boston training block, averaging 62 miles included three weeks at 70 miles or more, and three long runs of over 20 miles. Plus I did a mid-long workout on 10 of 13 weeks. As far as workouts are concerned, the first six weeks included double threshold, modified for me. By the end I was doing 30 minutes of threshold/sub threshold reps in the morning, and 12-16 minutes of hill reps in the afternoon, roughly at 10K to CV (for me 8K) effort. That is more intense than my typical base work, but it seemed to have paid off with a 1:21:42 half marathon on a hilly course, about a month ahead of Boston. That ended up being my best race of the year.
The marathon itself went fine. I locked into 6:50-55 pace early on and held it through about 24 miles, where I hit that wall of wind near Fenway, and dropped to a 7:30. That knocked me out of the sub 3. I was overall happy with the training, execution, and outcome of the race.
| Week | Miles | Long Run | Mid-long Run |
| 1 | 60.9 | 13.6 | 12.6 |
| 2 | 69.7 | 15.4 | |
| 3 | 70.5 | 19.2 | 11.9 |
| 4 | 57.6 | 17.3 | 12.9 |
| 5 | 68.8 | 18.7 | 10.2 |
| 6 | 70.5 | 19.2 | 10.5 |
| 7 | 59.8 | 15.0 | 11.3 |
| 8 | 49.1 | 20.7 | 11.3 |
| 9 | 70.7 | 22.1 | 12.4 |
| 10 | 51.7 | 16.7 | 12.7 |
| 11 | 46.3 | 16.2 | |
| 12 | 59.7 | 21.4 | |
| 13 | 70.5 | 18.1 | 13.4 |
| taper 1 | 49.2 | ||
| taper 2 | 31.2 | ||
| Total Miles | 810 | ||
| Average | 62.3 | ||
Indianapolis 2023
For the most part this was my best training block of the three, I had four weeks of 70 or more miles, although I did not peak quite as high as I wanted. However, I ran five long runs of 20 miles or more, that’s the best I have ever done, and that’s going back to my 20s. Looking at the data, I did lack some on the mid-long runs with just seven of 13 weeks having a run of more than 10 miles. My best build-up race was a 59:30 15K at mile-high elevation, equivalent to about 57:30 at sea level (or 1:22 half marathon). It was all good, but I caught a bad cold three weeks before the race and I did not shake the congestion and feeling bad until just four or five days before the race itself. I had to cut back on quality of training although the volume stayed steady.
That may or may not have affected the race. What did affect it was one of the worst weather days I have had for a race, and other than Boston 2018 the worst for a marathon. The race included off and on rain and sustained winds of 15-25 miles per hour, with the worst being a headwind into the last 3 miles, and I went from 6:45 pace through 22 or 23 miles to 7:45, and ran a 3:01:24. So Indy ’22 was a mixed block, good training with a health glitch toward the end, and a horrible weather day that I could not overcome in the stretch.
| Week | Miles | Long Run | Mid-long Run |
| 1 | 63.3 | 15.7 | 11.7 |
| 2 | 52.7 | ||
| 3 | 62.3 | 16.3 | 13.3 |
| 4 | 70.0 | 17.4 | |
| 5 | 62.7 | 18.6 | |
| 6 | 68.3 | 16.0 | |
| 7 | 68.7 | 20.1 | 10.6 |
| 8 | 70 | 16.0 | 11.4 |
| 9 | 48.9 | 10.1 | |
| 10 | 71.0 | 20.1 | 13.7 |
| 11 | 65.1 | 22.6 | |
| 12 | 68.7 | 20.6 | 13.4 |
| 13 | 73.1 | 20.5 | |
| taper 1 | 43.7 | ||
| taper 2 | 31.5 | ||
| Total | 844 | ||
| Average | 65.0 | ||
Chicago 2023
This latest cycle was also something mixed. A lot went well, but in the end something just wasn’t right. I ended up a little under my goal of 65 miles a week. The main caveat I see with this block was four consecutive weeks at a bit lower than I normally would have wanted, in July and August. In mid-July I developed some sore knees, I think from hill running and light body work (dips and lunges). In there was a race and two weeks of travel to Europe, where I just didn’t put in the miles–time and terrain limited the volume. Lot of hills and mountains and I didn’t want to overdo it.
The race itself, I just never felt good at 6:55 pace, felt tired. And in the end I could not hold it the pace and effort required for sub 3. This was my most disappointing of the three marathons, and actually one of the more discouraging that I have run (CIM’s 3:00 in 2005 and falling apart at Equinox in 2006 were the only two I felt worse about).
I’m just going to move on.
| Week | Miles | Long Run | Mid-long Run |
| 1 | 65.2 | 17.2 | 10.3 |
| 2 | 66.9 | 18.6 | |
| 3 | 64.1 | 11.2 | |
| 4 | 52.4 | 19.3 | |
| 5 | 48.4 | ||
| 6 | 45.0 | 16.2 | |
| 7 | 56.0 | 19.0 | |
| 8 | 70.0 | 20.3 | 11.8 |
| 9 | 69.0 | 17.3 | |
| 10 | 77.0 | 22.3 | 13.0 |
| 11 | 72.8 | 20.3 | 13.2 |
| 12 | 55.8 | ||
| 13 | 68.0 | 17.4 | 13.o |
| taper 1 | 44.3 | ||
| taper 2 | 29.2 | ||
| Total | 811 | ||
| Average | 62.4 | ||
Looking Ahead, What I Can Do Better?
I’m probably going back to Indianapolis next year to give it another shot. What can I do better? I think more volume will be the key. Nothing fancy. Just a steady 10-12 weeks of 70 plus mile weeks and maybe four or five 20+ mile runs and steady diet of mid-long runs (more consistently than the past two blocks).
So there’s the plan.
rrunnin234 