May to September training
I took a well earned 10 days off after the London Marathon. At the half, my average was 3:29 minutes per race. This was 1 minute above the age group record holder and 4 minutes above my goal A target.
With an average of 3:29, I have to average 3:20 the rest of the way to get to my A goal. Definitely doable with two flat courses ahead. The problem is three marathons in 7 weeks, with NYC at the end. Chicago weather could also be hot, so I decide I need to do well in Berlin and train for a 3:10 race there if the weather is 55 or below.
Unfortunately, I am not into running in the Miami heat this year. Plus, my groin problem now developed in the left leg as well (at least we have symmetry now…..). Long runs are torture and for the first time since I started running marathons in 2014, I start to split my long runs in summer between outdoor and treadmill at the house. By the end of the summer, I have no idea how well I trained (I figure I only have to keep my new base, right?). But I feel like my training is worse than last year when I prepared for the Chicago Marathon. Every day is a slog through 90% humidity, real feels of 95+ on almost every run. Awful…..
On top of the weather, in late June I developed a sharp pain in my heel. It came on suddenly as I was going on a business trip to Mexico for a week. I couldn’t put any weight on the foot and no running basically for two weeks (the week in Mex and the week of PT). I still don’t know what happened and during July and August continued to be paranoid that the pain would come back. At least the groin pain is manageable, you just deal with the pain. But a bad foot will not let you finish at all…….
The good news is the foot thing came up two months before Berlin and my PT, who knows what he is doing (Austin Misura), got me back to running with therapy. The bad news is the heat and humidity were still there when I started running again in mid-July. There is nothing worse than running in the summer in Miami…….
Totals:
May: 148 miles, with a long run of 15 by the end of May. Tempo runs are down to 7:40s with the humidity, long runs in the low 8s. Miserable outside and it is only May.
June: 180 miles through June 26 when foot pain develops and sidelines me for two weeks.
July: I switch to biking while I can’t run and include biking mileage equivalents in totals for July (3 bike miles = 1 running mile). Total mileage of about 200 for the month.
August: Back to full running for the final push. Last long run is August 19, targeting 24-26 in the heat (the heat is out even at 5am…..). Foot is good to go and getting some more confidence there. The three peak weeks through August 19 I run 180 miles, with two 70 mile weeks and a 40 miler in between. Long runs of 21, 22 and 24. All split on the treadmill (14 miles outside, the rest inside). Brutal times outside, 8:20s with lots of shower time either at the park in Coconut Grove or buying water at CVS and Seven Eleven…..
Total miles: 245
September: Feeling good going into the race because we have a plan for the groins (now two legs to deal with!) and the foot is cooperating. Weather looking good, although not perfect, for Berlin.
56 total miles before the race on September 16th during last two weeks of taper (along with deep tissue massage and lots of rolling to loosen tight quads and the acupuncture (with electrical stimulation) for the groins).
You definitely need to be either (a) young, (b) a runner who knows what he/she is doing and with years of training or (c) a regular guy with a support team to help you heal, in order to try to race all the WMMs in the same year. I had the support team, and the foam roller.
Had good tempo 10 miler in the heat and humidity on September 9th, the Sunday before the marathon.
1912 miles covered since the Chicago Marathon.