“Don't you ever let a soul in the world tell you that you can't be exactly who you are.” – Lady Gaga

Ever since marathon training began, I’ve tried my best to be a sponge for knowledge. I read running blogs, follow running coaches on Instagram, and constantly pester my friends who have finished marathons with questions. Most questions are about how they approached their training plans. How many times a week did you run? How many miles were you at during this time of training? And most frequently . . . did you ever skip any training days?

No doubt, for many of us it is impossible – or nearly impossible – to stick to the plan without exception. Work and life are the settings in which we train. Apart from those who are in it to win the race, most of us do this amid lives that don’t revolve around running. It’s a hobby that we fit it into our schedules, which means, to do it, it must fit. Still, for nine weeks, which included many sacrifices, I’ve done every workout in my training plan – and more!

For some time, I didn’t even want to say that out loud. I didn’t want to jinx it. Training was going well, but it wasn’t guaranteed to stay that way. But as time went on, I wondered what it was I was afraid to jinx. Getting every single run or workout in isn’t the goal. And worse yet, there could be times that it is counterintuitive to the goal. The goal is finishing 26.2 on November 2. It’s that simple. No doubt a training plan is a critical component towards reaching it, but ultimately the way to reach it rests in doing what’s right for me each day regardless of what’s on the “schedule.”

Heading into training as a novice, I most definitely needed a plan. I needed it for the obvious reason of building up my body for race day. I also needed it for the education it would provide on training for a marathon. No doubt, I couldn’t just wing it. Now 10 weeks into my 20-week training plan, I’ve learned a ton. I’ve learned about the structure of the program, the effort it takes to build up my running fitness, and the toll it takes on my body. But most importantly, I’ve learned that any training program is a guide that is generically designed for a population of runners who endeavor on this journey, but it’s not uniquely designed to be specific for me. I’m learning that to reach my goal on marathon day, the most important part of training is to be myself through it all.

So, as I entered week 10 this past week, I realized it was not only time to say out loud that I have hit every workout on the program, but it was also time to completely let go of it. It was time to let go both because it is the wrong target and because it looks backwards rather than forwards. Yes, there are benchmarks that should be reached during training. Building up my long runs is the most important. I’m now at the point where each long run is a new personal record on the distance I cover. It’s been a gradual build-up to this, and the steady process of getting there builds confidence. Thus far, I’ve ended each long run knowing that, as I look forward, I could do a little more. I don’t yet know how much more, but I know that it’s enough to be ready for the next run that’s longer than the last one. I finished 13.2 miles knowing that I’d be ready for 15 – the next milestone. Then a little over a week ago, I finished 15 knowing I’d be ready for this past week’s 16-mile run.

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But amid the progress, there’s been pain. This update on my training covers the past two weeks, and the biggest difference over these weeks has been the way my body feels. Perhaps it’s due to the increased running distance. Maybe it’s been the result of some harder strength training workouts. It could be from the days I go climbing. Most likely, it’s all of that. And that’s where the biggest realization of what I needed to do with my training program hit me. Up until this point, my life revolved around training. I now understand that training also needs to revolve around me. Of course, it’s always had to fit around my job, but work is not the only part of me outside of running. With this insight, I now approach my program with one additional question in mind for each day’s plan . . . what’s the best thing I can do for me today?

It seems obvious to ask this question but answering it is not easy. I didn’t ask myself this for the first nine weeks of training largely because I didn’t yet know the answer. I needed to experience training. I needed to run with discomfort from time to time. And I needed to test the limits when faced with new obstacles that I’ve never encountered before. Doing all of this taught me about running. It taught me discipline. And it also taught me about my body.

The full two weeks of training are described below this post for those who want to see every detail, but here I’ll share a few key moments of how I’m learning to make this training program my own.

The lesson started with my first run of this two-week cycle. It was a short, easy pace run on Sunday August 10 after a 10-mile run the day before. While that Saturday’s run was a dip down in milage, it was not an easier one for me. It was when my body – particularly my groin – was increasingly feeling the effects of training and everything else around it. When I woke up for Sunday’s run, I wondered if I should even be going out for it. I was hurting more than usual. Perhaps this meant I was supposed to take the day off. After all, everything in fitness revolves around listening to your body. I was prepared to accept that I could take a break if I needed one. But I wasn’t convinced I did. I also wasn’t convinced I didn’t. So, there was only one way to find out. After much self-analysis, I knew that the best plan was to go out and test it – carefully. I’d run slower and pay close attention to how I felt. If I was in pain, I’d stop immediately. If I wasn’t, I’d learn a little more about running uncomfortably. There are more details below, but the short of it is that the run taught me how to manage a moment that felt on the edge. I learned how to take it easier. I learned how to slow down to no pain when speeding up hurt. I wasn’t out there to set a pace record, and in fact, it’s probably the first time I’ve ever run where I actually set a minimum time for it to take to run the distance. The goal was literally to go slower.

Taking it easier kept the soreness in check, but continuing to stick to my training routine was unlikely to let it heal entirely. Some days were a little better, and others were a bit worse. It was time to start thinking about a day off.

I took that first day off on Wednesday August 13. Typically, a light day anyway which only calls for 20 minutes of strength training, I saw it as a choice between getting stronger or getting fresher. Fresher won out, as I took the day off entirely. My run the next day proved I made the right call, as I hit a PR for my fastest mile run on a five-mile loop. I did that because I was fitter and fresher. One day off didn’t heal everything, but besides the positive effect on my body, it also fixed my mindset. I learned so much more about how this all works.

Over the next week and a half, I had a better feel for each day than I ever had before. I was becoming at-one with my program. Or better yet, I was making the program at-one with me.

My last post covered my struggle to focus the last time I went climbing in The Gunks. It was my first time out there where I lost the ability to stay in the moment. No doubt, a good part of the reason for this was that my head was still wrapped in the mindset of training. I even went for the run that was on my program that morning – at 4 AM – before climbing. It all became too much for me amid my struggle on the rock. One might think the easy lesson is, don’t climb anymore during training. But climbing is undeniably a big part of who I am, and as I mentioned, the lesson I’m learning is to make training revolve around me rather than solely making me revolve around training. That said, there’s some give and take in that. After all, training is also part of who I am right now. With all that in mind, I nailed this one. I nailed it because I took a day off on Monday and skipped a cross-training day (after doing extra the day before). I nailed it because I swapped out a 45-minute run on Thursday with a 40-minute swim– to put less impact on my body. I nailed it because I planned the day with Patty as a mixture of climbing and learning. There’s more to do out there than just climb, as I need to learn so many levels of tying knots, setting anchors, taking down anchors, and learning the purpose of every part of what makes us safe out there. We nailed that out there on Friday, and I nailed the climbing too! Not without struggles, but without any thought in my mind beyond making every move. I was out there doing me, and knowing that, left no room for distractions.

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Finally, the week ended the following day with my 16-mile run. I always knew that I could pivot the run to Sunday if I needed to, but the plan was to do it if I could. Still, the day didn’t start out as planned. I woke up at 2:55 AM in the red on my WHOOP and was exhausted, but I couldn’t fall back asleep. I was a bit sore from climbing, and I thought about not running. I had plans to see Lady Gaga at Madison Square Garden that night, and I was wary of the daunting day ahead. Still, while moving my run to Sunday might have made things easier, it would have affected so much more. I had already carb-loaded on Friday night and ate my pre-run breakfast before seriously thinking of skipping the run. I’d also have to run 16 miles the morning after the concert if I didn’t get it in before the show. Still, just as I was on the fence, a friend who recently sprained her ankle and was heading out to her workout, texted me, “Good luck on the 16 miles!” I didn’t feel right responding that I might take it off while she was suffering through a real injury, so I simply said, “Thanks!” And then I got ready to run. After 10 weeks, I knew what I was doing. I knew I had 16 miles in me. Sure, it wasn’t going to be easy, but part of training is preparing for whatever gets in your way. Another part of it is realizing that it’s not usually as bad as I thought it would be – and that was the case with this one. I nailed it. Not without some struggle, but once again, knowing at the end of it that I was ready to take on more next week. I was also ready to conquer the rest of my day and finish it off with the concert. But my day didn’t end as planned either. It turns out StubHub comes with risks, and in this case, the concert was not to be because the seller never uploaded the tickets. Sure, I was bummed about that, but it wasn’t the worst thing in that moment. I was ready for it all that day, and it simply turned out that I could handle even more than the universe was willing to give me!

*What my WHOOP data looks like when I conquer a tough day.*

In the end, these two weeks can be summed up in three words . . . I do me! I’ve reached a point where I’ve learned how to get more out of a marathon training program by making it my marathon training program. At times, that means taking the days I need to stay fresh. Other times it means learning how to push through it when I’m not. It means working in areas of life that define who I am while understanding that this goal of 26.2 is just one of those areas. For each one of us, the calculus is different. Only you know what it is for you. And only I can know what it is for me.

Aaron

Through the NYC Marathon on November 2, I’m including my full training updates below each blog post. More details on the past two weeks of my marathon training program are posted here. As always, the day and training plan workout are listed in bold . . .

Sunday August 10 (12 weeks until the marathon): 35–40-minute easy pace run

3.2-mile run (35:21): Over the past week, I’ve had some extra soreness in my groin. For the most part, it had not gotten progressively worse, it just hasn’t gone away. After yesterday’s 10-mile run, it was a bit more sore than usual, and that continued into this morning. I nearly took the day off from running, but as I considered it, I believed that it was the kind of sore that I could run with and not the kind of pain that would make me have to avoid it. I was prepared to stop immediately if I realized I was wrong about it. I went out with a plan to make this easy and to take it slower than normal. I’d run two laps around the reservoir, which is just over 5K. My time for that should be around 30-minutes, but today, I made my goal to finish it in no less than 35 minutes. That was how I was going to get in this 35-40-minute run. I found that I had to force myself to go slower throughout the entire run – even as I was already careful to make it comfortable within my sore body. My soreness remained in check throughout the run. I learned how to take it easier. And perhaps most interestingly, after icing it down when I got home as a precaution, it hurt less for the rest of the day after the run than it did before it.

Contrast therapy: 15-minute sauna with stretching, two-minute ice bath, 13-minute sauna, two-minute ice bath, 12-minute sauna, three-minute ice bath.

Monday August 11: 30 minutes cardio + strength training

Strength training (30:00): I somewhat expected to take today off given how sore I was over the weekend, but I felt a significant amount of recovery which made me feel that skipping the day would only be due to laziness. So, I started the day with a resistance bands workout that would make my trainer proud.
Rowing (30:00): I finished my workout with a 30-minute power endurance row with Sera Moon on my Hydrow for my cardio.
Sauna: 18 minutes of sauna and stretching after my workouts.

Tuesday August 12: Tempo Run (1.5-mile warmup, 2-mile tempo, 1.5-mile cool down)

5.0-mile run (48:13): One of my fastest 5-mile runs ever with 3 miles being at warmup and cool down pace. My overall pace was much faster today even breaking nine minutes per mile during the tempo section of the run. The soreness in my groin is not entirely gone, but it’s mostly been in check. Still, I get the feeling I’m going to need to give it a little extra rest this week to allow it to fully recover.

Contrast therapy: 14-minute sauna and stretch and a 3-minute ice bath

Wednesday August 13: Cross training or OFF + 20 min strength training

Off: That extra rest I mentioned yesterday came today. Whether I am entirely skipping the 20-minute strength training or shifting it to another day remains to be seen. It will all depend on how my body feels. Right now, all I know is that it feels like rest is better for it today than strength training would be.
Contrast therapy: 18-minute sauna and stretch, one-minute ice bath, 16-minute sauna and stretch, three-minute ice bath

Thursday August 14: 1 mile warmup; 3 miles ½ marathon pace; 1 mile 5K pace; 1 mile cooldown

5.0-mile run (48:13): The rest day I took a day earlier was brilliant. While not 100% improved, I felt significantly better going into this run. I almost certainly felt better than I would have if I hadn’t given myself a break the day before. This was a somewhat new format for a run that mixed up various paces, ending with a 5K pace at mile four before the cooldown at mile five. The first three miles were comfortable and then I turned up the pace to the uncomfortable. Not a bad uncomfortable, just one where I was more focused on pushing myself rather than zoning out. The 5K pace mile was my fastest mile run during a five-mile run – ever. It was the first time I broke nine minutes on a mile during a run this long.

Sauna: 25-minute sauna and stretch.
Air Compression: 30 minutes

Friday August 15: off

Off: My scheduled off day ahead of a day I’ve been anticipating for a long time now where I’ll be running a distance I’ve never done before.
Contrast therapy: 20-minute sauna with stretching, two-minute ice bath.
Air Compression: 40 minutes

Saturday August 16: 14-15-mile run

15-mile run (2:51:47): I spent most of the week anticipating this run, as I was finally heading into unknown territory on my long runs. My longest to date has been in the half-marathon range of 13.1 miles. This would be about two miles farther than I’ve run before. The advantage I have now with a new distance is that I’ve gotten comfortable running just under that distance and finish knowing I could do more. But you never know how much more. Surely, 15 is within that range, but would I feel the same at the end of 15? After all, it keeps going up from there. This was the last day of Summer Streets in Manhattan, and I used the run to go as far north as the street closures go into Washington Heights. Over the course of Summer Streets, I’ve covered every inch of the Manhattan route from the end of Washington Heights to the Brooklyn Bridge. The streets will be way more crowded on marathon day, but there are still so many encouraging people out during these runs that give support and encouragement. To answer my big question below, I finished this run with more in the tank. I ran it slower today with that in mind – although I was even a bit slower than planned. While my body has been recovering, it is still sore, and I gave it the balance it needed here. I’m hoping for a bit faster during the marathon, but the marathon was not today. And whether I even get that better pace on race day is only gravy. All I am doing to prepare will get me the fastest pace I can achieve – whatever that is.

Air Compression: 45 minutes
Contrast therapy: Spent a little extra time on the cold today. 21-minute sauna and stretch, three-minute ice bath, 19-minute sauna, five-minute ice bath.

Sunday August 17 (11 weeks until the marathon): 35-45-minute easy pace run

Climbing (50:00): I started the day thinking I might skip the run. After 15 miles yesterday, I expected to wake up in the red on my WHOOP (I did) and to be a bit worn out (I wasn’t). Still, my thought was to just make it the day I wanted it to be, and I wanted to climb. I spent almost an hour working the auto-belay wall at Movement LIC. At first, I kept it mostly to the easier routes and did one after another for as long as it took me to get really pumped. Then I even did another easier one and then another easier one before I gave myself a break. I then started resting longer between climbs and working in some harder ones including sending a 5.10b for my last climb.
3.3-mile run (35:08): After I got back from my climbing gym, my body was good for more. I decided to get today’s run in – not because I felt like I had to, but because I really wanted to run. By the time I went out for a much later than normal run, it was 87-degrees outside. But the heat did not affect my easy pace run. Often, I had to force myself to slow down. My body was feeling much better today than it had for some time. Who would have thought this would be the case on the day after my longest run yet? It certainly gives me confidence for the increasing miles over the next two weeks. But the recent soreness also keeps me aware of staying rested and recovered. There’s so much to balance on this plan.

Contrast therapy: Given how well the extra cold felt after yesterday, I did a similar method today with even more cold. The longest I stay in an ice bath at once is six minutes, but it’s been some time since I’ve done that long. The maximum cold I do in a contrast session is nine minutes, but it’s been some time since I’ve done that too. Today I knocked both of those out. 22-minute sauna and stretch, three-minute ice bath, 18-minute sauna, six-minute ice bath.

Monday August 18: 30 minutes cardio + strength training

Off: I got in some extra work the day before – which is outside of the training program – so I understood that I could also go outside of the program by skipping a day. My body was better off with rest, as it is telling me how important recovery is right now.
Sauna: 26 minutes of sauna and stretching.

Tuesday August 19: Hill repeats

4.7-mile run (49:23): I recently bought a weighted vest and decided to try it out on a run today. After all, I used to be much heavier when I ran, so it seemed worth trying. Wrong. Running in a weighted vest is like running heavier, and it reminded me how much worse that was on my joints. The run went fine, but I could feel this was a mistake.

Sauna: 20-minute sauna and stretch.

Wednesday August 20: Cross training or OFF + 20 min strength training

Strength training (30:00): A much better use of the weighted vest today on a 30-minute resistance bands workout.
Sauna: 25-minute sauna and stretch.
Air compression: 25 minutes

Thursday August 21: 10-minute warmup; 25-minute tempo, 10-minute cooldown

Swimming (40:00): When I set out to train for the marathon, I assumed that training would take its toll on my body and that there would be times that I’d have to swap running for something that is easier on my body. As training went on, I was surprised at how my body took to running four days a week, and for the first eight weeks, I continually felt stronger. But the past two weeks have been different. My body has been sore and has had some minor nagging injuries. Mostly my groin and knees have been having a rough time. This week, I remembered my initial plan to substitute running with a low-impact workout from time to time, and I made it happen today. I’m ahead on the milage I need to run to this point since I’ve been doing the high end of the range each week, so it was easy to decide to swap today’s run for a swim. This was great cardio, and it kept my body fresher for a couple of tough days ahead.
Sauna: 24-minute sauna and stretch.
Acupuncture: One hour of acupuncture to work on my knees and groin. Now that I have enough data on acupuncture stored in my WHOOP, it shows me the benefit this has on my recovery. Check this out . . .

Friday August 22: off

Climbing (5:00:00): I nearly put a stop on climbing days through the marathon after my last time out. That day, earlier this month, I couldn’t focus because I was too wrapped up in training. I was stuck thinking about it during my climb. But the realization I had since then that I was going to do me, opened me up to enjoying this again. Making my schedule revolve around this day was liberating. Of course, there’s still a give and take, and part of that was making this day fit within training as well. That mindset allowed me to become a better climber in other ways. I climbed three pitches throughout the day, but we spent a good part of the afternoon on instruction about ropes, knots, hitches, and anchors. A day of climbing doesn’t have to be all physical – especially where I am in this journey. I need to take it all in right now on my quest to be a better climber. Of course, the climbing was no joke either, but the beauty of that was that I rediscovered just how stay in the moment through it all.
Sauna: 18-minute sauna and stretch after getting home from climbing

Saturday August 23: 16-mile run

16 miles (2:59:55): As already discussed above, this was a day that didn’t start or end as planned. But it was one that I nonetheless was ready to conquer. With soreness and fatigue, I confidently made it through my 16-mile run looking forward to enjoying the night out at Lady Gaga. Alas, that part wasn’t to be . . .

Air compression: 30-minutes
Contrast therapy: 21-minute sauna with stretching, three-minute ice bath, 18-minute sauna, three-minute ice bath
Hyperbaric oxygen: One hour in the hyperbaric chamber to promote recovery and cardio benefits
Lady Gaga Concert? I had been wondering all day whether this would be too much to handle after waking up at 3 AM and then running 16 miles. Still, I was in . . . until it all fell apart. The ticket seller never uploaded the tickets to StubHub, so I had no ticket. Part of me was bummed, but another part of me was fine calling it a day. I enjoyed replenishing the calories I burned with a great dinner and making it an early night. In the end, it was still a good week.

Total miles run per week of training:

Week before training began: 15.2 miles
Week 1: 23 miles
Week 2: 20.7 miles
Week 3: 23.2 miles
Week 4: 20.6 miles
Week 5: 25.75 miles
Week 6: 24.2 miles
Week 7: 27.8 miles
Week 8: 22.4 miles
Week 9: 29.2 miles
Week 10: 24.0 miles