September was a very interesting month when it comes to everything in my life. With moving and being busy at work and getting sick all in the same week, I experienced one of my worst weeks of 2007. The 8 miles I logged between Sept. 3-9 was the lowest since March following the week of the Shamrock Half Marathon in Virginia Beach. But in the end, I stuck to a plan, didn't force any extra miles and finished with 119.6 miles for the month - exactly 10 more than August, but probably about 15 short of what I wanted to do. It's sort of a good news/bad news thing, but more good than bad really. My year total is 744.9 miles.
September included three "longest run ever" distances of 15, 16 and 18. Next month - the last full month of training before the Richmond Marathon - will likely see long runs of 20, 14, 20 and 14. The week before the marathon I'm shooting for 8 or more. My weekly goals hover in the mid- to upper 30s range, with a taper sort of beginning on Oct. 22. Recent Runner's World articles have me questioning how much to cut back and what exactly to do. (Click here to go to the site, then do a search for "Taper.") My plan is to be in the upper 20s to near 30 miles between Oct. 22-28, mid-20s Oct. 29-Nov. 4 and about 10 miles the week of the marathon.
I appreciate any advice more experienced runners may have. I'm basically following a plan I created from three other plans.
2023 Races Recap
4 months ago
2 comments:
i'm not that experienced, but i'll throw my two cents in...
i'm not sure where you count your long runs - i usually include the sunday run with the week before. that being said, many of the "non-advanced" plans have a taper of 2 to 3 weeks. the long run will go something like 20, 12, 8, and then the marathon. the midweek runs will taper at a similar pace. since there are many plans that have a 2 week taper, i don't think that first week (3rd last week) is so important. my sense though is that your second week of taper will end up being too much. i'd plan on a long run of about 12, and another 2 or 3 runs bringing you up to 20 - or maybe low 20's. (again, if you're like me and count your long runs as part of the week before, then it would be a few runs adding up to about 10, plus a run of about 8 on that last sunday.)
does this make any sense?
yes, I include my Sunday run with the week before, which often confuses people when I have my long runs on Sunday and am ending my week with the first official day of the week on U.S. calendars. thanks for the advice!
Post a Comment