I have never trained for a marathon! 7 marathons in and I have never followed a proper marathon training program. That probably explains why I’ve never been able to get a result that I was actually proud of (bare in mind 4 of them have been virtual marathons of me running around in a loop of sadness and temporary insanity).
With that being said, my next marathon attempt is during a live event! The San Sebastián Marathon which I have actually (specifically) trained for. With my current marathon PB being 4:12 which I achieved in Brighton way back in 2018 before all the tech and learnings of pacing myself or the “understanding” of fuelling my races. Sounds strange that I’ve been going backwards in regards to marathon attempts. I blame the lack of rest or dedication towards them along the way. This time though, things are different!
Stick To The Plan
I have been following a marathon training program called ‘Marathon Revolution‘ which is a 100 day marathon training program that goes against traditional marathon training; the maximum distance I have (and will) run during the training program is 14km! No half marathon training runs, no 32km long runs creeping towards race day, nothing above 14k. If it sounds crazy to you, that in preparation for 42km (26.2 miles) that I won’t even get to attempt half, then I’m with you! The thought is slightly daunting, but they say trust the process. That is exactly what I’m doing.
Some context around the marathon training is that rather than focusing on pace, it’s all centred on heart rate training, which I have frustratingly attempted in the past, but following this plan’s formula, I have been running at a heart rate that dictates the pace rather than the other way around. I have noticed that I’ve been running faster than previous heart rate training attempts which makes me hopeful. I have also felt way more recovered. Only training 4 days a week with loads of rest has made me feel fresh coming into hard training days which has allowed me to push a lot harder without burning out. So all in all, I feel great and drawing closer to the big day, I feel ready!
Trust The Process
Trust the process is a phrase that gets thrown around way to often but on this occasion I am sticking with it. Trusting that actually dedicating a training protocol to a marathon will give me results I have never achieved.
My current marathon PB is 4:12…time to change that number. Let’s see what happens.
Have you heard of the marathon revolution training program? Do you think 14k is enough to train for a marathon?
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