NicoleLast weekend I ran the LA marathon. If you want the nitty-grtty of my trip, you can find it on my personal blog. But here’s the condensed training version.
First, I incorporated a run/walk at a 4:30/0:30 ratio. There are two reasons I did this.
- I wanted to try it from a coach perspective
- My training window was rather short coming off Ironman Arizona in late November. It took me most of the month of December to recover so I had less than 12 weeks to really prepare for the race. The run/walk would allow me to get in longer runs without taxing the body quite so much.
My training primarily consisted of easy runs, hill repeat sessions, and long runs. I ran 3-4 days per week. As we got closer to the race, the long runs incorporated faster than planned race-pace intervals. My longest training run was 16 miles, 2 weeks before the race. In runs about 90 minutes or longer I used a the run/walk. I also rode about twice a week and also did some swimming a couple times a week. I made sure to get in some good yoga sessions in the final weeks before the race. One thing I could have done was gotten regular massage. I relied on my foam roller instead.
My run volume (in hours) looked like this:
My weekly run mileage didn’t get above 30 miles (the final bar includes the race.) The empty week is a recovery week after I ran a half marathon.
Here’s my performance management chart, which includes swim, bike, and run workouts. It shows consistency and gradual increase in training load.
On race day I stuck to the intervals during the entire race, except for the final mile, as I felt really good. So even at the beginning, only four minutes and 30 seconds into the race, I stopped to walk. It was a brisk walk, but a walk. This strategy worked for me and I will use it in future marathons. Also, in my training I did these hip strengthening exercises before every run, and I highly recommend them. My form felt good the entire race. Aside from the burning quads, which I think is inevitable, and a few tight spots that weren’t any surprise, I felt strong. It is so nice to hit mile 20 and know the final 10k is not going to be a death march. The last mile was my fastest and I ended up with negative splits and a PR.
Stay tuned for a follow-up post with my race nutrition report.
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Nicole
