Week -15 is done. It was a sad one, because we have a foot of snow on the ground, so all my runs, except for Thirsty Thursday, was on the treadmill. But I did manage to do everything, so I've finished the week. The hard workout, the 4-mile LT run was alright: 6:57 pace for 4 miles on a treadmill. I still feel TM is harder than outside, but it's getting slightly easier as I get used to it.

It's Monday, so my first run is in the books. Week -14:

S: Rest

M: 8 GA with all kinds of crap, like strides and hills sprints, which won't happen on the treadmill. (And it didn't happen.)

T: 5 R

W: 10 GA

T: Rest

F: 4 R

S: 15 MLR

Shift the 4-mile recovery to Thursday, if I make it. Everything is most likely treadmill until Saturday. Saturday, we might get lucky. We'll see.

Total: 42 miles. It doesn't look too hard actually. Just miles.

Week -16 is done. The only challenging run was the marathon-paced: 8 out of 13 was to be run at marathon pace. The goal was sub-7:30, and that was accomplished. Indeed, the splits were 7:02, 7:19, 7:31, 7:19, 7:23, 7:31, 7:24, 7:17. This is a 7:21 average. A bit too fast, but not terribly: it puts me at around 49 VDOT, which is not entirely unreasonable.

Week -15:

S: Rest

M: 10 GA

T: 4 R

W: 8 w/ 4 @ LT

T: Rest

F: 4 R

S: 14 MLR

Total : 40 miles. Friday recovery is better to be done at Thirsty Thursday. LT pace is sub-7.

First week fine. Week -16:

S: Rest

M: 8 GA w/ 8 x 100 m ST

T: Rest

W: 10 GA

T: Rest

F: 5 R

S: 13 w/ 8 @ MP

Marathon pace is sub-7:30. Sounds brutal, but based on my numbers, I should be able to do it.

Very soon after I wrote that previous post I realized that it won't work. First, jumping into 50+ weeks from a 41 peak with workouts and all and with only one transition week is brutal. Second, we went to Maine for the week. We flew there and drove back in a small car, so I only brought running clothes for 40+ degree weather. Which occurred probably like once the whole week. Plus the day of flying, and the two days of driving back: it was impossible to fit in the larger volume.

So this cycle will be another 55 mpw one. That's fine. Let's see if I can do a better job to be consistent. There is always more time between a spring and a fall marathon, so for the fall of 2025 I can run a flat one (like Monumental), and try to BQ.

I already started my week. I'll keep the Sunday week start, because the marathon is on a Saturday, and I like the Sunday rest day. I ran my Monday LT run already, and it went pretty well. (I can probably train at 49 VDOT.) But more on that after the week is over.

S: Rest

M: 8 w/ 4 @ LT

T: Rest

W: 9 GA

T: Rest

F: 4 R

S: 12 MLR

I may shift the 4 R for Thursday if we have a Thirsty Thursday.

Recovery week #5 went fine. I have not only finished my 41 miles with no issue, but I had a rather strong medium long run (12 miles) at an 8:00 min/mile average pace. Well, maybe not exactly entirely voluntarily: The group was very fast, and the slowest runners were still going a bit too fast. When I turned around at mile 6 (most people went on), I slowed a little but not that much. From mile 7.8 to 10.5 the course in constant uphill, which added to the challenge (fun).

I guess I am officially recovered. In fact after a bit of slacking (no running at all on the first week after the marathon), I did the 70-mile schedule recovery to build mileage faster and stronger. I got a bad cold on week #2, so I skipped 5 days, but then I continued the recovery without any adjustment.

I have a week before starting the schedule for the KDF, but if I really want to do the 18/70, even Pfitzinger says that I should have run at least 45 miles the week before, and a long run that is close to the first long run. (But then why does the recovery end at 41 MPW/12 miles?)  So no workouts, but I'll need a longer week.

Transition week:

Keep it simple. ~6.5 miles/day for 5 days, plus a 14-mile long run. Since Saturday is forced rest, I'll run every day. Long run will happen based on vacation schedule, because we'll be in Maine.

The rest of the schedule:

12/22: Week -17

12/29: Week -16

1/5: Week -15

1/12: Week -14

1/19: Week -13

1/26: Week -12

2/2: Week -11

2/9: Week -10

2/16: Week -9

2/23: Week -8

3/2: Week -7

3/9: Week -6

3/16: Week -5

3/23: Week -4

3/30: Week -3

4/6: Week -2

4/13: Week -1

4/20: Race week

Recovery week #4 went fine. Pretty cold the whole week, and unfortunately my asthma is back, but I seem to be faster than a few months ago. My 11-miler was done barely over 8 min/mile, and I didn't push it very hard.

Recovery week #5.

S: Rest

M: 6 R

T: 8 GA

W: Rest

T: 9 GA + 8 x 100

F: 6 R

S: 12 MLR

Total: 41 miles.

I'll have to double check, but I think I can do a cutback week after this, before the next 18/70 cycle. Yes, 18/70. I'm still about to try that.

Recovery week #3 has not ended yet, but it's been going fine, and I only have my Saturday "long" run left.

Here is Recovery week #4.

S: Rest

M: 5 R

T: 7 GA

W: Rest

T: 8 GA w/ 8 x 100

F: 5 R

S: 11 MLR

Total: 36 miles.

Recovery week 2 didn't happen as planned. I already was mildly sick on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, but I still ran. Wednesday, I was more sick, and I developed a bad cough. So I skipped the rest of the week. I finished the week with only two runs and 10 miles.

Recovery week 3 already started, and I'm two runs in. Here is the plan.

S: Rest

M: 5 R

T: 5 R

W: Rest

T: 7 GA w/ 8 x 100 m

F: 5 R

S: 9 GA

Total: 31 miles

 

 

Recovery week 1 was all fine. I did all my runs. I was a little faster than recovery, but my legs felt fresh after the skipped week. Breathing problems: yes, unfortunately. But perhaps not unexpected with so little running.

Recovery week 2:

S: Rest

M: 5 R

T: 5 R

W: Rest

T: 6 R

F: Rest

S: 8 R

Total: 24 miles, all easy.

So I signed up for the Derby Marathon for 2025... the race is April 26, so if I'm not mistaken, training starts on December 22, Sunday. Since the race is on Saturday, I would train on a Sunday to Saturday week schedule.

Until then, I'm thinking about doing the recovery for the 55-70 mile schedule, so I'd be ready to start a heavier volume cycle. I basically skipped the first week. :) I have my excuses (e.g. getting sick after a COVID shot), but mostly just wanted to rest.

This is fine. I still have 6 weeks. I can do the recovery schedule, plus a cutback week.

S: Rest

M: Rest

T: 4 R

W: Rest

T: 5 R

F: Rest

S: 6 R

Total: 15 miles.

I'll probably cheat and run today, too, because I haven't run for a whole week, and starting to have withdrawal.

Louisville Marathon Race Report

Goal: 3:30, Secondary goal: 4 hours

Yes, I know the secondary goal looks very soft, but I haven't raced for years, and I haven't run this long for the same amount of time. So I thought it would be appropriate to set the same secondary goal that I had in my first marathon.

Training cycle: I would rate it mediocre. I planned an 18-week cycle, then I fell off, and changed into a 12-week cycle. As we know, a 12-week cycle only works if you are in a good shape anyway, which I wasn't. But I also needed to build up more endurance, so starting over at 12 weeks out didn't sound so bad. I skipped some runs, some critical ones, and I barely got over 50 miles per week on my peak. So mediocre may sound a bit generous actually.

The race started at 7am, so I woke up at 4am, which - after daylight saving time - was really more like 5. The traditional egg breakfast, coffee, and I was off. The race venue was only 20 minutes away, and I drove a car this time. I arrived, found parking, and I had plenty of time to even relax before the start.

This is a very small race. The kind I like, really. Maybe not a lot of crowd support, but do I really need the crowds? I can get into the zen, the flow state, and run without noticing anything, except for the beautiful nature. The best kind of running.

At the start, it was cold: 45 degrees, and it wasn't predicted to rise above 50 for an hour. So I wore an old and battered cotton long sleeve shirt and an old and battered hat. I planed to ditch them when it would get warmer.

After the National Anthem, we were off. I didn't realize that my GPS  watch reset itself, so I had to restart it. It took about 0.2 mile for the watch to find the satellites again, so I started it about 0.2 mile late. Everything in this report should have an extra 0.2 mile added to it.

This course has five hills. It's out-and-back, so you do hill #1 (English Station Rd, a.k.a. Sally), then #2 (Sky Meadow), then #3 (the Silo), then Sky Meadow again, and Sally again. All five are pretty damn serious. You meet Sally at mile 2, and then it's mostly slight downhill until Sky Meadow at mile 11. Except for the first two miles, it is all on bike paths.

I tried to find my pace after the start. I knew I had to take it easy. I was joking around a bit with some other runners, then I settled in a group.

Mile 1: 7:45
Mile 2: 8:00

We already started to climb shortly before the mile marker. I took it pretty easy. I'm very familiar with the course, and otherwise this climb is pretty hard, but this morning, it was no problem. Second part of the mile was downhill, and from here to Mile 9, each mile was some net downhill.

Mile 3: 7:43
Mile 4: 7:16

I remember looking at this split and freaking out how fast it was. This mile wasn't even significant downhill. Shortly after this, we ran through Pope Lick Park, and I saw my cheering squad. It's the best running club in Louisville (Korfedge). I didn't ask them to come out to cheer for me, but they still did.

I really tried to get into a flow state: somewhat quick, but still must feel easy. This is a beautiful part of the course, some forest, some farmland, and a small river, crossed multiple times on bridges.

Mile 5: 7:23
Mile 6: 7:36

We hit an aid station that wasn't quite ready. To make things worse, there was no other aid station for 3 more miles. I also started to feel that I may have under-hydrated until this point: the perfect triple whammy. But what luck! A guy was giving out 1/2-liter water bottles! I picked up one, and I slowly rehydrated in the next two miles. Then I put down the bottle with a little water in it on a bench. Sorry, this was best solution I found. I know it will be cleaned up.

Mile 7: 7:41
Mile 8: 7:36
Mile 9: 7:42

The variable pace is due almost exclusively to terrain and curves. This really was an even effort run. However, the temperature finally rose, and the run got just a bit harder, just a bit too early. I knew we would reach this nice parking lot in a ghost village called Seatonville (really, only the old cemetery remains), so I decided to ditch my long sleeves and hat in that parking lot. I can come back for it later, but if somebody throws them into the trash (or picks them up for themselves), that's fine, too.

Mile 10: 7:31

Seatonville, long sleeves, hats off. I'm too wet with sweat, but the sun is out, and it's not cold. All good. Except that hills are starting. By this time the crowd thinned out, and I was alone.

Mile 11: 7:49

Sky Meadow hill started. I think it was around this time that the I saw the leaders coming from the opposite direction.

Mile 12: 7:55

Mostly Sky Meadow up and down.

Mile 13: 8:14

Mostly up to the Silo, but remember, everything is +0.2, so I hit the halfway point at 12.9 on my GPS.

Two little kids, 5-6 year olds, maybe, were standing at the halfway point, offering high fives. I had to lean to touch their hands, but they were elated! I felt so great after this! Also, downhill is coming.

I hit the halfway mark at 1:39:05. I knew it was too fast. The second half of this marathon is a lot harder with a constant elevation gain in the middle, but I'm guessing it should only be 2-3 minutes harder, at the most. Am I expected to run 3:22? Probably not. I also felt my legs more than I should have.

Mile 14: 7:53

The climb up to Sky Meadow has started. I took it pretty easy, and I was happy to know that after this peak, only one hill is left. On the downhill, I gave some cheers and thumbs up to the climbing runners going the other direction.

Mile 15: 7:23

We reached Seatonville again, in the valley. Now the long miles to 23 start, relentless slight uphill.

Mile 16: 7:38
Mile 17: 7:48
Mile 18: 7:52
Mile 19: 7:54

The slowing pace is the result of trying to keep a constant effort. Largely worked: I felt tired, but not exhausted, my overall pace was still under 8 min/mile (required for the 3:30 goal), and only a little more than a 10K left. Which we all (who ran marathons) know: halfway. In terms of effort.

Mile 20: 8:05
Mile 21: 8:03
Mile 22: 8:00

Th reason mile 22 was that fast is my cheering squad in Pope Lick Park again. It's insane how much noise they can make! You got to run faster when they are all cheering for you!

And then, shortly after passing them, Sally is coming back with vengeance. One reason why this marathon is so great, because it is so difficult. Brutal hill at mile 23? Oh yeah.

The marathon runners were so spread out by this time, that I haven't seen any of them. On the other hand, the half-marathoners started an hour later, so I encountered all the racers going for 2:30-3:00 half-marathons. As one would expect, they were *all* walking up this hill. I felt like a superstar, because I was running (OK, more like jogging), even after running 13.1 miles more than them.

Mile 23: 8:39
Mile 24: 9:04

Mile 24 is actually net downhill: it is most of Sally's uphill and downhill portions combined, but just a bit more down than up. It doesn't look terrible in absolute terms, but it does show how tired I was.

And now, slight uphill (and a bridge) for the last two miles. This was a sufferfest.

Mile 25: 8:34
Mile 26: 8:29

In the finish, my squad was there again. Cheering tunnel and all. Thanks folks!

Total time (official): 3:26:11
24th overall, 1st in age group

When I finished, I felt like passing out, so I had to walk about 5 minutes to get back to normal. Then I found my cheering squad. They were in a good mood (possibly due to some alcohol), and Lisa told me I won my age group. I went back for my age group medal and my Derby Pie (wow, yummy) and my beer (another guy gave me his ticket, so I had two).

This gives me some optimism. Almost like my first marathon. Boston Qualifier, here I come! The 2026 qualifying time (when I'll be over 50) is 3:20. Just by smarter training and smarter racing, I can be there. Maybe even significantly under! Will I ever be under 3 hours again? Realistically, probably not. My genes are not good enough. Can I run a decent time in Boston ever? Possibly...

I ended up skipping the Wednesday workout entirely. In fact I just didn't run at all. I had a beer before the run at the Bridge Race, and after getting home in the dark at 8:30, I asked Melinda if I should go out for a run. The vote resulted in a solid "no".

So I moved the rest of the week a day up. This way, I ran 5 on Thursday (TT), pretty hard actually, because I stayed with the lead group. Rested on Friday, and ran the 12-miler on Saturday. I had some GI issues, but the run itself felt very easy at 8:09 average pace. Am I ready? Probably not, but I'm also not woefully under prepared.

Since I have an extra day (resting on Sunday), I'll space out my runs a bit more. Also, the days work out better that way:

M: 6 R

T: 7 w/ 2 @ MP

W: Rest, sailing, perhaps some Dark & Stormy (which will be the only alcohol this week)

T: 5 R w/ 6 x 100m at Thirsty Thursday, thirsty for water or soda only

F: Rest

S: 4 R in the morning, packet pickup, boat pull in the afternoon.

S: Goal marathon

Week -2 went well. It's not an easy week with the 600s, the tune-up race and the long run the day after that, but I did it all quite fine.

Instead of the tune-up race, I ran another 40-minute LT run, and this time, I was aiming for a 7:09 pace (because last time I ran 7:09 pace while aiming for 7:15). Guess what. This time, it turned out to be 7:00.

Funny thing, I ran the first mile, and I pushed the beginning a bit to get my system up to LT quickly, and when I hit the first mile marker, the split was 6:51. I loudly exclaimed "holy shit!" I slowed a bit, but it does seem like I can sustain 7 min/mile without accumulating lactate. Still not near where I used to be, but not astronomically far any more.

That puts me squarely at 48+ VDOT, I'll do training according to this number now.

The Sunday run after the workout was not easy. I ran in the Parklands again, just so that I would experience more brutal hills. It was "only" 16 miles, and I don't think it would have been an issue, if it wasn't after the hard workout on Saturday. This way, I had to fight. It wasn't quite as hard as my hilly 20-miler, but I would put it into the same category as my relatively flat 20-miler.

I'm finally hitting taper this week. I was thinking about running on Monday, because the schedule works better that way, but legs were totally dead, so I skipped it. I ran today (on Tuesday), 7 easy, but I had breathing issues. I resisted using the inhaler, but it made the run slightly unpleasant, feeling harder than it should have been.

Yet, this week, still has a hard workout on Wednesday. I'm debating if it is worth doing it or not. The hay is probably in the barn. The portion that's left outside can rot. :)

M: Rest

T: 7 R w/ 8 x 100

W: 8 w/ 4 x 1200m @ 5K pace

T: Rest

F: 5 R w/ 6 x 100

S: Rest (that's new)

S: 12 MLR

I usually run my "5K pace" at my VO2 max prescribed by Jack Daniels. That would be 6:26/mile, or 4:49/1200m for the 48 VDOT. But his 5K time for the same VDOT is 20:39, so that's only 6:39/mile or 4:57/1200m. Maybe I should do that.

I will probably shift the 5-mile recovery for Thirsty Thursday (if I even do that), and maybe do the 12 MLR on Saturday.

Here is the last week:

M: Rest

T: 6 R

W: 7 w/ 2 @ MP (called the "dress rehearsal")

T: Rest

F: 5 R w/ 6 x 100m

S: 4 R (packet pickup, boat pull)

S: you know what... I'm scared.

Week -3 was fine. As I already wrote, I did the 4 x 0.75 mile workout on Tuesday, per schedule, and I ran a proper 4:52 average per interval, which is fine. And then I did another 20 on Sunday. It was hard, because a) I ran it in the Parklands, on hilly course (but my marathon will be just as hilly); b) it was 80 degrees; c) it came at the end of a longer week with a hard workout on Wednesday, and a 11-miler on Friday. But I finished it. The last bit was hard, but I still averaged 8:28 moving time, and didn't slow down much at all.

Week -2 is on us. I already did the VO2 max workout yesterday: 5 x 600 m. My splits were 2:28, 2:25, 2:21, 2:23, 2:16 for an average of 2:23. I'm happy with this. Again, it wasn't in ideal circumstances (it never is, right?): after dark, sudden cold (first run in long sleeves and hat), couldn't find inhaler (though breathing was *mostly* fine), two days after the 20-miler (by design).

Rest of the week:

W: 6 R

T: Rest

F: 4 R w/ 6x100

S: 8K-10K tune-up race, total of 9-11 miles.

S: 16 L

I will probably swap the Friday recovery for Thursday to do it on Thirsty Thursday, and I almost certainly won't do a tune-up race. I'll probably do a time trial instead.

Week -4 was a lot weaker than I wanted. The conference threw a real wrench into the machine and I didn't run at all from Friday to Sunday. Then, on Monday, I was so sore and tired from the Sunday regatta that I decided to just follow Pfitzinger literally and take a rest day. That is 4 days of no running...

So this meant only 36.3 miles for the week. This did include the 5 x 600 m workout, which is on the shorter side. Running by feel I managed a 2:20 average, which is probably a bit too fast. It translates to 1:34 laps, which is 49.5 VDOT. I'm sure I'm not there.

Week -3 is on us. After the Monday rest day, I did a proper workout last night: 4 x 1200 m, or more precisely 4 x 0.75 mile on the street, again, by feel. Averaging 4:52, this put me into the more reasonable 47-48 VDOT category. Here is the rest of the week:

T: Rest (fun day at Thirsty Thursday)

F: 11 MLR

S: 4 R

S: 20 L

Honestly, this sounds relatively easy, and it still gets me 52 miles for the week.

Great progress on Week -5.

The Saturday threshold went well: I managed 5.59 miles in 40 minutes. That's a 7:09 pace, spot on 47 VDOT.

Then, on Monday (in Fall Break), I ran my first 20 miler since the KDF Marathon preparation, and I averaged 8:13/mile (moving). According to Daniels, that's the fastest allowable pace for 48 VDOT, so it was a bit too fast, probably. I did lose some time filling my water bottles and crossing some roads, though probably that's not any help. Also, it was still hot. 78 degrees, 68% humidity.

I'm trying to plan my Week -4 around a weekend conference and sailing regatta. Sunday running is basically out, and Saturday is limited (no long run). Maybe, honestly, the best would be to skip both days. In fact, since the week after that is hard, I'm thinking something like this:

T: 4 R (already done)

W: 8 w/ 5 x 600

T: 5.25 GA or whatever the longest run is on Thirsty Thursday

F: 17 L in the morning. Conference starts in the afternoon.

S: some recovery on the trails, max 10

S: sailing

This is a somewhat decreased mileage, because there is a mid-week 11-miler in the plan, but I'll substitute that with the Thursday run. I can't do much on Thursday, because Friday is the only day for the long run. This way I also catch up, and perhaps be even more rested with no running on Sunday. And with the delayed 20-miler on Monday, it actually will be a pretty large volume week.

Paces for the 600s is 2:27. That is 6:34 min/mile.

I had to skip a day due to a stomach virus. I had diarrhea for days, but I could still run - except for last Sunday, when I had that brutal 15-miler scheduled, 12 of which was supposed to be at marathon pace.

I decided to delay the schedule by a day for now. So this week (-5), so far, I've run

M: 15 MLR (no attempt to do the M pace - I was not strong enough for that)

T: Rest

W: 6 R w/ 6x100 strides

T: 12 MLR

----- This is where we are. -----

F: Rest

S: 12 w/ 40 min @ LT pace

S: 5 R

M: 20 L

Pfitzinger wants 7 miles at LT pace, but that's not for us, mortals. A really good runner can do the 7 miles is 40 minutes, but it would take 50+ for me. That long at LT pace in training is too hard. When I used to do it in 45, I could accept it, but now, let's just do 40 minutes, however long it turns out to be.

Week -7 was successful. The Thursday TT run particularly nice: the 4 mile splits were 7:07, 7:09, 7:10, 7:02 for an average of 7:07. That would be 47.7 VDOT, and 3:19 (flat) marathon. Sounds promising. I ran the 16-miler in the Parklands, and I felt strong. The last 5 miles of that was run at 8:00-ish pace without trying.

Week -6 was started without much expectation that I could finish it. Somehow I'm too busy, and the scheduled runs are on the wrong days. I thought about reorganizing, but I would have had to run om Monday, and I just felt too tired.

But so far I'm doing it. I've just finished my 5x1000m workout, running the 1000s at 4:06. I only have time for this midday, so I did it on the treadmill. At least this way the paces are pretty much guaranteed to be good. This the pace given by Jack Daniels for 47.3 VDOT. So perhaps a bit slow, but I don't mind. I needed to have some strength left for the evening race (sailing).

The rest of the week:

T: 12 MLR

F: Rest

S: 6 w/ 6 x 100 strides

S: 15 w/ 12 @ MP

Not sure I'll do marathon pace on Sunday... But the rest should be OK. This would give me 48 miles for the week. My largest volume since forever.

Week -8 was definitely *not* a success. I skipped my Wednesday LT run due to the fact that I was busy all day, but I also didn't want to redesign the week, because I was just too tired. I wasn't living healthy (food, sleep, alcohol) either, so maybe that's a reason. I felt down on myself, and I contemplated abandoning my plan.

Then, while on my way to Thirsty Thursday, which was hot, and I was already sure I wouldn't run 11 miles, I realized that I'd only skipped one day. So I decided to snap out of it, take it easy in Thursday (which I did with less than 5 miles, though I ran a fartlek by chasing down some groups, and pressing hard on Library Hill), and continue the plan. That resulted in a nice 17-mile long run on Sunday done at a 8:18 moving average with 7:42 last mile. I finished the week with 32.7 miles instead of the planned 48.

So that's a step-back, and I have a recovery week coming up. But the old rule says, you can't make up missed runs. So I just go on. We will see what happens now. I will also try to limit my alcohol consumption. I think that's key.

Week -7: (slightly rearranged to fit my schedule)

M: Rest

T: 12 MLR

W: Rest

T: 9 w/ 4 @ LT pace (no TT - it's the parade)

F: 5 R

S: Rest (CF Moto demo)

S: 16 L

Total: 42 miles.

This looks downright easy, if I don't have expectations for the LT run. Which I don't.

Week -9. Alright. Everything by the plans, except for the marathon pace on Sunday.

 It was a very hot week. On Thursday I've run 11 miles in temperatures in the mid 90's, but even my pace was fine. It was hard though. That, and the increased mileage, and the fact that it's been my highest mileage week, like for ever, made my weekend long run increasingly challenging. I gave up on the marathon pace, and I just ran a long run. Still it was a full sweat, partial dehydration, hard last few mile run. 8:26/mile average.

Week -8:

M: Rest

T: 5 R

W: 10 w/ 5 @ LT

T: 11 MLR

F: R

S: 5 R

S: 17 L

I might switch this up. If I shift everything from Wednesday one day ahead, I could run hard Tuesday evening, 11 MLR on Wednesday (say midday in the gym), easy 5 on Thursday (Thirsty Thursday). It would probably fit my schedule better.