Training for my first marathon

Today I have a long day at work babysitting an engine running through an automated test cycle - so I thought I'd kill some time by writing another blog post. I virtually didn't update this blog at all through my marathon training, so thought I might recap it, just to give some insight into what preparation it took to get me through my first marathon.

Marathon Training Plans
There are a ton of marathon plans available online, in books and magazines, catering for everyone from a first timer just looking to finish, to a seasoned runner wanting to achieve a particular time goal. I spent a bit of time looking around, one that caught my eye was the Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training (FIRST) first timer's plan. The plan differs from many marathon plans in that it only involves 3 runs a week, with additional conditioning coming through cross-training. I liked the idea of this, as running 5 or 6 times a week is quite demanding, and I wanted to have time to do other activities that I enjoy, such as cycling. I was worried that it might be a bit light on miles compared with most plans, but after reading several good testimonials on various forums I decided to give it a try. See the FIRST programs here

The FIRST Program
There are actually two 20-week programs - one for first timers and one for experienced runners, they both use the same basic structure but the one for experienced runners has more strenuous speed-work, and builds the long run much more quickly. The three runs are:
Speed work - intervals of various distances at a prescribed pace, dictated by your 10k race pace. These were usually around 9-12km, with up to 6km of that being at a fast pace.
Tempo run - ranging in distance from 8km up to 16km, either at a constant pace (i.e. 10k pace + 10sec/km), or using a pattern such as 3km slow, 3km @10k pace, 3km slow
Long run - ranging from about 18km up to 33km (i.e. 20 miles), pace prescribed as planned marathon pace + xx seconds/km.

On top of that, you are to do 2 30 minute cross training sessions per week, I usually just did one mountain biking session of about 2-3 hours, and occasionally added a 5-10k run.

Me and FIRST
Initially I started out on the beginner's marathon plan, but after a couple of weeks I decided I didn't think it was pushing me enough, so I switched to the experienced marathoners plan. With only 2 half marathons under my belt, I was a long way from an "experienced marathoner", but I decided that if I could manage the runs at the paces set by the plan then it would be fine.

I probably struggled the most with the speed sessions, it may have partly been that it's difficult to monitor intervals of the order of 200-1200m using GPS, but often I wouldn't quite be able to make the target pace. After 7 weeks of the program, the O'Hagans 5k series started again after a break over winter, and I replaced the speed sessions with a weekly 5k race. In the first 3 races of the series I dropped about 20-30 seconds per week to bring my 5k PB down to 18:23 :)

The tempo runs were great, a nice combination of distance and speed. I usually managed to knock them out quicker than the required pace. I haven't actually raced a 10k, so I'd guessed my 10k pace to be 4:20/km based on a half marathon pace of 4:27 and 5k of about 4:00. Looking back, I suspect I should've started around 4:15 and I think I could possibly manage a sub-40 10k now.

The long runs were long. For the first few I started out around 5:30/km, but I found running at that pace my stride was quite poor and I would get sore knees very quickly, so most of my long runs were in the range 4:50-5:15/km, depending on length. I did find I started to run out of gas once I got around the 30km mark, which made me reasonably concerned about how I would handle 42km! Also FWIW, my initial planned marathon pace was 5:00 (for a 3hr 30 marathon), but later on I was working with a planned pace around 4:45 (actual pace was 4:38).

Weekly and long run distance for my marathon build up. Note week 19 is race week

As you can see above, my weekly distance varied between 35 and 63km through the program, which is really quite low for a marathon plan.

Injuries and Down time
I think one of the excellent things about the FIRST plan is that 3 purposeful runs per week makes you less likely to suffer injuries than running 5+ times a week and clocking up 70-100 slow kilometers. I didn't suffer any specific running injuries during my training, although I think I came close during the O'Hagans 5k in which I set my current PB - it was only a couple of days after a 33km run, and I got a sudden sharp pain in my hip near the start which almost made me stop, it disappeared shortly after and I pushed very hard over the last 200-300m, leaving my legs in a pretty sorry state for several days afterwards.

I had about 1.5 weeks off early in the program due to getting the flu, it was the first time I had gone an entire week without running since sometime last year, and my first sick day in 2 years at my job.

Life and Marathon Training
I found the demands of marathon training to be a lot less of an impediment to other parts of my life than triathlon training had been over summer. The Rugby World Cup was on during the last 2 months of my training and most weeks I went out at least once to a bar or one of the "fan zones" in the city with my mates to watch a game. I did my part in supporting the New Zealand liquor industry during those weeks, and I also had plenty of time to get to work on my cars, making good progress on some fairly major work I'm doing on the MR2 which I hope will be finished some time over summer.

Gear!
Fortunately I didn't spend nearly as much money buying gear or entering races as I did over summer, but I did add a few more shoes to my collection. I replaced my beloved fluorescent green Saucony Kinvaras with some fluorescent orange Saucony Kinvara 2s. The old ones had over 1000km on them and were starting to get quite worn on the soles, although with claims that the Kinvaras would only last 300km or so I was pleasantly surprised that one pair lasted me about 6 months of quite heavy use. I also finally got some nice trail shoes, the somewhat legendary New Balance MT101s. I haven't used them much yet, but they look awesome, are very comfortable and seem like great shoes, I might post up some detailed thoughts on them once I get a chance to really put them through their paces.

Two brilliant pairs of shoes, MT101 on the left and Kinvara 2 on the right

I did however blow a decent chunk of money on a new mountain bike. It's full suspension Norco with about 6 inches of travel front and rear, riding it has seen my bravery over jumps, drops and descents increase significantly, I love it! A group of us have been discussing a trip to Europe next year which will include the Pass'Portes du Soleil mountain bike race, nearly 100km of mostly downhill riding through the Alps, it looks amazing!

My steed after a particularly muddy ride at Riverhead

Song of the Day
This damn song! I listened to it several times the day before the marathon and it was continuously looping in my head for most of the first 20km or so! A classic from the Canadian rock band, Rush - Tom Sawyer, this one is a live performance with a nice little cameo from the South Park boys. Enjoy!