Plan for Marathon 8 months away

Week 5 Update:

M - OFF
T - 11.2
W - OFF
T - OFF
F - 4.2
S - 10.8
S - 17.4

Total = 43.6 miles

Was a strange week, felt somewhat exhausted and completely lost the motivation to run on a few of the days, maybe as a consequence of too many back to back medium/long runs the previous week. Still it was a valuable learning experience so I'll be making a few changes going into the next week to see how that plays out.

Awesome. Consistency is key. Going to crush that Thon'. Which Marathon are your running? New York?

Thanks, appreciate the encouragement!

Actually it's the Amsterdam Marathon - 18th October 2026

Week 6 Update:

M - 7.2
T - OFF
W - 10.2
T - 10.2
F - 7.2
S - OFF
S - 26.2 (14 AM + 12.2 PM)

Total = 61 miles

Happy to be back at 60 MPW, hopefully this stays consistent going forward

Solid. On your OFF days do you take them completely off or are doing cross training and/or strength training? Godspeed......

That's a good question as I never really considered my other physical activities as cross training but I do cycle commute and also follow a quick strengthening routine (Pullups, Overhead Press, Dead Hang & Pushups) daily so I suppose I am cross training on my OFF days, though I hope to eventually become resilient enough to never take a day off running

Week 7 Update:

M - 7.2
T - 7.2
W - 11.3
T - 7.2
F - 10.2
S - 12.2
S - 17

Total = 72.3 miles

First time ever that I've hit the 70 MPW mark, feeling somewhat fatigued but I guess that's to be expected, the journey continues...

Week 8 Update:

M - 8.7
T - OFF
W - 20
T - 11.2
F - OFF
S - 12.6
S - 17.6

Total = 70.1 miles

One more 70 mile week despite a couple days off, and some injections of intensity sprinkled into a few of the runs felt surprisingly welcome after slogging mostly easy pace over the previous weeks

Step 1 - Download Vincent Mauri's Strava

Step 2 - Duplicate it

Step 3: - Run 2:05

You're welcome.

Step 0 - Travel back in time and select better parents!

Week 9 Update:

M - OFF
T - OFF
W - OFF
T - 15.7
F - 12.8
S - OFF
S - 13.6

Total = 42.1 miles

I'll call this shambles a "down week" and assume my body needs more time around the 60 MPW mark for the foreseeable future

Week 10 Update:

M - OFF
T - OFF
W - OFF
T - OFF
F - OFF
S - 13.1
S - OFF

Total = 13.1 miles

I had been experiencing a lower achilles pain throughout the previous week so I took 5 days completely off but although it seemed to get a bit better over those days, it was still present when running again on Saturday and got much worse again thereafter, maybe I should have kept running daily but very easily over those days instead...

Week 11 Update:

M - OFF
T - 8.7
W - OFF
T - OFF
F - 8.7
S -OFF
S - 13.6

Total = 31 miles

Achilles still troublesome, maybe it's scar tissue causing the issue as things improve once moving but soreness returns with inactivity so will aim to maintain a more regular routine over the next week and see how that goes

Week 12 Update:

M - OFF
T - OFF
W - OFF
T - OFF
F - 7.2
S - 11.2
S - 13.2

Total = 31.6 miles

Achilles still flares up so trying to regulate mileage/effort accordingly, plus new stress factors emerging, temperatures climbing into 30+ degree Celsius range (80+ degrees F)

Week 13 Update:

M - 7.2
T - 7.2
W - OFF
T - 15.5
F - OFF
S - OFF
S - 10.2

Total = 40.4 miles

Still trying to get some consistency back, Achilles very slowly improving but far from fully healed, last few weeks have been a harsh lesson in how fragile the body can be

Week 14 Update:

M - OFF
T - 7.2
W - OFF
T - OFF
F - OFF
S - OFF
S - OFF

Total = 7.2 miles

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