Training Plan
For this training cycle, I decided to follow the Run Your BQ intermediate high mileage training plan. I have used a Run Your BQ plan successfully before (the beginner one), when I was training for the Austin Marathon 2015. Both times I have used their plan I have managed to remain injury free and finish the race with a huge PR. I think the strength of this training plan is that it includes warm up exercises and strength training, as well as a good balance of speed-work and slow mileage.The intermediate high mileage plan starts at a weekly mileage of 31, which is similar to what I had been doing before the official start of training, and builds up to a weekly mileage of 53. It includes one weekly speed session (tempo, hill intervals, or fartleks). The plan contains two 20-milers, the last one two weeks before the marathon. The shorter than normal taper is another reason why I like this plan so much. Two weeks is plenty of time to recover, but not so much that you start freaking out (taper crazies are real!) and feel like you should have done more.
I got the RYBQ package back when it was new, and it was possible to only get the Essentials (ebook, videos, and training plans) without having to purchase a membership. Sadly, the RYBQ Essentials are no longer available. Otherwise, I think it would be one of the best training plans you could get, unless you are getting a personalized training plan from a professional running coach.
Weekly Routine
I guess the safest thing to do would have been to follow the training plan to a T. However, I felt confident enough to make a few changes to better accommodate my schedule, to still allow me to run with my meetup group, and to go to my favorite workout classes.
A typical week looked as follows:
Monday: Bike ride in the evening, run in the morning in the peak weeks.
Tuesday: Speed work/semi long run, total body workout.
Wednesday: Double (run in the morning and evening).
Thursday: Rest day.
Friday: Easy run, total body workout.
Saturday: Long run.
Sunday: Easy run.
This is pretty much the pattern I stuck with, other than when I was on vacation in the beginning of August. With the exception of one week when I was at a festival, I managed to keep up my running while on vacation.
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| No running here! |
Fueling My Long Runs
My favorite pre-long run fuel was a smoothie. I usually add almond milk, oats, cashews, chia seeds, a banana, and frozen berries/ other fruit to it. However, I knew that I would not have my Vitamix with me in Minneapolis, so I also practiced with what I would be having before the race: Toast, banana, and peanut butter.
For long runs over 10 miles, I like to use energy gels. I have a very fast metabolism, so I get hungry very quickly while running. I used Clif Shots, GUs (after they switched to a vegan formulation), and Hüma gels. I usually started taking them at mile 5, and had another one every 4-5 miles, depending on whether I was hungry or not.
Of course, I also needed to refuel and reward myself for all the hard work. Most runs were followed by a veggie burger, and a salad plus dessert not too much later. My favorite post-long run treat was vegan ice-cream from Sweet Ritual.
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| Well deserved vegan ice-cream. |
Best Runs
There are two run that stood out to me in this training cycle: The Hottest Half in Dallas and my 19-miler that included running up Mount Bonnell.The Hottest Half was on August 23. At that time of the year, temperatures are not very agreeable for racing here in Texas. The high of the day was supposed to be 106. They are not kidding when they say hottest half! Luckily, by the time we were finished, the temperatures were still in the high eighties. I slowed down significantly in the second half of the race. I feel like I would probably have been able to keep up the 7:30 pace, had it been cooler. I still finished the race in 1:41, winning my age group! It also was a 5 minute PR for me. This race was a huge boost of confidence!
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| Running the Hottest Half. |
The Mount Bonnell run was very similar to a run I did back in January when I was training for the Austin Marathon. So again it was nice to be able to look back and see how much I had progressed since then. Both times I started my long run super early so I could join my running group for an 8 mile run up (and down) Mount Bonnell. Most of my long runs were relatively flat, so adding an 800 ft mountain towards the end of it was definitely challenging. I was sore for days after that run! It did make the upcoming 20-milers feel a lot easier, though!
Other favorites included runs in forests or around lakes in Switzerland and Germany. We just don't have anything here that compares to that beauty!
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| Beautiful lake in Switzerland. |
Worst Runs
While bad runs are definitely always part of running, I was lucky to have no really bad runs in this training cycle. The worst run was probably my last goal marathon paced (GMP) tempo run. It was three days after my second 20-miler, coming off two 50+ mile weeks. I was understandably tired. I was supposed to run 3 miles at GMP. After failing to hit that pace and suffering for two miles, I gave up and slogged along for the rest of my way to school. At least I knew why I had failed (I was exhausted), and I knew that I had put in the work, all that was left to do was rest to be recovered in time for the race.
Things I Did Differently
For the most part, this training cycle did not differ too much from my previous one for Austin 2015. The main difference was that my mileage was a little bit higher. I had class at 8am on Tuesdays, so I decided to put a change of clothes and my textbooks into my gym locker the day before and run to school. That way I was able to sleep at least a little bit longer.
Before this training cycle, I had also never run twice in a day. However, my training plan suggested a medium long run (8-10 miles) on Wednesdays. I was not willing to give up on the evening run with my meetup group, though, and their Wednesday runs are usually much shorter. My solution was to split up my Wednesday run into a morning and an evening run, keeping the total mileage the same. The first time I did that, it felt a lot harder than running the mileage continuously, but I got used to it. I hope that will pay off when we are doing Cap to Coast next weekend!
Another thing I introduced, not for this training cycle, but for the one before, was dynamic stretching/ warm up before the run. The routine I do includes ankle and hip circles, lunges, and leg swings, and takes less than 10 minutes to complete. I really believe that played a big part in injury prevention for me!
What Still Needs Improvement
Even though I am really happy with this entire training cycle, there are of course still some things that need improvement. Most of these things fit into the category of recovery for me. I know I should spend more time after each run to stretch. Also, I didn't nearly foam roll as much as I had planned to. While those things take time and are admittedly not very exciting, I know that it might have prevented my muscles feeling quite as tight as they did at some points during training. |
| I did not spend enough time with this! |
Another big area that needs improvement is sleep. I usually slept well most nights, but I didn't get the amount of sleep that I would have needed. My body tends to feel best when I get at least 8 hours of sleep per night. However, I didn't adjust my bed time according to the earlier alarms for my morning runs. This resulted in me only getting 6-7 hours of sleep most nights. I could definitely feel it!
Summary
Overall, I am very happy with this training cycle. I managed to remain injury free, while running the highest mileage I ever have. In the end, all the hard work payed off, leading to a huge marathon PR! Still, there are some areas that need improvement, and I plan to pay more attention to those when I am training for my next marathon.
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