All the basics of my original skeleton plan remain, in terms of weekly design, basic process flow, 3 day/week core work, and all long runs being done on the course (benefit of racing local)  but I have tweaked some of the workouts, recovery weeks, and added some additional high intensity stuff.

Week 1 – 4

You will notice that week 1 and week 3 have Progression type runs for my long runs on Saturdays. This approach will continue throughout the cycle. It will be aggressive but I firmly believe that these runs will help steel my mind and body to by ready come race day. Thanks to Parents on the Run for the workouts. I had been planning on some more traditional type progression runs and one Hanson’s Simulator but I like these workouts a lot more.

One of the other changes that I made was in the ‘off’ weeks I have added a second day Tempo or Speed. One day of each now. I was never fully convinced to implement the full week blocks that I had thought about earlier so I thought this was a good compromise to try and reap some of the benefits without the increased injury risk.

The final change that I have made to the plan is to add three recovery days to every 4th week. Given that I am stepping up the intensity in the build weeks I thought it was important to recover as much as possible in my cut back weeks so that  I can fully absorb the prior weeks work and get ready for the next block.

Week 5 – 8

Week 5 will be a big week for me. My first 20 mile with 10 of those miles ran at Marathon Pace. In addition to that I will putting in a speed and tempo session this week.

But the real workout that has me thinking is that long run in week 7. 20 miles with a total of 15 miles at marathon pace.

Week 9 – 12

More of the same as the previous blocks. My highest mileage block of the marathon cycle. The Progression runs on the Long Runs fall on the 16 mile runs in this block with the 20 mile being ran at a steady  state pace. For Birmingham last year, my training peaked at 70 miles so to spend three consecutive weeks above 70 is definitely going to be taxing…but I can do it.

Week 13 – 16

Coming off the Week 12 Recovery week I give myself one more huge week before heading into my taper. Week 13 will be the my highest total mileage week of the cycle and contains Speed, Tempo and a Long Run with 15 miles at MP.

Getting through this will definitely be a challenge…much like most of the plan but hey if I want to run a 2:45 at Carmel I have to be willing to put the work in.

I am looking at a two week taper into race week and I think I will need to absorb, repair, and recovery from the three months of pounding I am going to put my body through.

Should everything go as planned I will be ready come race day!

Questions: Am I missing anything? Is it too aggressive? What do your marathon training blocks look like?

Glenn

Following the IMM Half Marathon in early November I had decided to take some time off following a very active year. I was going to use the month of November to relax, take it easy, drink a bunch of beer, gain some weight, and just rest.

It was quite a successful month. I still exercised through out the time-off but nothing serious and just really to keep my mind free of clutter. I successfully got called “soft” by Lindsey…so the food and beer did its job as well.

But now that the calendar has turned the page to December, it is time to get serious about Carmel and that is where my “pre-season” comes in.

Given that I am a little rusty on the old running legs I need to take some time and build up a little for the real training. I mean I know it sound kind of crazy to train to train but you wouldn’t want to jump into full blown marathon training with no base. That would be recipe for disaster.

I am currently planning on running about 40 to 55  miles a week for the next four weeks….with the focus on slowly building from 40 to 55 in that time. No speed training, no tempo runs, just steady state running. I need to feel what it is like to run six days a week again. I have not trained for a marathon proper in about a year, given that my last marathon I raced was Mercedes in Feb. 2011. I want to hit Dec. 31st ready to roll and a little build up seems like the way to do it as I plan on putting in my highest mileage weeks to date with this training cycle and this ‘Micro Build’ session will help me do that.

Here is a list of easy to follow tips when increasing your weekly mileage that I will be applying to my Pre-Season. I’d like to thank Pete Pfitzinger and his book Advanced Marathoning for the ideas.

Ways to Effectively Increase your Mileage

1. Bite off small chunks: Start slow and build over time. Adding too much too soon is a recipe for disaster.

2. Avoid any Speed or Tempo work during your mileage build

3. Throttle down the intensity of running. This will help increase your miles while not adding too much stress on your body.

4. Have a goal. More miles should have a purpose…don’t just log them to log them. Keeping focus on the bigger picture will help keep you in check and under control while building.

For a true mileage build one would need a longer time horizon but the same principles hold true even in my “Micro Build” Session.  The key like anything running related is to be patient and consistent and over time you will see the result you desire.

One thing is for sure though Dec. 31st can’t get here soon enough. I am itching to tackle that 2:45 marathon head on.

Happy Training!

Glenn