Chicago Marathon

Marathon Training Plan Showdown (Rundown?)

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A key mantra when preparing for a marathon is “trust in the training.” But for those of us dedicating 4-6 months of our lives to said training, how are we to know which programs are worthy of our trust? This is a question that applies to both newbies and seasoned veterans alike – asking both “where to start” and “where to go from here.”

Please note that this analysis is based solely off of my own experience. Therefore, the plans that I will be comparing are plans that I have actually used (Higdon and Pfitzinger). My hope is to provide those searching for a training plan with a synthesized outline of the plans that I have used – the good, the bad, and the ugly. 
HIGDON ADVANCED I
The Basics
  • 18 week training plan
  • Peaks at 55 miles per week
  • One rest day per week
  • Total training miles = Approximately 750
  • Longest midweek run = 10 miles
  • Recommended base mileage to start = approximately 31(depending upon interpretation of mileage for first hill workout)
The Good

Higdon plans (especially Higdon’s novice and intermediate plans) are great for runners who are training to finish a marathon or to start incorporating speed work into their training programs. Higdon’s advanced plan incorporates higher mileage and speed work than the novice and intermediate plans, which I think is great for anyone who has already ran at least one marathon and is looking to take their training to the next level. Higdon’s plans are also less intimidating than many of the others (possibly because he maintains days with minimal mileage throughout the training cycle). 
Higdon is also good for those who don’t like rest days (he only incorporates one per week at the advanced level). The plan moves in three-week cycles, with two weeks of higher mileage with a cut-back in mileage every third week. The speed work varies between tempo runs, hills, and intervals, which also keeps things interesting. The mileage is spread out in such a way that the day before the long run is half the distance of the long run, which amounts to much of the mileage being stacked at the end of the week (and the long run being run on somewhat tired legs). This is especially the case during the weeks in which “pace” runs (meaning, runs at goal race pace) are stacked the day before the long run (see week 15, with a 10 mile run at pace the day before a 20 mile long run – yikes!)

The Bad

One rest day per week can be viewed as either good or bad depending on the runner. Also, the Higdon plans may not be challenging enough for those who are truly looking to drop substantial amounts of time off of their PRs. 

The Ugly

As stated above, I find the most challenging part of the plan the medium-long run/ long run placed back-to-back. Combined with the fact, that there is only one rest day per week, there are quite a few days following the long run without rest. Week 15 is by far the peak in difficulty of this plan. 
PFITZINGER 18/55

The Basics
  • 18 week training plan
  • Peaks at 55 miles per week
  • Two rest days per week
  • Total training miles = Approximately 805
  • Longest midweek run = 14 miles
  • Recommended base mileage to start = Week 1 of plan starts at 33 miles
The Good

Pfitzinger utilizes mesocycles throughout, meaning that training is broken up into four phases. The first six weeks are focused on building endurance (with the sixth week being a recovery week). The next five weeks are focused on both lactate threshold and endurance, which incorporates more speed workouts (both tempo and intervals), with the fourth week being a recovery week. The next four weeks are dedicated to race preparation, which focuses on shorter, faster intervals as well as “tune-up” races. The final three weeks are taper, which cuts back the mileage while still maintaining some shorter speed work.

Again, while a matter of preference, Pfitzinger incorporates two full days dedicated to rest or cross-training. 

The Bad

With two rest days and high average weekly mileage – the daily mileage can be pretty high, especially during the peak weeks of marathon training. For those with busy schedules, this may make it more difficult to squeeze in the weekday training runs. Pftizinger’s plans can also be quite intimidating, especially for a runner who is newer to speed work.
The Ugly
Pfitzinger’s plan incorporates a number of tune-up races (8k-15k race with additional warm-up and cool down) on Saturdays, with the long run on Sunday. This means that some long runs will be run on extremely fatigued legs. There is also far more speed work in Pfitzinger’s plans than Higdon’s.

CONCLUSION

In sum, each plan has positives and negatives, depending upon your personal life circumstances, race goals, and preferences. For me, I have found that my body reacts better to higher-mileage with more rest days. I have also found the Pfitzinger plan to be more challenging, but I also believe that it left me better prepared. However, I note this with the caveat that I waited until my third marathon to attempt Pfitzinger’s plan and was therefore a more experienced runner than I was when I was training with Higdon’s.

What is your favorite marathon training plan? Do you loathe or love rest days? Do you run marathons, or do you prefer other distances (or do you just run for fun and avoid racing completely)?


Dog Days of Summer

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I still can’t believe it’s already August. It feels as though summer just started (thanks to an extremely rainy and chilly May, June, and July). For some reason, this year just seems to be flying by. Here we are  – officially in the dog days of summer.

The Chicago Marathon is only 66 days away. I am not sure how to feel about this. Or maybe I just feel too much about this (excited, nervous, happy, sad, nostalgic, accomplished…) You name it – I have felt it. Training has been going as well as can be expected. Taking the emotion out of it I should be happy – by and large I have been able to hang onto a training schedule, run 6 days a week, and am up to a 17 mile long run. The problem is that I can’t help but compare my current state to where I was before this “injury” situation started. But I digress, because right now it is what it is. The hip doctor referred me to the back specialist for nerve testing, so maybe that will finally provide some answers (or at least direction)! 
Crossfit has also been going well. I am finally starting to know most of the movements and have some sort of idea of what sort of weight to use. I have been doing my runs early in the morning before work and then going to Crossfit in the evenings, which has seemed to be working out pretty well. The movements are different enough that I don’t feel like I am overworking any one area and I (usually) feel good for my runs. I am hoping that the added lifting will provide a good supplement and help me work on some of my weaknesses. Today I was able to back squat my body weight, which is a PR for me, so that was exciting. Our gym is also doing the “dog days of summer” rowing challenge which is a 4-week program. In week 1 you row 10k, week 2 you row 20k, week 3 you row 30k and week 4 you row 40k. It’s going to be an exhausting month – but it’s nice to be challenged! (Please remind me of that next week when the rowing double the amount!!!)

The Final Countdown – Taper Madness and Marathon Tips

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Today is October 1st, which means that the Chicago Marathon is less than two weeks away. For those running, these final two weeks will probably be the hardest in your training cycle. Taper madness will fully set in. You will question everything that you have done so far – your training (did you run enough miles?!?), your nutrition (is now the time to finally cut the sweets?!?), even your ability to complete the race (can you even run 26.2 miles?!?). You will likely be bombarded with endless e-mails containing checklists of “things to do” and “things to remember” before the big day. However, there is only one thing that you need to remember – trust in your training.

LaSalle is my favorite street in the city this time of year. I literally was brought to tears last year  reading the Chicago Marathon banners. (Yes, I am a complete weirdo.)
Without fail, before every marathon I have allowed myself to succumb to the irrationality of taper madness. I have also come to learn that it doesn’t matter if it’s your first marathon or your fifth marathon. Taper madness is a real thing and it doesn’t discriminate. It will impact newbie runners and veteran runners alike. Even last fall, when I was in arguably the best shape of my life, I still doubted just about everything that I had done up until marathon morning when the gun went off. Leading up to race day, I obsessed over everything – things that were within my control and things that were outside of my control. I checked the weather obsessively. Beginning more than three weeks out, I checked the forecast multiple times a day. I freaked out about rain. I freaked out about heat. Phantom aches and pains began to set in. I started questioning my pacing. (Should I really run my recovery runs slow? Won’t my legs forget how to run fast?) I also learned that sometimes the last long run before the marathon sucks. A lot. It may even be the hardest run you do the entire season. 
It’s normal to become hung up on all of the little things. Logically, it makes sense. You will have a lot of extra time on your hands and it’s only natural if you’re not running that you are using that time to think about running. Especially when the last four months of your life have been completely consumed by running. It’s like trying to quit an addiction cold turkey. It’s probably not going to happen – especially when the culmination of all of your training (the marathon) is still yet to come. The final week you will barely be running at all. Stop thinking about it. That’s how it’s supposed to be. You will not lose your fitness. 


Can’t run? Might as well read about it!
There are also some tried and true words of wisdom that you will hear throughout these upcoming weeks. While these tips are a good place to start, the art of marathon running is no more than trial and error. New marathoners will make mistakes, as will veteran marathoners. Because no matter how many books you read or blog posts you bookmark, the real key is discovering what works for you. If you ask 100 people what they do to prepare for a marathon, you will hear 100 different answers. Listening to the tips of others is a good place to start – but the bottom line is you really won’t know until you try. 
I am generally a rule follower – meaning that if I see a list of “tips” I take it as a mandate. I read it as “things you must do before a marathon unless you want to fail big time.” But as I have grown as a runner, I have realized that there are some things that work for others that just don’t work for me. There are also some things I always end up doing that I know are not “best practice” but that have turned out  just fine. 
Even as I write this, I struggle in wanting to call these “rules.” They are not rules. They are guidance. Good advice – yes. Should you try to abide by these tips? Absolutely. But again – it’s not about following the list to the T. It’s about finding what works for you. So below, I have included some key tips to consider before running a marathon, along with some of my own insight.

Don’t try anything new before the marathon. 
This is good advice, because you don’t want any surprises during race day. It’s best to go with what you know works. The experts say that you should stick to meals that you know work with your body and with clothing you have worn on long runs. 
This is also one rule that I have repeatedly broken. It’s not something that I would necessarily recommend to others, because I realize the risks are high. Nobody wants to run 26.2 miles battling horrible chafing or with annoying pieces of clothing. But I’ll admit to this, because it’s not the end of the world. For three of my four marathons, I wore a new shirt on the day of the race. The first and second year, it was because I wasn’t able to pick up the charity race shirt until the day of the expo. Last year, it was because I wanted to wear the brand new singlet for my race team that wasn’t available until after I had already ran my last run. My point is – it’s a choice you make knowing the risks. I generally don’t have problems with chafing and don’t become overly irritated to my clothes. Should you try to wear something you have worn before? Absolutely. But sometimes life happens – and it’s okay. For me, I’d rather (potentially) sacrifice a little comfort to be able to proudly wear the logo of a charity I spent a lot of time and energy raising money for.
There are also some items that I would absolutely not wear for the first time on the day of the marathon. For example (and it may be obvious) – I would never ever run a marathon in shoes that I hadn’t run in before. Unlike something like chafing, a blister can be a game changer. The funny thing is, I have still managed to get blisters wearing shoes that I have worn thousands of times and never blistered in before. Luckily, usually by the time the blisters set in, the rest of my body is in so much pain I hardly notice!
As far as meals, some runners are incredibly sensitive to food and others are more like tanks. I tend to eat much blander before my race than I do before my long runs. My pre-race meal usually is a stir-fry type meal – with chicken for lean protein, white rice, veggies and soy sauce. My stomach tends to be hit-or-miss with what it likes, so I am way more conscientious the day before a race than I would be for an average run. As far as everything else goes – I wouldn’t make any drastic changes in your diet in the weeks leading up to the marathon. It is not the time to start a new diet. Even if your eating habits aren’t great – they have got you to where you are. You need to trust in that.
Don’t go out too fast.
This works for me. But pacing is a very personal thing. Some of my friends swear by going out fast and just hanging on. Others love negative splits. Personally – my best race was one in which my first half and second half were only off by one second. Pacing is a strategy. The same goes for running with a pace group. For some – pace groups allow them to completely check out and run on auto pilot. For others, the pace group is a distraction. This is another decision that needs to be made based on what works best for you – not what someone tells you to do or what your friends are doing.
My first marathon I got caught up in the nerves and excitement and went out way too fast. I got cocky at how easy the pace felt and started dreaming of a crazy-fast finish time. I went out way faster than what I had trained for, but because I felt so good, I thought I was ready for it. Let me tell you – I paid for it. I crashed and burned – hard. Lesson learned. I started that race at 8:40s. I ended at 10:40s. The last ten miles of the race felt like a death march. My second marathon I held myself back at the beginning and ended up running a huge negative split. It felt great and I finished feeling like I gave it my all, but I wondered if I held too much in the tank early on. By my fourth marathon, I realized that running even splits was key for me. I felt strong but the race still felt challenging throughout.

Have realistic expectations. 
The most important thing when pacing is being realistic with your expectations. I often tend to underestimate my abilities. But for the encouragement of my teammates, I would have never run some of the times that I have run. Being realistic does not always mean holding yourself back. Sometimes it means realizing your potential. It also means being smart and paying attention to your training. Look at what you have done. Look to where you want to be. Choose a goal that perfectly blends the two. For newbie marathoners, choosing a goal time can seem like a shot in the dark. Again, it’s all about trial and error. The more you learn about yourself as a runner, the easier this will become. 
Gel and drink often.
I am the worst when it comes to gel-ing and drinking on training runs. I have yet to find my optimal balance of how to eat and drink while running. However, one thing I do know is that while I have tried to make it a point to drink more (and I am very deliberate about it on race day), I take gels way less then most people. That’s just how my body is. But it works for me, so I don’t try to change it. 
You have to decide both what you want to fuel yourself with (gels are the easiest when running for me, but there are solid food options as well) as well as how often you want to take them. There is a science to it and this is definitely worth practicing during your long runs leading up to the race. The most important thing to remember is that if it’s worked for you this far – it will work on race day. It may take years to find the optimal combination, but if you’ve found something that’s worked thus far you’re in a good place. 
I know that these tips aren’t anything new. But as race day draws near, it’s so important to remember that it took a lot of training to get here. Preparing for race day is all about you. You know what works and what doesn’t. Don’t doubt yourself!!!


Bottle This Feeling

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Chicago Marathon 2013 has been driven by one thing. Redemption. After all the struggle, all the emotional low points this year, Sunday’s race became so much more than marathon #4. It became more than my determination to BQ. It became my chance to build confidence and to show that patience persists.

This last year of running has been an emotional roller coaster. Training for Chicago 2012 marked what I felt was my true return to running. I was rapidly progressing, until I was hit yet again with an injured IT band. Marathon day came with highs (31 minute PR) and lows (missing Boston by 23 seconds). But 2012 also gave me the courage to step up my training and to register for a spring marathon to make up those 23 seconds. Winter training was 100% dedicate to visions of Boston. On the day of my spring marathon, Chicago was hit with unseasonably hot and humid weather, resulting in heat exhaustion at mile 18 and a death march to the finish.

I was devestated. Twice having been in the shape to qualify and still not having done so. My body was broken and spirit was crushed. And so, I did the only thing I knew how to do as a runner. I kept plodding along. I wrestled with the idea of foregoing Chicago 2013 to squeeze in an earlier fall marathon to try to squeak in a qualifying time. However, due to the events in Boston this spring, the registration process remained full of uncertainty. By July, I gave up on the obsession with Boston 2014, realizing I had worked too hard to risk putting it all on the line with the looming possibility that something still may prevent the seemingly elusive BQ.

Chicago became the driving force for the remainder of the summer. I also let go of my obsession with Boston. Instead of allowing Boston to be my end all, my goal became to run to my potential, which I was reasonably certain at this point was beyond a 3:35:00. Boston would be the sweet reward, but no longer a controlling factor.

Fast forward to race day. Standing in the twilight at the starting line, feelings battling in the pit of my stomach between a controlled anxiety and nervous apprehension. I immediately scoped out the 3:25 pace leader and settled myself in with the group. For anyone familiar with the Chicago course, the first few miles are always unpredictable. As we began running, I started to allow the nerves to take over and anxiety was starting to control. Mile 1 was a few seconds slow, but miles 2-4 were posting about 15-20 seconds fast. The pace was not feeling great and I couldn’t stop myself from wondering if I was so far out of my groove at this point, how were the remaining 22 miles going to feel. Knowing my family would be close to mile 4, I willed myself to stay calm until then and planned on putting in my headphones.

Then something happened that changed the entire course of my race. I realized I had pulled ahead of the pacer and began searching around frantically. I knew we had gone out fast and I knew now was not the time to lose the group. A woman running next to me must have seen the frantic look on my face (I have never been one to hide emotions well) and reassured me that the pace group was right behind us. She also commented how much better it felt easing into the steady 7:49 pace rather than the 7:30 pace we were hitting earlier. So it wasn’t just me!

We then continued to chat for the next 10 miles or so. And I knew at this moment that my worst enemy was in my own head. I was now hitting the paces right where I needed to feeling much more effortless than the previous miles. We reconnected with the pace group somewhere between 16 and 18 and I knew then that I was going to be okay.

The last miles of a marathon are always a mind game. By the time you hit 18-20 you have been running for a significant amount of time, but can never fully relax because you know that there is still plenty of time for things to go wrong. By mile 18 I knew I was holding steady ahead of the pace group, but was still uncertain whether I should try to kick it up a notch or just hang on for dear life. I chose what I believed was the smarter (and more conservative) approach, knowing that I had already paced myself slightly on the aggressive side. By mile 23, I knew that barring any unforeseen complication, I would finish at my goal pace. By mile 24, my cardio still felt great, but my legs started having muscle spasms and I became slightly less confident. At mile 25, I felt like every stride was staving off the lactic acid. At mile 26, I counted down each quarter mile until the finish line appeared.

My final time was 3:24:02. When I printed out my splits, I realized my first and second half splits were nearly exactly even. Finally, the pieces were coming together. This puzzle, the constant questioning of myself, my choices, was finally starting to come together.

Take that 23 seconds. I’ll raise you 10:58.

Vindicated. Bottle this feeling.