Boston Build #2: The Ups and Downs of Marathon Training, Key Workouts, and Detours

In this episode we check in on how training is going, talk about the detours that have come up in training, and dive into how we plan to approach the race. We also share how we feel like our blocks have gone and some of the key sessions we have been doing to get ready for race day.

Transcript

rich_2_03-24-2024_173141: 0:52

Yeah, I'm hanging in there, uh, trying to find sessions when I'm feeling healthy and take care of my body when I'm not over the last month, but looking forward to check back in, uh, since Matt's been just crushing it week in and week out. Yeah, it definitely feels like that. Um, I feel like I'm coming into Friday being like, where am I going to find another 40 miles and, uh, making it happen on the days I have off, which I've been scrolling through a Strava feed. Here looking at this build versus the last marathon build and seeing what's different, and that is definitely a difference, which is lots of big back to back days, double digit days, Saturday and Sunday Yeah. when was that episode? I was trying to figure out what week that was. Oh, right. That's what I thought. Yeah. Uh, yeah, no, I, it's, it's definitely some ups and downs because looking at, let's say end of, let's say last week of January into February, 70 miles, then 30 miles, then, you know, 62, 67, 56, 69, 27, and 78. So it's been like either a pretty down week, either from, um, I flared on my Achilles one of the first, like down week there after a track session. It wasn't terrible, but I was being super cautious, um, based on when it wasn't the season. And then, uh, last week I was. dead on the couch with, um, what was probably the flu, uh, for a bunch of days. So I didn't run for the first half of the week. Ran back, like came back a day, felt terrible, took another day off and then somehow did a 13 mile marathon tempo, uh, that Sunday, but, but, uh, no, three weeks out, I think feeling good. This week was definitely a confidence builder. Um, with, I didn't do any workouts this week, but just, just lots of mileage. So 78. Miles pretty much took Monday off as like two miles that I ran and then every other day almost Doubled it either like nine or up to the 23 I did Um this morning and just legs feeling really good and strong Barrioso. Yeah. yeah, Yeah. I love to, I always love coming down to sea level. See what happens. Yeah. Uh, I've definitely included more vert than in other marathon builds here, which is a, something we get to take advantage of here in salt lake. We have nice rolling hills, um, all over running up through the apps, a bunch. On some long runs, which I'm intrigued to see how that translates, because I feel like you've had to rely definitely on focusing on speed work, right, where you can't get high because as in get the altitude, you're not finding a lot of vert other than this bridge that you run over once in a while. So then it's about just getting as fast as you can, where I feel like I've relied a little bit more on leg strength. Um, getting in some of the climbing, getting up at altitude in some of my runs, um, up after clinic at, you know, 6, 500 feet in park city. But I've, I've also, since our last talk gotten some decent track workouts, not as many as Matt and as consistent, but done, uh, 10 by 800 on a thousand repeats did one K two K alternating repeats on the track, uh, and felt pretty good and seeing some times come down. So. So even though I've missed some things, I've hit a lot of quality workouts when they needed to fall. so, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'd really like to get one more good long tempo in next weekend. I'm trying to figure out it. Weather is really going to kind of guide what that's going to look like. So I'd like to be up in park city doing it at 6, 500 feet. Um, which means the pace is going to be off a little bit, hopefully like six or five to six, 10 pace up there. Um, but we just had a bunch of snow again today and kind of messed up the roads. So I got to see, um, what it looks like. Yeah. yeah, I think that's a great question. Cause you're right. It's like when you first start. You know, be it 12, 15 weeks out, there's definitely some exciting and you're like, Oh, awesome. Like this is another build. So I think about the marathon because I started doing these workouts I haven't done in a while. And then that lasts for, you know, a few weeks, maybe the first month. And then all of a sudden you realize like, Oh man, I have another two months of this, maybe three months of this, depending on when you started to build out. And that's, it can get dark, I think, realizing like every week, you know, you pretty much get one off day. The way we're doing it are set up. And I think often in the marathon, it's hard to be taking, you know, more than that, um, and getting the work you need to get in. So it can be tiring day in and day out, especially when you're also working and have life and other stuff happening. And that's where I think the structure of the plan that you're following is helpful, um, to keep you kind of honest with that. So having some targets each week of like, okay. How many days do I want to run? How many miles do I want to get in this week? And what are the workouts I need to get in this week? Uh, and that can help you, you know, one, allow you some days to be like, Hey, I can only get in four miles today, knowing that how can I adjust that and find his mileage? That mileage later in the week. So, or like Matt was saying, like, maybe the workouts, like I would like to do 10 by 800, but you know, seven is what I have time for. Or, you know, I'm just feeling really fatigued and like, not the goal is like doing at least that B plus level and not dropping down to just missing days and missing workouts over and over again and keep coming back. So I think that that's where they're like the structure. And, Being humbled. I think it helps. Like I've run a bunch of marathons and I've gone into a few, um, underprepared and it's just not something I ever want to do. So there's a little fear in there too, of like not wanting to miss too much. Uh, and then, so knowing what it's like, I need to get this work in now because I'm going to enjoy this fitness. In a couple of months, you know, Yeah. definitely. I think it's again, these are all tools and like learning how to use them appropriately. Um, and sometimes they can be negative, right? You don't want to be doing everything out of a sense of fear, right? Um, and so they're like, you want to have a mindset where you want to be honest and feel like, like, making sure you're keeping yourself on top of this, but not. Make it so much feel like it's a second job that you're doing and make it something you hate every day. Uh, the other thing I didn't add was like running with friends, um, and finding other guys to train with both for workouts, but also for just long, easy runs. So I luckily have a few guys who are also running Boston out here who, you know, we've been able to hook up for, um, even if it's, you know, half a workout or just a workout to make it work or half the long run. Um, it's been really helpful to get those extra miles in. Yeah, Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Yeah. Yeah. I, I know Matt and I have talked about this offline a bit, and, uh, I'm, like, personally, I really enjoy negative splitting marathons, and that's how I've gotten my last handful of tickets. PRS, which probably means that I have the fitness to run a touch faster, you know, 5 percent faster, uh, if I wasn't doing that, but my success rate, um, and just like the pain of it is, is better, uh, if I go out a little more conservative and something I know I can do. And then if, if it's the right day, then clicking down from there, um, usually. You know, I try to find a pace that I know I can hit. That'll get me within the ballpark of where I want to run, uh, up through, you know, 16 to 20, depending on the course and the day. Uh, and then if all is going well, that's when you start cutting down from there. Uh, and I suspect that's probably what we'll do a version of at Boston. We can obviously you have the hills. There are like 18 to 20, um, which, which make it hard and you have a big downhill early. So it's, that's where a lot of guys get, get trapped. So I definitely want us to like the first three miles, you just cannot go out, um, only by feel. Cause you'll get swept up with a bunch of guys, you'll trash your quads and you'll be running 15 seconds per mile faster than you should be easily. So you need to just like breathe, settle in a little bit and then, you Start clicking because there's a lot of like downhill and fast miles in that first half that you can settle into to an honest pace and then make sure your legs are still there, getting up to the Newton Hills and over heartbreak that everyone talks about, um, and then realize that you crest heartbreaking. You've got pretty much a 10 K downhill. Um, down into Boston where if you're feeling good and you have the legs, you can make up some time. you would have loved to run today, Matt. We were, uh, Eugene and I were out, went down onto the Jordan river trail, uh, ended up having cutting back into town and then ran up city Creek and we had crested. Uh, city creek, like from memory grove there. Um, we were right at 16. We're going to turn around, run the four miles back home, click 20 exact. And as soon as we turn around, we don't get a quarter mile down and Nate Hayward and Mark Harris are coming up. I was like, Oh, perfect. We'll turn around with these guys. And we turned around, run back up with them, hit onto 11th ave and run that all the way up to Popperton. Um, and you're just like, Don't we need to cut down and like, it'll be fine. You G keep running with them down Virginia. And you G finally was like, I'm done. And like cut off and ended up home at like 21 and a half. And I looked around with them and that's how I ended up at 23. No, which is one of those times of like, take advantage of days. You're Yeah, Yeah. They're up. Yeah, Yeah. You guys do take care.