Overview:
Looks like the die has been cast, and I’m officially registered for this year’s Marine Corps Marathon. I will admit that hitting the ‘register’ button was an impromptu decision that took place around 1 or 2 am. Although I knew nothing about this marathon at the time of registering, many folks have said that I should give it a shot.
Since the Marines are known for their attention to detail, determination, and resilience, I figure that this marathon should be well-organized. Let’s see if my assumption is correct on October 29, 2023. Since most of the reviews about this marathon on Bibrave have been positive, I guess I shouldn’t have anything to worry about . . . outside of the unpredictable mid-Atlantic weather.
Training:
Ok, it’s no secret that both my running times and weight have increased over the last year. . . errr last few years. I thought this would be a great way to start getting my physical fitness life together. Also, it will give me a chance to explore my new city (Silver Spring, MD) by running new routes and meeting other runners in the area.
For my 8th or 9th marathon, I’m gonna go with a well-trusted Hal Higdon training plan. Although I have completed several marathons, I decided to do the novice marathon plan because I feel like novice. Sometimes, it’s a good idea to start from the beginning.
The plan looks pretty straight-forward with 4-5 runs per week over an 18-week period. In addition to this plan, I have decided to incorporate specific running paces that I’ve obtained from Runner’s World’s Training Pace Calculator (link: ***).
Runner’s World has a pretty cool training calculator that spits out recommended paces for easy, tempo, VO2 max, speed form, long, and Yasso 800s training runs. Right now, my marathon goal is 4:45, which more than likely will change over the next few months. Not to piss on myself, I have a feeling that I probably should shoot for a 5:15 finishing time since I’m trying to get back into a decent running shape. I think Wednesdays will be my intense training days where I will do either a tempo, VO2 max, speed form, and or Yasso 800 training run. Here’s a look at my weekly schedule:
Monday: 3 – 5 mi easy run
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesdays: 3 – 10 mi with one of the following workouts – easy, tempo/pace, VO2-max, speed form, or Yasso 800s
Thursdays: 3 – 5 mi easy
Friday: Rest or X-Train
Saturday: 6 – 20 mi (long run)
Sunday: X-Train or Rest
Here’s some information from Runner’s World about the different types of runs:
Easy runs builds your aerobic fitness and should represent 80-90% of their weekly training.
Tempo runs help improve running economy and form. They are sometimes described as ‘threshold’ or 'hard but controlled' runs.
VO2-max runs help improve running economy and racing sharpness.
Speed form runs improve leg turnover (or stride frequency), power, running economy, and relaxation while running.
Long runs form the foundation of all marathon training programs - they build everything from confidence to discipline to your fat-burning.
Yasso 800s serve as a very general indicator of marathon finishing time. If I want to finishing this marathon in 4:45, I should aim to run ten 800 meter repeats in 4 minutes and 45 seconds.
The Course:
The course looks very interesting; this will be the 1st marathon where I’ll leave the state from which the marathon starts. It looks like the first four miles will take us through some bits of Arlington, Va, the next 16 miles will have us winding through the streets of Washington DC and Potomac “Island” (actually, I’m not sure it’s actually called that), then the last five miles will take us through Arlington to the finish. Hopefully, the finish will involve a few beers and a few slices of pizza.
Aside from a little climb around Mile 2, the course looks pretty flat and “easy”, which is an A+ in my book.
Conclusion:
Let’s see where the next 139 days will take me. Like 2 Hyped Brothers and A Dog said in their classic Doo Doo Brown: Act like a tennis shoe and just do it!
