If there is anyone who takes the marathon recovery phase very seriously, I would be near the top of the list.
Normally for us marathon runners, we'd give our bodies around a week or so to get back into any sort of slow running before we undertake another serious marathon training programme.
For me, as I said in my race report, I was going to take an extended break from running. Literally. Not even a 20 minute jog around the park. The days of 7-8 training runs a week, 6 days a week were over. The tweets on running had dried up, the blog updates were no more.
Until now.
It's been 5 weeks since my assault on Berlin, and during that time I did what any other young guy would do. I went travelling. I played video games. I stayed up far too late, ate loads of fatty foods and drank too much alcohol for my liking.
But in that time of "reflection" I also came up with new dreams, new goals and new plans, and also a renewed vigour to get back into running again. After all 5 weeks is a long time, and as I recently learned it's more than enough time to eat away your fitness levels.
The overriding dream hasn't changed - after all the blog title says it all. However, when training as hard and as smart as any marathon runner could do I still came up short. Afterwards I learned how far off I was, and how much I had to go to realise that dream.
I've looked at my past races (both halves and marathons) and it's obvious that my running profile fits that of an Endurance Monster instead of a Speed Demon. So I created a new dream and that is to get faster - to become a Speed Demon. Simple as that. Running a 1:34 half marathon isn't going to lead to a sub-3 hour marathon. However, by getting faster at shorter distances I will be many steps closer to chasing that sub-3 hour marathon dream.
At the moment I don't have a goal marathon race lined up. I think it will be a while before I decide on a marathon to race. But I do have a goal half marathon race and that is the Reading Half Marathon, which I will run for the 3rd time in a row. For me it's an event I hold very dearly, being the first half marathon that I ran in the UK, setting personal bests at Reading, and even appearing in the local newspaper in the days precluding the race! These lasting impressions have always made me come back for more.
In the last Reading Half Marathon, I failed to reach my goal of a sub-1:30 time by 4 minutes. It was a bitter pill to swallow, having strongly believed that I could achieve that target. This time I have another chance to set the record straight and if I can do this and a little more, then I know that I am well on my way to breaking 3 hours.
And then there's the plan to ensure success. It starts with putting together a training schedule that includes all the components needed to run a fast half marathon, and then joining these components together and figuring out how deep I can go without getting burnt out or injured along the way.
There are under 20 weeks to go to the Reading Half Marathon. To get myself ready to go for my best half marathon time I will need to increase leg turnover and overall speed. The plan is to split up half marathon training into 3 different phases. Phase 1 will focus on getting to my best 5k/10k fitness. This will bring in shorter intervals with plenty of recovery in between. The volume will be low, but the intensity will be high. Phase 2 will then take that speed and start to add in some longer training. There will be plenty of fast intervals but now they will be longer and with less rest.
Finally in Phase 3, over the last 8 weeks I will get into the specific work necessary for the half marathon, where I will bring my best track running speed to the roads of Reading. At Reading I will look to run at an average speed of 4:15 per kilometre. By doing plenty of speed workouts early on, running in the 4:15 mins/km range won't feel so demanding. The intention is to make half marathon pace feel like running in 3rd or 4th gear. If I can do this, then it will be a big step in getting closer to that sub-3 hour marathon dream.
It starts with a dream, then a goal, and finally a plan. And it all starts right now!
