Cellcom Green Bay Marathon - Race Report

I was not shy with my confidence coming off of my first couple races of the 2014 season.  I was positive this was going to be the year I cross the finish line of a marathon with a time under three hours.  I had ran a 1:24 half marathon and two weeks later put up a 17:42.  My fitness was right where I thought I needed it to be.  I was feeling great and I was hitting all my marks in my training.  I was optimistic, happy, and excited to get to race day, as I just knew this was the year.  Or so I thought....  Then it happened...I don't know what it was but suddenly my calf was having issues, new, unfamiliar issues.  I was having calf issues this past January and was pretty sure I had overcome those issues.  I took time off in January and February and honestly really never had any serious issues after the break.  There were point in my training where I "noticed" my calf or ankle, typically during long runs, but who doesn't feel something during a long run???  If you read my previous post, "My Experience With Triggerpoint Dry Needling", you are completely aware of my attempt to overcome my diagnosed ailment in a relatively short period of time in order to perform at my best for the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon.  That will bring us right to my race report....so without further blabbering....

Training Plan

I had thought I had damn near the perfect training plan that fit my weaknesses and my strengths and would ultimately lead me to my first sub 3 hour marathon.  I had it all figured out.  I had an increased weekly mileage, speed work, tempo work, longer long runs, and even rest days.  I focused on three main types of run workouts, mile repeats for top in speed, long intervals for building my aerobic threshold, and long runs to build strength and general endurance.  My mile repeats were always done on a treadmill which allowed me to maintain a sense of consistency.  I structured my mile repeat sessions to be anywhere from 8-12 total miles consisting of 2-6 repeats and a 90 second rest between sets.  I would begin and end each workout with a warm up and cool down, respectively to reach my desired total distance.  Each mile was done between a 5:46 and a 5:42 pace.  The goal of my long intervals was to build confidence at my goal marathon pace of 6:52/mile.  I started with intervals of 2x2 miles and built up to 3x5 miles all at or below my goal marathon pace.  I took 2:30 minute of rest between sets and would also do a warm up and cool down before and after each work out to reach a goal total mileage of between 10-18 miles.  My long runs had no real specific pace goal but just wanted to stay under an 8:00/mile average.  I slowly built my long run distance from 12 up to 24 miles.  The plan was fool proof, at least that's what I thought.

The final 3 weeks leading up to the race.

My training plan took a HUGE hit after the Jailbreak 5k and to be honest, I never saw it coming.  On April 14th with a time of 1:24:31 (6:27/mile).  During that race I felt my right calf (soleus) but it didn't slow me down and never really became and issue.  I followed that race up with a day of rest, then a couple mixed workouts of biking, swimming, and running.  That following Thursday I did a 6x1 mile repeat workout, Friday was an easy 2,000m swim, and Saturday was my longest run of 24 miles.  That all went without a hitch.  My 24 mile long run went really well and did it in 3:08 with breaks (7:50 pace).  the Monday following was an 8 mile easy run and Tuesday consisted of 3x4 mile intervals at or below goal race pace.  On Thursday I completed a brick workout which started with a 2 mile warm up, then 3 sets of 15:00 on the bike and 1 mile hard on the treadmill.  I ended with a 1 mile cool down.  That workout ended with a total of 6 miles running and about 45:00 on the bike for a little over an hour and half.  That Saturday was the Jailbreak 5k.  I started that morning with an easy warm up and did notice my right calf again, but once again, nothing that would prevent me from racing.  It wouldn't have even raised a concern if I were training opposed from racing.  The next day I distinctly remember feeling sorer than usual, especially for just a 5k.  On Sunday, I opted for an easy recovery ride on my indoor trainer, to hopefully stretch out my legs.

That Monday was supposed to be my last long run before the Green Bay Marathon.  I got up super early (3:30am) just to get it in before work at 8am.  I had planned on doing 4 laps on a 5 mile loop for 20 miles.  I was going to run then harder and try to maintain a 7:30 pace and have it feel relatively easy.  I started running and just didn't feel right...at all.  I pushed through the first 5 miles and at about mile 3 of the first loop was when my right calf started to feel like a painful cramp, it felt really tight and it just hurt.  I decided to continue running one more loop with hopes that it would work itself out.  That wasn't the case.  It got worse.  I then called it a day after 10 miles.  My training took a serious hit after this day.  I didn't complete a single scheduled run from that day up to the marathon.  I missed my last long run, I missed my last race pace interval work out, I missed pretty much all my workouts.  Again, you can reference my Dry Needling Post for more specifics on how the "injury" progressed and how I attempted to cope with it.  My hope at this point was just to allow myself to finish by relying on the fitness I had stored away the past 3-4 months.  I tried several times to see if just a couple of days rest would solve the problem just to have the problem reappear either in the same location or in a different spot on my calf.  I knew the dry needling was working, it was just a matter of whether or not it would be enough to allow my body to push hard for 26.2 miles.  With about a week to go, I knew the calf was still an issue, so I took the approach that I had to just rest if I wanted any chance of finishing.  From April 27th (the day after the 5k) up to the race day, I ran a total of 6 times for 38 miles.

Day/Night Before

The day before the race was spent running errands with the family.  I was out of town for a SWAT training conference from Wednesday until Friday.  Immediately after getting home, we all went up to Green Bay for the packet pick up after I finished my last dry needle treatment.  It was kind of funny, as I am always stiff and sore immediately following dry needle treatments, so I got some pretty weird looks limping around the race expo with my bib as a fellow runner.  On Saturday, it seemed to help my tight calf moving around all day, but I would have honestly preferred to stop moving around a little earlier.  Regardless, we finished running our errands around 4ish and I then started prepping for dinner.  I cooked up some rice, vegetables, a sweet potato, all along with a filet of fish.  After dinner, I helped Sarah get the girls to bed, then I prepped a hot bath tub with Epsom salt to assist with the muscle soreness in my calf.  I was ultimately in bed around 8:30pm with a 4:00am wake up call.

I should take a moment to be honest here with my mentality leading up to the race.  I spent probably the entire week leading up the race mentally debating whether or not I should or should not even attempt to run the marathon.  My training mileage was basically nonexistent, and I tried running 3 miles on Friday, but needed to stop after just 2 miles.  I basically had two trains of thought - 1) I shouldn't put my body through any unnecessary stress and potentially ruin the rest of my race season.  and 2) I could at least try running the race and just pull out at the first sign of discomfort.  I played through just about every single scenario the last few days leading up to the race.  I sat and thought about the worst case scenario of DNF-ing for the first time ever.  I always think I will never DNF, I would crawl to the finish line of a race to avoid posting a DNF.  There's a joke that has made the rounds through social media that basically says an endurance athlete's alphabet goes "ABCEGHIJKLMOPQRSTUVWXYZ."  The joke is that the alphabet is lacking the letters, DNF, meaning an endurance athlete never uses the letters DNF.  I believed it.  I dreaded the thought of not finishing a race, it was the last thing I ever wanted.  To me, it meant I quit, I gave up, I didn't try hard enough.

Getting to the Start Line

The sunrise through the construction at Lambeau Field

My alarm went off at 4:00am and I was out of bed with the usual prerace jitters that I live for.  The only issue was that I had some serious doubt in my head.  My calf was tight, as usual, but I had a mindset that I was going to go out there and try and run.  Sarah and I had made a plan that she would set up at the 5 mile mark and that would give me enough time to determine if I would pull out, or keep trying.  After waking up, I made myself my new prerace breakfast of coffee, blended with a tbsp of butter, tbsp of MCT oil, cinnamon, vanilla, and almond butter.  Around 4:45 my dad was at my house to pick me up in order to get to Lambeau Field early enough to guarantee a parking spot, which was going to be limited due to the construction in the road and the stadium this year.  We made it to the stadium and were plenty early, as we were literally the 3rd car parked in the lot and the 2nd ones in the stadium atrium area.  We found ourselves a bench to hang out and just relax.  I spent most of the morning stretching and massaging my calf, which was actually feeling pretty good.  Before we knew it, I was standing at the start line just hoping that my body would allow me to at least finish.

Miles 0-6

After the gun went off, I just started with no real concrete goal in mind.  Sure, I would have jumped at the opportunity to finish in under 3 hours if it presented itself, but I was not going to stress if it didn't.  As the first mile marker passed, my calf was a non-factor.  Then, about a half mile later, I noticed an all to familiar tightness in my right calf, only it was in my lower calf, in the soleus area.  I thought for sure, my day was done.  I made the decision to keep pushing until it made me stop.  For what ever reason, the tightness went away after about a 1/10 of a mile and I was back to feeling normal.  After the first 2 miles, I realized that my auto-lap feature on my Garmin watch was turned off for what ever reason.  I have no idea why it would be turned off, but it was.  I always have it on and set to beep and alarm every single mile to make it easy to track my pace and my mile splits.  I was actually happy that it was turned off.  I was going to allow me to not stress over my pace and would truly allow me to run based on feel.  After the first 4 or 5 miles, I knew a 3 hour marathon was out of the question, even though I was posting mile splits in the range of 6:38-6:48/mile.  My body was clearly telling me that I missed a TON of training the past month.  It was pretty damn obvious that I had not run more than 10 miles in one workout since April 19th, my legs were tired and I was only 6 miles into this thing.

Miles 7-13.1

At this point, I told myself I was going to stop looking at my watch and just run.  I knew I was not going to be setting a PR and I had just hoped I could finish with a sub 3:30 marathon.  I slowed to a more comfortable pace and my calf continued to be a non-issue.  I took my first and second gels at the 7 and 12 mile mark, which I premade the night before in a multi-serving flask.  I put a little over a single serving of Hammer Gel, along with Mito Caps, Race Caps Supreme, Energy Surge, and Anit-Fatigue Caps, and topped the rest of the flask off with water.  I continued to feel surprising good, all things considered.  When I crossed the half way point, I was at a time of 1:31:XX.

Miles 13.1-18

After crossing the half way mark, I mentally began counting down the miles to the finish line.  My body continued to remind me how shitty my training was the last month.  My legs were sore, and I kept thinking, this is just how it feels to run a marathon without training.  At the 15 mile mark I was on pace to run a 3:12 marathon, which I would have been more then happy with.  I saw Sarah and my daughters for the third time around the 15 mile mark while on the Fox River Recreation Trail.  Within the next 1-1.5 miles, my right calf locked up and brought me to a walk.  I stopped to stretch it out and tried running again, hopping that I could just work it out.  I worked for about a quarter mile then it came right back.  I again tried to stretch and run again, but it never went away.  It was at that point I realized my day was done.  I was going to pull out from the race.  I knew Sarah and her family would be around the 17.5 mile point, so I just had to walk a little less then a mile before I could get pulled off the course officially.  I kept telling myself I was making the right decision, and I knew it was, but I couldn't help but think about how I was quitting.  I think I even called myself a "f---ing quitter" out loud a couple times.  While I was making the walk of shame, I could hear volunteers and spectators try to offer their words of encouragement as I walked to find my family.  I heard, "you're looking good," "keep it up," "you're almost done, just 9 more miles," and my favorite, "just walk a little bit, catch your breath, and get back at it!"  Ehhh....I just wanted to say, you have no effing clue.  But I just smiled and said thank you, they were just trying to help, which, hindsight, I do truly appreciate.  Just before finding my family, my dad passed me, he looked good, he didn't even look tired and was running really strong.  He and I just shared a look and he knew exactly what was going on.  I shook my head to say, "I'm done."  We shook hands quickly as he ran passed and said I was making the right decision and continued down the street.  Below is my Garmin File for the portion of the race I did complete...

Green Bay Marathon - Details

Post Race

After pulling out and finding Sarah and the kids, we jumped in the car and headed to Lambeau to watch my dad cross the finish line.  It was at that point were the emotions of not finishing the race hit me.  I tried my best to not cry, but I would be lying if I said, I didn't shed a single tear.  It was hard on me, completely regardless of the entire "quitting" aspect.  I kept thinking back on the past 3-4 months of regimented training, all the sacrifices I had made, and ultimately all the high hopes I had when I scheduled this race.  It was my first ever DNF.  I knew I had made the right decision.  I had two goals this race season.  1) Run a sub 3 hour marathon.  2) Qualify for Team USA at the USA-Triathlon National Championships.  I knew that if I was foolish and just ignored the pain and pushed through the last 9 miles just to finish, I was not going to finish in under 3 hours and I would definitely put my second goal in jeopardy and more then likely have to miss other races this summer.  I could have easily walked the final 9 miles of the race to finish and not get tagged with the dreaded "DNF."  But really, why?  If I had, Sarah would have more then likely remained along the course for the next 3-4 hours just to watch me walk.  And also, what would I have proved?  I have finished 8 previous marathons, 9 if you count Ironman Wisconsin.  I had nothing to prove by simply finishing a marathon.  

Sarah's post to Facebook, informing those, that I pulled out.
This post still means so much to me.

Without a doubt the hardest point came after we arrived back at Lambeau Field and I was pushing Maya in a stroller to the finish line and she turned and simply asked me, "Daddy, are you going to finish?"  Ugh, it still hits me where it counts.  That made me cry, I felt like I was letting my kids down.  They just wanted to see me finish and get a medal.  They don't know the difference between a 2:59 and a 3:59, they just want to see me wear a medal and let them wear it around their neck.  Maya was honestly just as sad as I was about not finishing.

Other Notes

I was able to make it to the start line to watch people finish their race.  I got to see the other end of the emotion's spectrum and see the joy and elation of months of hard work come to an end.  I was able to see a friend accomplish his goal of finishing a sub 3 hour marathon by finishing in 2:59:02.  Shortly after I was able to watch my dad cross the finish line.  He looked just a strong at 26.2 as he did at mile 17.  He finished with a Boston Qualifying time of 3:28:03.  It was really neat to watch him finish.  We then shared a post race beer and talked about his race and my decision to withdraw.  After we left, we grabbed a celebratory (for my dad) beer at Title Town Brewery.  

Lessons for Future Events

Well, it basically comes down to avoiding injury, no matter how severe.  I have no idea what the specific issue is, or the underlying cause of that issue.  I have a few ideas however.  First, I made the conscious decision to change shoe brands AND styles this year.  I have been running in traditional high mileage trainers for my marathon training and racing and then traditional racing flats for all races 5k-10k.  This year, I opted to make the switch to running in Newton Gravity's and Hoka One One Conquest's.  Both of these shoes have a minimal heel to toe drop which puts an added stress on the ankle and calf.  Secondly, after taking most of January and parts of February completely off from running, I jumped right back into run training, even with my 30 mile adventure on March 2nd.  If I were to ultimately guess what the one cause is, I would blame it on the change of shoes with no real transition period into them.  It comes down to the old adage, "DON'T FIX WHAT AINT BROKEN!"  From here on out, I will go back to wearing the shoes that have worked for me for years.  I have already purchased a new racing flat from a company who I have raced in before, Zoot.  All my shoes have a more moderate heel to toe drop.

My first DNF, so sad...let's drink

What's Next

With my first ever DNF now behind me, I am focusing on the start of my triathlon season.  My first triathlon is already less then a month away.  I will be racing the High Cliff Sprint Triathlon on June 14th.  I found an aggressive sprint triathlon training plan leading up to the Age Group National Championships in August were I will try to qualify for Team USA.  The training plan is very specific when it comes to paces and intervals.  The training plan consists of short, yet very intense work outs.  Most work outs are 30-60 minutes in duration with the longest one being about 90 minutes.  I think the transition from long endurance work outs from the marathon to short duration intense triathlon training will be a good change of pace for me and my injured calf.  This transition will also limit the miles of running and break it up more with swimming and cycling, which will also strengthen my legs which I think is something I could benefit from.  I have also, already scheduled a redemption marathon later in the fall to hopefully break 3 hours at.  I signed up for the Whistle Stop Marathon in Ashland, WI on October 11th.  This race works out perfect with my current race schedule, as my last triathlon in August 10th.  That will leave me with 9 weeks of training to prepare myself to run a fast marathon.  This race also works out for my family, as I am already off from work that weekend and my in-laws have a cabin about 30 minutes south of Ashland.  So we already have plans to go up there for an extended weekend as a family and watch the race and celebrate Maya's 5th birthday together.  There is also a kids fun run after the marathon, which Maya is already excited for the opportunity to participate in.  So the more I look ahead, the better I feel about my decision to withdraw from the race.  I even created a wallpaper for my phone to keep me focused on my goals...

 

Outnumbered

It's been a while since I last wrote, so now seems like a good time to get caught up.  Harper is now approaching 3 weeks, which sounds like no big deal, but to any parent, it's crazy.  To think that our last baby is already 3 weeks old.  Yes, I said last.  We get asked quite often if Harper will be our last and both Sarah and I, without hesitation claim, "oh yea!"  Not that we don't or couldn't handle a fourth child.  It truly comes down to logistics and finances.  Raising a kid is not cheap (ahhh....duh).  If you would have asked me just one month ago and asked me, personally, if I wanted a fourth kid, I would have laughed, asked, "are you serious," and come right back with a short two letter answer..."NO."  But, with Harper here, and most of the "honeymoon period" over and done with.  Having a third kid around the house isn't half bad.  Sure, it helps having Super Mom around the house all the time, but Sarah and I have adjusted rather nicely to being a family of 5 from the previous family of 4.  Sarah has been at home since Harper was born and will continue to stay home with her and the girls until the beginning of May, at which time, I have taken some time away from work to help out around the house and to keep Harper at home just a little longer, before sending her to childcare.  It really hasn't been all the bad around our house.  Hectic?  Yes.  Loud?  Sure.  Messy?  Oh yea.  Enjoyable?  You bet!  Sarah and I have helped each other out when needed.  Sarah is and always has been the baby whisperer of our relationship.  And truthfully, I don't really "do" babies.  Sarah and I have each taken on our own responsibilities based on our strengths.  Sarah cares for Harper and her around-the-clock needs, while I handle the two older girls, who don't have the same constant needs, but seem to have their own frustrations.

Cousins!

Grandma and Grandpa Kohl

Raising a baby will take a lot outta ya!

Simply adorable

As my title clearly states, Sarah and I are now officially outnumbered, 2:3.  3 munchkins to 2 adults.  It's not fair, not at all.  But that isn't the only way I am currently outnumbered.  There is also a current ratio of 4:1, yes, four to one.  That ratio is girls to boys.  As Three Dog Night infamously wrote years ago, "One is the loneliest number."  But honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way.  I love having my little girls.  Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have one teammate on my side, but, as I often say, everything happens for a reason.  I think if money was not an issue, Sarah and I would definitely try to have a 4th kid with hopes of my elusive son.  But, let's be honest, money is most definitely an issue and our house is not going to be growing overnight with the size of our family.  So, we are only able to have as many kids as our paychecks will allow.  Trust me, we are really pushing the limits of our paychecks to see just how many kids we can support every other week.  But I know neither Sarah nor I would have it any other way.  We are happy, all 5 of us.  

The first 3 weeks have come and gone so quickly.  Last weekend, we brought Harper and our family to Jennifer Lee Photography in Downtown Little Chute for our family pictures and Harper's newborn pictures.  We have only seen a couple of photos so far, but can not wait to see the rest of them.  That same day was Maya's Preschool Family Night at the YMCA.  For a dish to pass, Maya and I made little fruit bowls that were made to look like dolphins.  It was something I saw on Pinterest earlier that week (shared by my mother) and I must say they turned out pretty cool.    Harper has had a ton of visitors ranging from family, friends, and coworkers.  She is truly a blessed kid and lucky to have the family she does!  

Short Training Update

With it being so long since my last post, it has been even longer since I last wrote about my training.  I have registered for just about all my races for 2014 which means my race schedule for this year is just about complete.  I still need to register for the Door County Fall 50 Ultramarathon, but the registration period for that does not open until April 1st, so I still have a couple days until I even have the ability to register for that race.  There are a couple of other local races I have had my eye on that I have not registered for yet, those being the Neenah Duathlon on May 3rd and the Green Bay Triathlon on June 1st.  There are a couple of stipulations as to why I have not registered for either of these races yet.  First, the duathlon, it falls on the day after my cousins wedding.  Yea, not the best atmosphere to be in the night before a race, but we will see.  As for the GB Tri, I am scheduled to work the night before and the race starts at 7:00am in Green Bay.  I am done with work at 6:10am in Oshkosh, an hour away.  So, once again, it falls into a "we'll see" category.
As far as my training, it has been right where I want it to be for the end of March.  I am on track for the Green Bay Marathon on May 18th.  My shin/calf has been a non-issue ever since I took the three weeks off between January 6th and the 26th.  Since my 30 mile run on my 30th birthday, I have changed gears from a volume focused training plan to an intensity based training plan.  Each of my runs has a specific prescribed pace and purpose.  I have done Goal Marathon Pace workouts (6:50/mile), Tempo Runs (6:20/mile), Mile Repeats (5:30/mile), Long Runs (7:30-8:30/mile) and Easy Runs (6:50-7:50/mile).  I have still been doing intermittent bike and swim workouts between my running.  Today was actually the first day I was able to get my bike outside and actually ride outdoors.  It was about 36* when I went out the door this morning but was windy as hell.  It's always fun to do that first outdoor ride of the year, because it is always a rude awakening to remember the challenges of hills and wind.  It's so easy to forget that when your stuck indoors for hours and hours throughout the winter.

As I said, my training has been going great so far, but I find myself needing to keep myself in check.  I find that am I constantly saying, "Hey, you aren't training for an Ironman this year!"  It's like I am always wanting to do more, go longer, add an additional bike ride or swim when and where I can.  Especially now, I need to just stay focused on my primary goal of running a sub 3 hour marathon, which I think I have been doing a good job of so far.  Tomorrow I have my third Marathon Goal Pace (MGP) workout.  I have been doing these workouts with a total distance between 12-16 miles with built in longer intervals completed at MGP.  For instance, tomorrow, I am scheduled to run 3 repeats of 3 miles done at MGP with 2-3 miles rest/recovery between intervals.  My total volume is 14 miles, so I am planning on running a 3 mile warm up before my first interval and end with an easy 2 mile cool down.  These are challenging, but very rewarding workouts.  I have high expectations for these workouts and hoping that they will properly prepare me for the Green Bay Marathon in a month and half.

My first race of the year is coming up in a couple weeks with the Oshkosh Half Marathon on April 13th.  My goal is to finish around 1:23 (6:20/mile pace).  If I am able to run a 1:23 half, I will feel very confident in running a 2:59 marathon a month later.  The only caveat is that I work the night before and after the race.  So fatigue will definitely play a factor.  I will still go out and try to run a 1:23 race, but my expectations are not nearly as high as they would be if I was not working the night before.

Our SWAT Team did a Photo shoot with a local newspaper
to recognize our SWAT Team of the Year Award.
This was one of the pictures taken.  Yes, that's me on the left.

With everything falling in place with our family and Sarah and I getting back into a routine, I plan on writing a little more regularly about my family and training life.

So....until next time!
Be fast, be strong, and carry on!

Going Sub 3

Everyone knows that running a 26.2 miles is hard, regardless of how long it takes you.  It takes hours of training, dedication, and determination.  Running a marathon under 3 hours increases the difficulty exponentially.  It turns the already challenging task of completing a marathon into a rare accomplishment.  How rare?  According to Runner's World, only 2% of all marathon finishers completed 26.2 miles in under 3:00:00 in 2011.  Running a sub 3 hour marathon is the ultimate goal for many marathoners.  It's a time that differentiates the good from the elite.  It may only be a second or two, but the difference between 3:00:01 and 2:59:59 is huge.  I have been shooting for a sub 3 hour marathon for the past 3 years now.  In 2010 I ran a 3:03:46 at the Fox Cities Marathon, so I know I have the ability to do it.  Since then, I have had 2:59:59 in my sights.  Unfortunately, I haven't really come that close.  Since my 3:03 performance, I have run (in chronological order) 3:17:44, 3:12:23, and 3:10:32.  I guess if you wanted to look on the bright side of those times, I'm trending in the right direction, but still a ways off.  I don't want to sound like I am making excuses as to why I haven't been able to finish in under 3 but here are my top 3 hypotheses.

1. I have not devoted the necessary time to training specifically for a sub 3 marathon.

The past 3 seasons (especially 2013) I have focused on a balanced approach to the sport of triathlon.  I have run at least one marathon each year, but have always included triathlon races as part of my training program and trained relatively hard in both swimming and cycling.  

2. I have not stayed committed to a regimented diet since 2010 and have progressively gained unnecessary weight.

In 2010 when I ran a 3:03 my body weight was in the 155-160 range.  I raced IM Wisconsin at 175, about 20 pounds heavier.  You don't think it makes a difference?  Strap on a 20lb vest and go for a short run and see how it effects your times.  Now consider running a full 26.2 miles with that same vest on!

3. My weekly mileage has not been as high as it should be for a sub 3 training plan.

This one could probably be grouped in with #1, seeing how the main reason I never allowed my mileage to get over 30-40 miles per week is to allow time and recovery for all the other workouts I was completing during the week.

Now that I have successfully crossed off completing an Ironman from my bucket list, I am going to focus my efforts toward a new goal - Running a sub 3 hour marathon.  How do I plan on doing it?  What are going to be my key workouts?  What will my training plan look like?  How many miles will I run in a week?  

First, I want to explain how I planned my 2014 race schedule.  I scheduled a spring marathon that I am familiar with on May 18th, being the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon.  This will allow me to focus 100% of my attention on running throughout the winter and spring.  After the marathon, I will cut back on running and focus majority of my attention toward cycling and swimming for the heart of the triathlon season, June through July.  After two months of focused triathlon racing, I will change gears once again and focus again on running to finish my first ultramarathon.  I am eyeing up Door County's Fall 50 on October 25th.  It all fits rather nicely into a logical annual plan broken down into three phases; marathon specific work early, triathlon specific with a focus on cycling and swimming in the middle, and finish with a pure aerobic phase at the end of the year.

I won't dive into how I structured my entire 2014 annual training plan, but want to focus solely on how I plan on training for a sub 3 hour Cellcom Green Bay Marathon.  This spring, I plan on training like a marathoner, not a triathlete.  Unlike past years, when I trained for a marathon all while training for triathlons, I will focus my efforts on running, and use swimming and cycling as recovery workouts, as opposed to key midweek workouts.  My plan actually began this week, on Monday December 16th.  I have it broken down into two unique phases.  First, I built a full 12 week base building phase which will end on March 9th.  The last week of that phase is an unloading week to allow for some recovery.  Yes, I do have mid-cycle recovery weeks built in, but week 12 has a very significant decrease in mileage compared to any other previous week.  After my recovery week, I will begin an 8 week build phase with very specific workouts focused on strict pace work.  I will then unload again during a 2 week taper before toeing the start line in Green Bay on May 18th.  So let's dive into the plan...

Base Building (12 Weeks)

This phase is about as simple as it gets.  The main objective of this 12 week phase is to build my aerobic engine.  I want to make my body as aerobically efficient as possible.  In order to do this, I will do all my run workouts in a specific heart rate range.  I plan on using a MAF heart rate range of 145-155 bpm.  I won't dive into specifics on MAF Training, but if you would like to find out more, check out this website: MAF 180 Heart Rate Training.  Basically, you take 180 and subtract your age and depending on your current fitness level you adjust this number either up or down (see the article).  Therefore, being 30, I am left with 150, but due to several years of endurance training, I get to add 5 beats to this number.  Then I simply create a 10 beat range with 155 being my max, leaving me with a range of 145-155.  I will train strictly in the heart rate range while increasing my weekly mileage to a range that is suggested for elite marathoning.  I have done some general research on training plans for elite age group marathoners and have found that, although many of the individual workouts vary greatly, one thing seems to remain constant, a high weekly training mileage.  Most training plans I have found have a weekly training mileage of 50 up to 100+.  In the past, my peak weeks were 35-50 at best, mainly due to devoting time to swimming and cycling.  With this training plan I start out in December with 36 mile week and build up to a 56 mile week.  My biggest individual day is centered around my 30th birthday on March 2nd, when I will run 30 miles to commemorate turning 30.  The weekly breakdown is simple.  I will run every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Each Tuesday and Saturday will be a shorter distance long run, with longer runs falling on Thursdays and Sundays.  The Sunday long run will be the longest of runs within each week.  Mondays will be a recovery swim workout, which will be technique based and Wednesdays will be a medium duration bike day.  

This will be the first ever 7 day training plan I will follow since starting with Winnebago County and working a 9 day shift rotation.  This will require some long runs after a night of work, but I want to reap the benefits of more frequent long runs.

Peak Marathon Phase (8 Weeks)

During this phase is when I do a complete 180 in the type of workouts I will do.  There will be no more heart rate based training.  Over the next 8 weeks following a long base building phase, I will begin very specific workouts geared towards training my body to be able to hold sub 3 hour marathon pace for 26.2 miles.  During this phase, I will base all my workouts on a specific pace.  To determine appropriate paces for each individual workout, I used the McMillan Running Calculator at www.mcmillanrunning.com.  I entered in a goal race time of 2:59:00 for a marathon and was provided a very specific pace range for a variety of distances and run types (long run, tempo, speed, etc).  In my peak phase I will increase the number of weekly runs from 4 to 5.  My weekly schedule will consist of a rotation of either mile repeats or hill repeats on Monday.  Tuesdays and Wednesdays will be moderate distance runs.  On Saturday, I scheduled various sets of long intervals.  I will complete traditional long and easy runs on Sunday.  Below is a description of each of the different types of workouts I will complete during this phase.

Mile Repeats

Running short sprint repeats are not truly necessary for marathon training, but some form of speed work is necessary.  Sprint intervals of 400-800m are nearly too short to elicit a beneficial training response specific to the marathon.  However, longer high speed workouts can be beneficial for increasing your lactate threshold and your overall efficiency.  In the past I have run mile repeats with a 3 minute recovery period.  This year, I am trying a shorter recovery period.  I found a unique style of mile repeats while researching training plans for my training plan.  I found a style of mile repeats that copies a popular interval style from lap swimming.  Instead of having a set recovery period, I will begin a mile interval every 7 minutes.  If I run my first interval in 5:30, I will get 1:30 to recovery before the next rep.  On the 2nd interval, I finish in 5:45, I get 1:15 to recovery before the next.  It's that simple.  I have a predetermined number of reps during each session and then set a daily mileage goal for that day.  So for instance, on April 1st, I am scheduled to run 4x1 mile with a total distance of 7 miles.  On this day, I will run a 1.5-2 mile warm up and finish with a 1-1.5 mile cool down with the 4, mile repeats to reach a total of 7 miles.  

Hill Repeats

On scheduled hill repeat days, I will not follow a strict workout.  I have access to a few decent sized hills near my home.  First, there is the well known hill at High Cliff State Park.  Then there is the hill near Thousand Island's Nature Preserve.  Closest to my house is a shorter hill which is about 3/4 of a mile from home.  Depending on my work schedule and other possible commitments, I will determine where I will complete my hill repeats.  On that day, I will judge how I feel and either do shorter duration, higher intensity hill sprints, or do longer duration, lower intensity intervals up the hill.  On the short end I am looking at a total duration of about 20-30 seconds of up hill running, while on the longer end of the spectrum I will aim at about a 45-60 second set.  Running up hills not only improves your overall running efficiency, but also increases your overall running specific strength.  Hill repeats are found in just about every elite marathon training plan.  The only thing I found consistent with hill repeats in all the training plans I read, was that there were no two plans with the same philosophy for how to complete hill repeats.  Because of this, I will play each scheduled hill repeat by ear and vary the style of how I complete my repeats.

Midweek Long Run

These are my Wednesday and Thursday runs.  The main goal of these runs are to boost my aerobic capacity and to add to my weekly mileage.  These runs are done at a comfortable zone 2-3 pace, just above a recovery pace.  On my training plan you will see that I have quite a wide range of paces (from 6:50 to 7:50).  That is done on purpose.  I want to have the ability to take it easy on days I feel a little beaten up while on other days when I am feeling fresh, I don't want to have to force myself to hold back.

Long Intervals

The purpose of long intervals is to train your body to learn to run at your desired race pace.  They also allow you to get more total time at a higher speed then doing just one tempo run at a set distance.  During the main sets of these long intervals, I will aim at holding a steady pace at or slightly below my goal marathon pace of 6:45/mile.  My first long interval workout is relatively short with 2x3 miles and each week builds from that with a variety of combinations to peak with a 2x6 at race pace just before I begin my 2 week taper.  This final long interval set will be slightly different from all the prior sets.  During this set, I am going to try something completely different that I read makes this workout very specific to the later stages of the marathon.  During this workout, I will run the first 6 miles at my goal race pace, immediately upon completing this set, I will sit and do nothing for about 10-15 minutes.  This will allow proper recovery, but also allow my legs to begin to recover.  I will then go back out for the second 6 miles and do my best to hang on at my goal pace.  I've heard that this is a great workout to let you know if you have a realistic goal time or not.  From what I understand, if you are able to maintain a consistent pace during that second 6 miles, you should be good to go for your marathon.  As for all the prior long interval sessions, my recovery will be in the ball park of 2-5 minutes, depending on the duration of the set and the number of sets.  The sole reason my rest interval is so long on my final session is to elicit the feeling of "heavy legs" which is so typical of the final 10k of a marathon.

Long Run

These weekly runs fall on Sundays, the very next day following my long interval sessions.  I did this for a couple reasons.  First, I want to run these on somewhat tired legs.  I figure if I can run effectively on tired legs, I theoretically should be able to run that much better on fresh legs.  Secondly, I want to have a day with a specific workout designated towards recovery.  You will notice this run has the slowest pace range, at 7:00-8:00.  These runs will range from 12 miles up to 22 miles and will all be done at a relaxed pace.  These runs will also incorporate a few minor walk breaks to properly fuel and hydrate.  The number one goal of the weekly long run is to maintain and grow your aerobic engine, to ultimately turn your body into an efficient fat burning machine!  I have read several articles and reports about NOT running longer than 16 miles or 2-2.5 hours.  I buy this to an extent.  I think I can see this method being beneficial if you are running more than 2 marathons in a calendar year, you have been running consistently and regimented for at least 5 years, and/or you are naturally a gifted runner and find yourself getting injured when you run long.  If you don't find yourself falling into one of those categories, I think you need the long run, it will only help.  At a minimum it will at least give you the mental confidence to go that far, especially if this is going to be your first marathon.  There is no way I would ever recommend a first timer to peak at only 16 miles in their training plan.  That would simply be setting that person up for failure.

Taper (2 Weeks)

The taper phase is just that.  A gradual tapering of weekly mileage to elicit an overcompensation effect in your overall fitness.  It also allows ample time for your body to fully recover to allow you to get to the start line at 100%, so to speak.  The duration of your taper phase depends on several things, your overall fitness level, your experience level, and how hard you trained.  At the absolute high end, a taper phase would last no more than 4 weeks and a minimum of 2 weeks.  A typical taper will begin immediately following your highest volume week (your peak week).  From there you cut your mileage about 25% and then an additional 25-50% the next week.  The percentages that you cut your mileage down to depends on the total duration of your taper phase.  Throughout your taper you are cutting your VOLUME, but NOT your INTENSITIES.  You should still maintain your intensities throughout your taper.  Typically, I schedule one final short race pace tempo run on the Monday or Tuesday of race week as one final "tune-up."  From there you get to plug runs into your schedule as you see fit.  At a minimum you should do your last run on Thursday, if the race in on a Sunday allowing two full days for recovery.  However, if you feel confident it won't leave you mentally fatigued, some people will run a short (1-2 miles) the day before the race.  Which ever you chose, keep in mind that you should be taking it easy and stressing recovery throughout your entire taper phase.  If you are scheduled for a rest day, REST.  Get an extra hour of sleep, stretch, get a massage, etc.

So there you have it, my plan to finally break the 3 hour mark in the marathon.  The only topic I did not cover was my diet as I mentioned the effect that my current body weight had on my ability to maintain proper pacing in the marathon to finish in under 3 hours.  I know I have said on here countless times, that I need to regain the self control I had a few years back to better gain control of my body composition.  I recall specifically laying out my wanting to jump on board with a ketogenic diet a month or two ago.  Honestly, I was jumping into something I do not think I was totally prepared for, especially being the head chef for my family.  So, where do I go from here, how do I get back down to a reasonable running/racing weight?  First, I want to get past the holiday season.  Let's all be honest, this is no time to start a strict, relatively uncommon (at least in America) diet.  As soon as I get past Christmas and all of it's indulgences, I will start eating more simply.  Sounds easy, right?  Just three words: EAT. REAL. FOOD.  No processed junk.  Nothing artificial.  No refined sugars.  Just whole, real, fresh, nutritious, food.  I figure this is a simply diet and will be easy to follow even with preparing meals for the entire family.  With that being said, all that's left to do is the work!  Wish me luck!  And if you are reading this to assist you with preparing your training plan, best of luck to you - and please do not hesitate to email me or message me on Twitter @IrondadTri, or on Facebook with any specific questions you may have.

As always ~ Be fast, be strong, & carry on!