These days, I've been training for the Marine Corps Marathon (MCM), which is scheduled to happen approximately 102 days and the 13 hours (28 October) from the moment I publish this post. It's the second marathon for which I've ever registered, and with the "100 days to go" point approaching, I decided to make a little update of how the training is going.
In broad terms, preparation has been considerably better this time than for my first marathon last year. At about this time last year, I started a job involving a lot of lifting and many hours on my feet. This made training difficult, and the harder I tried to push through it the worse I did. I still have that job (thankfully), but in the interval I've adapted a bit to the work, such that it doesn't wear me out to the same degree as before.
With that said, my legs still won't allow for a hard-core training regimen, so I've had to adjust. The general scheme I'm following centers on two big ideas: progression and specificity.
By progression, I mean a series of shifts from one type of training to another. As inferred from above, I can't really train hard all the time like a lot of top athletes, so I need to start small and build gradually. Two months ago, I trained about 30 minutes 3-5 days a week, emphasizing time and easy effort over speed and difficulty. These days, I train about 30 minutes one or two days, 45 minutes two days, and about an hour one day (lately it's been Friday), with an emphasis on building endurance. In the next two months, I'm looking to gradually increase the hour workout to 2 or 2.5 hours, the purpose of which is to acclimate the body to running for several hours straight, which is what it will experience during the marathon. This leads to the second big idea, specificity.
Specificity entails the development of components of fitness specific to a particular race, climate, or goal. For the MCM, I need to be able to run for several hours on asphalt, over a fairly flat course, in whatever kind of weather appears in DC on October the 28th. I also have a personal goal of running 3:30 (8:00/mile, 4:58/km) for the distance. These specific goals and conditions require specific adaptations.
So the general plan I'm following involves a progression from general types of training to increasingly-specific types as the day of the race approaches. Right now, I run primarily on dirt trails and grass; as the race approaches, I'll look to increasingly run on asphalt. These days I run for an hour at most; as the race approaches, I'll look to run as long as 2.5 hours. Finally, most of my running at the moment is at a fairly slow speed; as the race approaches, I'll look to include some work at my marathon goal-pace. The main idea uniting "progression" and "specificity" involves first becoming generally fit, then race-specifically fit.
I don't know how well this program will work, but so far it's gone well, and I'm thoroughly enjoying the process. Almost no one will be blown away by amount of training I'm doing, but I believe it will help me get to the starting line on October 28th feeling excited and ready to enjoy the experience of a marathon run. We'll see in a few months with any luck!
Happy Tuesday, friends :)
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