So, for a solid four months straight, I stuck to this training routine gearing up for a half marathon. Then, in the fifth month, I tweaked it a bit to prep for a full-on marathon. Like I mentioned earlier, I simplified things while keeping the core structure intact:
Monday: Easy jog for 8-11 km
Tuesday: Did 10 x 3min intervals, cruising at a pace between 10 km and half marathon pace
Wednesday: Another chill run, 8-11 km
Thursday: Hammered out 5 x 6min intervals at a half marathon pace
Friday: Took it easy again with 8-11 km
Saturday: 3 x 10min intervals, just a tad slower than half marathon pace
Sunday: 75-95 minutes long, a bit quicker than usual but still cruising in Zone 2.
For intervals days I had 3km warm up and only 1km chill down. Rest between intervals 60-90 sec.
Come February, I was all set for a half marathon, aiming for at least 1:18:xx. But man, did things go south after the halfway mark. Looking back at the data, it was clear I wasn't in top form that day. My heart rate was way too high from the get-go compared to my training days from a week ago, and I used chest strap for precise readings. Hit a 3:43 pace at the halfway mark, but the second half turned into a survival mode slog, finishing in 1:21.
After that disappointing half, I had a mere four weeks to gear up for a full-blown marathon in Rome. I decided to tweak the plan by easing up on the Saturday run and stretching out the long run to over 30 km, keeping it slightly below marathon effort for 15-20 km of it.
This was my third crack at a marathon, with my last one clocking in at 2:58:45 about a year and a half ago. My heart rate in those previous marathons averaged 162 bpm, so this time, I capped it at 160 bpm until the 30 km mark.
Crossed the finish line in 2:54:09, and boy, did I still have some gas left in the tank. Last 700 meters, I was flying at a 3:29 pace. And get this, all of this was done with just three long runs - 30 km, 35 km, and 32 km.
So, yeah, turns out this method isn't just good for up to half marathons - it works pretty well for the full marathons too. I was smashed after my first 2 marathons, but this one went butter smooth. I had no idea marathon could be that easy on the body. I was back at full training mode on Tuesday.
My advice? Stick to the base training, like I did for the first four months, then maybe start prepping specifically for the marathon about a month earlier than I did to get in more long runs. But hey, I was dead set on smashing that half marathon PR just two weeks before the full marathon, so there you go!
I got my next attempt at setting new half marathon PR in 3 weeks. I hope that it won't be too warm, since I am pretty temperature sensitive