For all my previous marathons, I used either Hal Higdon plans, or wrote my own based loosely from them. Higdon was recommended to me by Dick Cotton, the former director of certification for the American College of Sports Medicine. I trusted implicitly that he knew what he was talking about, and those plans worked pretty well for me for years. So, why did I decide to upend years of building, and try something totally new?
I have gotten a little more ambitious with my running goals. Once upon a time, the idea was just to finish. Then, to finish feeling good. Now I know I am capable of much more. With each leap forward, I can’t help but wonder, how far can I push into this? Since I’m asking more of myself, experimenting with new training tactics seemed like a good idea.
I got the book Advanced Marathoning to learn more about some of the science of running: heart rate training, glycogen stores, and the like. It’s a really good resource, and pretty easy to digest. Initially, I intended to adopt a few ideas from their plans, adding into the mix of my Higden-derived training. After reading some of the “why” behind various blocks of training, it seemed like a better idea to adopt one of their plans with only very minor modifications.
The book offers up options based on total volume: up to 55 miles per week, 55-70 miles, 70-85, and finally, more than 85. Most of my recent past training has fallen into 40-55 miles per week, a range in which I’m really comfortable. During ultra training last fall, I edged up into the 60s, with a few peak weeks topping out in the mid-60s. Stepping up to the 55-70 plan made sense.
Five weeks into the training, I wasn’t so sure. I felt more fatigued than usual. I wasn’t approaching my runs with the same zest. Dreading runs is just not my style. When I found myself having a hard time getting out the door, I wondered if this was all just too much. A friend asked if maybe I had low iron or something. My sleep and nutrition had been pretty good, with the exception of maybe a few too many sweets, still, I started to worry. Pulling the plug would have been easy.
After thinking about it, I decided to give it a little more time. Week six of training would mark the first down week of the program, with total mileage back to the starting point of 55. It seemed fair to see how I responded to the down week, and the following jump in week seven, which would mark my highest mileage week to date at 68 miles.
The down week wasn’t instantly refreshing, but as the days went on, I did feel a little better. More like myself.
Then came the rest day on Monday, the first day of week seven. On that Tuesday, I was faced with a 10 -miler with 5 miles at lactate threshold pace. In some of the earlier LT and marathon pace runs, I have had a hard time holding the paces (part of my questioning everything, for sure.) I was itching to get out there and ready to roll after one warm up mile. I locked right in, found my pace and surpassed it by a nice margin in the fifth and final LT mile.
That wave continued. For the rest of this week, I’ve rebounded more quickly and feel back in a groove. Maybe something else was going on, but really, I just think it was me adjusting to new territory. I’m glad I stuck with it. Sometimes you just need to trust the process.