A Look at How We Are Training for Our Next Marathon

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In this episode we give you an inside look at our training for the London Marathon, what we’ve been doing and how it’s working. This will be marathon #57 for me and I’m experimenting with higher mileage. Plus, I’ll explain what I’m doing for strength training and what my morning routine looks like (which is quite the contrast to Trevor’s routine). And in this episode’s quick tip we feature a listener question about rotating shoes during training.

A Look at How We Are Training for Our Next Marathon

For this episode Trevor decided to interrogate me about my training for the London Marathon which is April 28th 2019.

As you will hear on the podcast my “A” goal is to finish under 4 hours and my “B” goal is to finish as close to 4 hours as I can.

Experimenting with higher mileage

I’ve been experimenting with Hanson’s Marathon Method which calls for lower long run mileage but more running days and longer distance runs midweek. I have also been doing my long runs according to time rather than distance. For example, I’ll run for 3 hours instead of running for a set number of miles.

I ran my PR of 3:35:41 (back in 2012) and also qualified for Boston (in 2014) doing only 4 running days per week and typically my body has started to break down if I train with higher volume. But as you get older you typically get better at listening to your body and knowing when it is safe to push harder. So I’ve been increasing my volume this training cycle.

My Strength Training

I have also been doing one intense strength training session per week. Here is an example of some of the moves:

• Lunges with weights
• Dumbbell squats with overhead press
• Weighted hip thrusts
• Deadlifts
• Back squats
• Banded side walks

I am also doing one yoga session and two core workouts each week.

Trevor asked me how many training days I’ve missed in the last four months. If I have to miss a day I will shift my schedule around and make the missed day a rest day (since I always take one rest day per week). So, not counting the rest days, I’ve only missed three scheduled workouts in the last four months due to sickness and traveling to my cousin’s funeral. I love to workout so staying on task with my training is not hard for me.

My Morning Routine

I’m a morning person. Here is my morning routine from the time I wake up until when I start work.

• Wake up at 6:00 am
• 20 minutes of meditation.
• Make a pot of green tea and oatmeal with chia seeds, coconut flakes, almond slivers, walnuts, and frozen raspberries and blueberries.
• Make sure our older sons (age 14 and 12) get on the bus at 7:10am. Help my youngest son (age 8) with his morning routine until the school bus comes.
• Finish my morning tea and read a non-fiction book for a few minutes.
• Out the door to run and exercise between 8:30-10:00 (unless it’s a long run day which means I may be gone a longer period).
• Shower, have a morning snack, and start work to get as much done as I can before the kids arrive back from school.

Always Learning Something New About Myself

One thing that I’ve discovered after 10 years of marathon training is that you still learn something about yourself whether you’re training for your first marathon build or your 57th marathon. Long distance running has a way of building up your confidence while still keeping you humble. An example of that is how we talked about avoiding chafing during the quick tip on our last episode. Two days later I got some ridiculous chafing near my collar bone from the zipper seam of a running jacket. I just had to laugh!

Learning to Stay Flexible

One challenge of running a spring marathon is that the weather you train in can often change drastically halfway through. For much of the training cycle you may be dealing with winter weather challenges and then one day spring arrives and suddenly you’re overdressed and sweating profusely.

You may have trained mostly in cold weather (or warm for our friends in the Southern Hemisphere) and then you’re presented with totally opposite conditions on race day. Sometimes the body has some difficulty switching over from conserving heat to being able to sweat and cool efficiently.

This can present a challenge if you have warm conditions on race day so it’s important to be flexible and realize that we can’t control for every outcome. For a Type A personality like myself this can be a challenge but that’s often how many situations in life are. Marathon training can teach us great lessons about being flexible and adjusting to uncertainty.

Also Mentioned in This Episode

Lactigo -a topical gel that improves athletic performance and recovery. LactiGo is an effective, fast-acting topical gel with menthol and carnosine that
helps people maximize their athletic performance and speed muscle recovery. Applied directly to the skin above the desired muscles for targeted relief. Get a 10% discount by using the promo code MTA.

NuNee Device -designed specifically to relieve that dreaded Runner’s Knee pain. Use code MTA20 for a 20% discount.

On Running Shoes – The clean and minimalistic design as well as its sole technology gives you the sensation of running on clouds. Try a pair of On’s for yourself for 30 days and put them to the test – that means actually running in them before you decide to keep.

BioLite Headlamp 330 -ultra-thin, super bright, NO-BOUNCE headlamp that’s so comfortable, you’ll actually forget you’re wearing it. Use code MTA at checkout for 15% off.

MetPro -Using Metabolic Profiling, MetPro analyzes your metabolism and provides you with an individualized strategy to obtain your goals.

The John Muir Trust -help us plant 262 trees!

Resurrected Runner -creator of parody songs for runners.