If you read my last blog post – 2024 So Far – you will know that my next big race is the Chicago Marathon this October.
Since the beginning of the year (or even before that), the Chicago Marathon has been my main target for 2024. I originally got a place in it through the lottery for 2023, but I was neither ready to train for nor ready to run the race last October.
So, I deferred my place until 2024, which gave me my target for the year.
But if I’m honest, I still had huge reservations about even doing the race at all. After my last marathon in Copenhagen in May 2023, I wasn’t happy with how I felt in the days and weeks after the race. So much so that I wasn’t sure I wanted to run another marathon at all, never mind one as big as Chicago.
Having finished Copenhagen in 3:40, which is a more than respectable time, I left Denmark wondering how I could have been so far away from running a time that I felt more than ready to run.
But with a place in Chicago, I thought there’s no way I could let an opportunity like that pass. So with the idea of beginning marathon training in the summer time, I signed up for a few races in the late winter and spring to get my competitive juices flowing again as well as my motivation to train for a bigger race.
The three main races that I have run so far this year, while I have wanted to run strong and finish with good times, have all been done as part of the overall buildup to be able to start training for Chicago.
So, now it was up to my coach to come up with a plan to be ready to race in October; he decided on a 15-week training schedule.
And as fate would have it, Day 1 of Week 1 of the training plan coincided with the day I was leaving for a vacation to England. So, without even having started, we were already making adjustments to the plan to make room for my travels.
No worries though, as we were able to shift things around in a way that I was still able to complete all of the runs, but some of them would just be done on different days than originally planned.
Starting training for my first marathon in what will be one-and-a-half years while on vacation might not be the ideal way to kick things off, but I was committed to getting the running done while I was away.
Week 1 (5 runs – 49.8km/30.9 Miles)
Time to get the official training underway!
With my bag packed full of running clothes and a couple pairs of running shoes, I had one last thing to do – an easy 10km at home on Monday morning before I headed to the airport that evening.
Having planned for any jet lag and time needed to get situated, the plan was for an 8km and 10km on Wednesday and Thursday in Lincoln, before a 5k time trial with my coach on Saturday. With the small exceptions of some tired legs and poor navigating, Wednesday and Thursday’s runs were just fine. Yes, I got lost a couple (or more) times, but it was the best way possible to explore a city that I had never been to before.
After a rest day on Friday, which included thousands of steps walking around London, I met up with coach early Saturday morning for Parkrun to complete my 5k time trial and help set the paces for my marathon training. On a mixed terrain of grass and sidewalk (pavement) and in a steady rain, I completed my time trial in 19:43. I was quite happy with the time, given what I had been up to on the first few days of my trip and the conditions of the run itself.
Either way, it was great to finally run with coach, hang out afterwards watching England advance in the Euros and then run an easy 10km with him on Sunday morning to complete a solid Week 1 of the plan.
Week 2 (4 Runs – 50km/31 Miles)
As my travels continued, Week 2 started with a welcomed rest day in London, which again included a lot of walking.
On Tuesday, my first run of the week was a pretty gentle 10km along the Thames with a few stops for pictures and, of course, finishing at a bakery for breakfast. Later that day, I headed to Canterbury for a couple of days, which would be another new city for me to run around.
Because of how the rest of the week was shaping up, we moved the planned rest day to Wednesday to prepare me for this week’s long run, which was now going to be on Thursday morning.
In an attempt to maximize my vacation time, I woke up at 5:15am on Thursday and got my long run of 20km (12.5 miles) done. It was a really nice morning, but being in a new city meant getting lost (again) more than once and then running loops in the city center to get the distance in. Mistakenly, I missed the part of the plan where some of this run was supposed to be done at tempo, but nevertheless, I was happy to get a long run done while on vacation.
Friday and Saturday would end up being the last two runs of my trip, but they were great ones!
First up, on Friday, my friend and fellow Fractel ambassador, Chris, met me in Rye for an evening out and back 10km (and history lesson!) along the coast. The weather was perfect and even allowed me to quicken up my pace a little bit, so Chris didn’t have to slow down too much for me! Last year, I met up with Chris for a lunch time run in London, but it was great to go for a run in a more relaxed location!
Then, after an early morning train ride from Rye to Horsham, I went for another out and back 10km, but this time on the South Downs Way with my friend Mark. It was a slightly warmer afternoon and included a decent amount of elevation, but it was good to get out with Mark again after running together a few times a couple of years ago. And to top it all off, it was Mark’s longest run of the year so far after dealing with an injury!
It was another great trip, with a good mix of running and sightseeing, but most importantly meeting up and running with some runners that I consider great friends, who have each helped me in different ways over the last few years!
Week 3 (5 runs – 62.5km/38.9 Miles)
Coming home, after almost two weeks away, the main goal was to get right back into my routine of running in the morning and taking each run/workout as it came. The biggest adjustment was coming back to run in the heat and humidity again. In the past, it has taken me at least a few runs to acclimatize to the humidity each summer.
Luckily, the first run of the week was an easier paced 10km on Tuesday morning. And while it was warm and humid, everything felt much better than I was expecting for my first run back home.
Next up, on Wednesday, was probably the true test. An intervals session – 8 x 2 minutes @ ~3:45/km (6:00/mile) with 90 seconds jog/rest – that would be a challenge in the best of weather conditions. Fortunately, I got started early and was able to comfortably complete each rep at the planned pace! Workouts like this, once I complete them as planned, always serve as a huge confidence booster and this one was no different, especially so early in the training plan!
After completing the interval workout, the build up to Sunday’s long run began in my head. But first, I had the small tasks of a 10km on both Thursday and Saturday (with a rest day sandwiched in between on Friday).
When preparing for a long run, there’s more focus on nutrition and hydration in the days before and morning of. And there’s also planning the route as well as fueling for during the run.
But once the run starts, it’s really just like any other run.
Thankfully, it was a cloudy morning and not quite as humid, but everything went according to plan and I finished the 21.5km (~14 miles) run (including 7km (4.5 miles) at my currently planned marathon pace) to bring Week 3 to a strong close!
At the beginning of this training cycle, I’ve tried to just focus on each day as it comes and tick off the planned run or workout for that day before thinking too much about what lies ahead.
After 3 weeks of official training, I’m more than happy with how I’ve started things!
My plan is to give an update on here every 3 weeks or so leading up to the race in October.
Please let me know in the comments what you think (or how far you made it before falling asleep)!
- Stats so far (through 3 weeks):
- 14 runs – 162.3km – 100.8 miles
RunPatRun 