Tweaks to My Marathon Training

I have settled into a two week long cycle for my marathon training. I will do four of these for eight weeks of marathon training. That added to my five weeks of 45 mi/wk in February and March plus two weeks of taper is 15 weeks of training. My latest schedule is here
Mondays and Saturdays are off. Tuesdays and Thursdays are 30 minutes of hip extensions/abductions and abs crunches. Wednesdays are a one mile run at 143 bpm, Fridays are a 2.5 mile run at 140 bpm. The first Sunday is a long run of 20-24 miles at 134 bpm and the second is a 10 mile run with a 4 mi run at 137 bpm in the second half.

I'm Running the Colfax Marathon

I have decided to run the Colfax Marathon, May 18 in Denver rather than the Colorado Marathon, May 4 in Ft Collins. Denver is a lot closer than Ft Collins, the Colfax is an out-and-back meaning there is no 4 am bus ride to the start and I'll get another two weeks of training in. The Colfax was previously a one-way with the last 13 miles rising 400 ft in elevation. Last year the port-a-potties didn't show up and some underling reset the course in City Park so it was 27.5 miles. This year's course looks really good on paper. The start and finish are both located in City Park where there is adequate parking. The marathon heads West on Colfax Ave while the half marathon heads East and I will not be tempted to keep up with the faster half marathoners. The first three miles are flat, in mile 4 there is a drop of 100' down to the Platte River, there is a 400' gain from mile 4 to mile 10, miles 10-13 are flat, miles 13-21 drop 450', miles 21-23 gain 150', and mile 23 to the finish is flat. My plan is to run the first 13 miles at a heart rate of 137 bpm. I used this strategy several years ago in the Boulder Backroads marathon that also has an uphill first half and I felt strong at the finish. I will increase my heart rate to 140 bpm for miles 13-21 and 143 bpm to the finish. Typical strategies for running a marathon using target heart rates call for 3-4 beats increases at miles 13 and 20. I am delaying the increase to the low elevation on the course at about 21.3 miles.I really have no idea of what time I'll run. My 21:28 in the Kickoff Classic 5K last September predicts a 3:33 marathon according to the Bolder Boulder conversion charts. I ran a 3:54 in the 2005 Boulder Backroads marathon using this target heart rate strategy but that race is on gravel with much more elevation gains and loses. Actually, I don't care what my time is, I just want to not go out too fast and be strong at the finish.

Base Training Plan

I'm halfway through building up my running base to the point I can start marathon training Jan 1, 2007. I injured my leg in August 2005 and have been unable to run a marathon since then. Oct 1, 2006 I started a 13 week base training plan that called for running 3 m every day. I increase my long run in 10% steps so that by the end of base training I will be running 12 m. I divided base training into two halves. The first 6 weeks I ran 3 m on 3 successive days and the long run on day 4. I have 3 bearded collies, also known as Beardies, so it worked out I would take a different one for each of the 3 m runs. I started with Mindy on day 1 because she is sloooow and makes for a good recovery run. Day 2 was Brodie, Mindy's puppy. Brody is fast and running with him is a good tempo run. Third, was Kailey who will run at any pace I choose but she's going to pull on the leash no matter how fast I go. It should be apparent why I do not run with all three. I tried it once and a squirrel ran across the trail. Brodie tried to get it, Kailey ignored it, and Mindy tried to run away. I run by myself on the long days. This schedule worked well until last week when I reached the 6 m long run. I run in the morning and anything longer than 6 m is going to make me late for work. So for the last 7 weeks of base training I am running long on Saturdays, 2.5 m tempo (6 m with warm-up and cool-down) on Tuesdays, and 3 m with a Beardie the other 5 days. Brodie runs on Thursday for a mini tempo and Mindy goes on Sunday for recovery from the long run. I am really thankful I can run 30 minutes every day. It's a short distance but after not being able to run consistently for a year, it is great. Hopefully I will be fit enough at the new year to begin serious marathon training.