Marathon Training: What would this look like if it were easy

This blog primarily focuses on my own training for the Dublin Marathon, specifically my current training volume and load. When it comes to the running portions of the blog, while I am a qualified running coach, I wouldn’t treat it as training advice to follow and would instead get a running coach that could help you from you specific starting point

16 weeks until the Dublin Marathon and the hunt for my second marathon PB of the year.

Having not run much since the start of April with an Achilles injury, (that’s plagued me for waaaay too long!) I should have been dying to get back on the road again.

I’d be lying if I said that was the case. The last few weeks before my 16 week block to the marathon were filled with “I might run today”, only to somehow run out of time in a 3 hour window to do a 45 minute run.

Like New Year’s Resolutions, I knew there would be a spark at the start of my training block. The motivation would be higher than normal, especially with all the talk of it on the podcast and our new Thursday special.

But I also knew that that motivation would wane over 16 weeks, as well as that I was someone who was barely getting 20km a week, far from my best shape just a few short months ago.

So I had two main goals to keep on track for the next 16 weeks:

1. Keep accountable for the training online

2. Think about what would make the training look easy and have to least path of resistance to training

Accountability

Stealing an idea from Eoin Sheehan on a recent episode of the Any Given Runday podcast, I got myself a whiteboard. With the idea of posting up what days I would run at the start of the week, I knew I would have to be more accountable when asked about it.

Week 1 of the 16 week Dublin Marathon Plan

Everytime I told someone I “might” run, I usually didn’t. If it was on the board, it meant thought was put into why I had to run on that day.

As well as accountability, the whiteboard has helped me structure my week around trying to get two quality sessions in (tempo and intervals), the long run and build easy paced runs around it.

I added in the mileage as well to keep me accountable, not only to build it up but to do it gradually. It might be a little higher than the 10% rule each week, but I’m trying to reach the 60km or so mileage a week as comfortably as possible.

After Week 2: From 20km to 40km in two weeks is a bit of a jump, and the balancing act of getting the mileage up and staying injury free continues

Make it look “easy”

Borrowing a thought process from Tim Ferris, how would this look easy?

It’s all well and good having the structure, but how do I make it look “easy”, ie the least amount of obstacles to stick to the plan.

Do I usually get up at 6am and run on days I’m not in the gym, coaching people? Nope. Am I going to be doing that around where I leave when the mornings get dark and I need a torch to run? Unlikely.

So when am I most likely to run?

For me, I have built it around my work schedule and tried to maintain a routine. After shifts, with food in me, I have built time into getting the run done there and then.

I will have my running gear with me after work and running plan sorted, it’s easier to put on the shorts, headphones and head out. I know if I go home, eat and have a few hours to spare, I’ll only put it off and run “out of time” before I am supposed to be somewhere else.

I’m also trying to train with more people to be held accountable by them. Telling coaches I’m jumping in on Hyrox sessions in the gym, running with people on the long run early on Sunday mornings (instead of having a lie on, doom scrolling and then eventually maybe running 3-4 hours later with half the Sunday gone!), weekly sessions with coaches and trying to run with other people at different times as well.

Ok, a goal was to run with other people but I did not think that would involve finishing a long run with a junior park run in the UK but here we are!

Hitting my own sessions on the Marathon Strong programme so that I am going through the same workouts, as I’ve advised for other people on the same journey. Plus, these are the workouts I really enjoy. It’s easy to get an extra few “easy” miles in the legs after getting a workout in and feeling good!

And to see where the fitness is at, I’ve signed up for a few races, which also helps get the harder tempo runs in.

So far, there’s been a few hiccups in the structure (intervals a day after a half hyrox sim wasn’t my best idea!) but it’s a process and so far, no injuries - 15 mins of calf work before most gym sessions has helped greatly with the Achilles over the last two months!

The Coaches seesions have been great, but TOUGH! I may have to rethink the intervals the next day if this trend continues!

It’s early days yet, but I’m feeling very unfit on the intervals and tempos. So disheartening that on my tempo runs that I’m struggling to hit a 4:40 pace for 3km, yet I was rattling them off 4 months ago in Barcelona on my way to a 3:30min.

And I’m definitely feeling a lot heavier than I was in March. But I can’t be doing this journey intending to lose weight, but to fuel the body for the next session.

Egotistically, I hope the body fat drops over the next 14 weeks. My body fat usually goes up deep into marathon training, but I’ve never started a block this heavy before.

My most recent InBody, just before the start of my 16 week journey. Up 3kg from March, where I ran the Barcelona Marathon… but there’s been a few “occasions” between then and now that I wouldn’t take back!

I think with the amount of training I’m building up to, I’ll naturally make better choices outside of training. But the goals are to stay injury free as I build to a marathon PB, not on looking better in the mirror… ok, ok, there’s a few arm workouts I’ll still be doing! Despite all the running, I’m still a gym rat at heart who loves his strength training.

Race Day

Tonight marks the first “race” on this 16 week journey, a 5k in ParkWest. Unlike a few years ago where I thought this was where I’d finally get my sub 20 5k PB, tonight is a 2k warm up followed by a 5k tempo run in the race. I’m hoping the crowds and race atmosphere spur me on to do a little better in these tempos than on my own recently, but still have a little gas in the tank to get some good sessions in over the rest of the week.

The goal for Dublin is sub 3:30, but we’ll see how the training goes over the next few weeks before putting an exact time on that