Marathon training at four weeks – Sacrifices and results!
One of the mental tactics I’ve used during workouts for some time is to break them down into percentages in the middle of the grind. For example, if I’m in a 45-minute Peloton class, then 15 minutes in, I tell myself that I’m one-third through it. I continue that at various intervals throughout the workout to make it feel shorter. One of the most important ways to use that is with running. A 10-mile run is easier when I think of it in segments. After five miles, all I have to do is do that same thing once more. When I have two miles left, having only 20 percent remaining makes it feel like I am already near the finish line. But this percentage thing can apply not only to a single workout, but also to a long-term training plan such as what I’m in the middle of right now in working towards the NYC Marathon.
My last update on this training was after week two when I started to feel like there was a long way to go. After all, there was still 90 percent of my training that remained. Now, just two weeks later, realizing that I’m 20 percent finished, I feel like this is all going by very fast!
Once again, I’ll list the full report on each of my training days at the end – after this post – but first I’ll share the insights I’ve gained after four weeks of this.
I used to think I worked out hard . . .
The biggest realization I’ve had during this training is how much harder I can work out. I picked an ambitious training program for intermediate marathon runners rather than one for beginners because I knew my fitness level was ready for it. And while that seems to be true so far, that’s not to say that my fitness has ever encountered this level of training before. I used to think the mere fact that I did some workout as often as seven days a week meant that I was working out hard. Now I see just how much harder I could be going.
That’s not to say one way is right and another is wrong. I have had a great fitness lifestyle of which I am extremely proud. How it compares to what other do is entirely meaningless. I know it’s more than I ever did, and it’s been fulfilling at nearly every stage of this journey. It’s undoubtedly a healthy lifestyle and it works within my busy work schedule without requiring too many sacrifices.
This training program, on the other hand, turns that workout routine upside down. There are days – particularly Mondays – that include both cardio and strength training where I can be at the gym for over two hours in the morning. I’m also committed to very specific workouts each day, leaving little time for some of the activities I enjoyed most in my prior routine such as mornings at my climbing gym. And it’s all happening at a time where my work schedule is the busiest I’ve had this past year. So, it all takes sacrifice. I not only have less time for the fun workouts, but the way I deal with my time has changed all around. Outside of work, my priorities are training, recovery, and sleep – all of which I need more of right now. I’m far more tired at the end of each day – but in a good way. It just means that for 16 more weeks, I have to be a lot more selfish with my time. It also means when this is done, I’ll have to step back so that I can be more selfless with it again. Hence why neither way of working out is always right or wrong. But one thing’s for sure, this is working . . .
Oh, the changes I am seeing . . .
As with any dedication to increased fitness, I was sure to see results. I definitely see it in my pace, as I am getting faster. I see it in my body too. While not losing weight, thanks to a focus on strength training along with the running, my clothes are getting looser. I’ve seen my body change a lot over the course of my journey, but much have that has been due to years of working on being calorie deficient to drop the excess weight. Those days are over for now, as I’ve increased my calorie intake – and dramatically increased my protein intake (to nearly one gram of protein per pound of body weight each day). As a result, I’m building muscle and gaining weight while losing inches in my waist at the same time. But besides the obvious physical changes, the most shocking ones have been physiological.
I’ve always wished that I had my WHOOP at the beginning of this journey so that I truly knew my data when it all started. It wasn’t until 2020 – over six years into it – that I started to get those numbers. Since then, the changes have been positive, but gradual. I already had a good routine at the time I got my WHOOP, but naturally, the more I did, the more I could do. The results showed some improvement in my heart rate variability (HRV) and resting heart rate (RHR), but noting at all like what’s happened this path month.
For months, my HRV was between 32-36. Compared to other athletes, that may be low, but WHOOP says that HRV is an individual number that you should only measure against yourself. As if I needed WHOOP to tell me that. That’s true for anything! Still, since starting training, my HRV seems to be skyrocketing! For the first time ever, my monthly average is over 40 – and this past week’s average is 50! My monthly HRV has gone up 24 percent in one month! Likewise, my resting heart rate (RHR) is dropping! Compared to last month, it’s down 6 percent (from 65 to 61), and it’s trending even lower. This past week was its lowest ever weekly average of 58!
Besides the gratitude I have for knowing that I am healthier and fitter as a result of this training, my numbers give me the motivation I need right now. While already 20 percent into this, I still have 80 percent remaining, and I can’t wait to see how it all evolves. Of course, until I do it, I have no idea what the outcome will be. Is this month an anomaly in the data, or will the trend continue? Common sense may suggest it will continue to improve, but that’s only a hypothesis right now. I’m also only getting even busier at work, so how that factors in remains to be seen.
One last thing about those sacrifices . . .
There are a number of days over the past two weeks that stand out in my training. The hot ones where it was a struggle to run in the park have been real during this awful NY summer. The Mondays I mentioned with longer gym days have been a struggle. But the one day that stands out as the day I was so grateful for was when I got to spend July 4th climbing in The Gunks!
Since it fell on a Friday, climbing on the holiday was a day where the only sacrifice I had to make was to skip an off-day in my training program (Fridays are rest days). But even so, I now realize that’s a pretty big sacrifice. It not only meant going 13 straight days before my next rest day, but it was the day before a 10-mile run. As you’ll see below, that run was the toughest one yet. Not because of the distance, but because my body was exhausted.
I booked an extra long day with Patty – my climbing guide – for the 4th, and for the first time all year, the weather truly cooperated. I certainly won’t complain about the heat when I’ve been climbing in either cold or wet – or both – all year. We also climbed the hardest grades I’ve climbed thus far in The Gunks! I’m long overdue for an update on my climbing journey, and I’ll post that soon with so much I want to share, but today’s blog is not the space for that. In the meantime, here’s some nice views of the sacrifice that was worth making to spend this Independence Day enjoying the natural beauty this county has to offer . . .
I’m thankful for that day, not just because of nature’s beauty, the perfect weather, and the opportunity to do my favorite thing, but because, for now, my favorite thing is taking a back seat to this mission. The place I’m in right now is to embrace every bit of this challenge. While I am enjoying the big picture of it all, there are undoubtedly days that are a struggle – either because of the time suck, the energy suck, or simply because of the suck of not getting to do what I’d rather be doing. But as I posted on this Instagram of that 10-mile run day after climbing – one muscle that I’m training that I most certainly need for at least the latter part of the race in November is the “embrace the suck” muscle! And now I’m 20 percent of the way there too!
Aaron
For more details on the past two weeks of my training program, see below – particularly noteworthy days are marked with a (*) and are described in greater detail. As always, the day and training plan workout are listed in bold . . .
Sunday June 29 (18 weeks until the marathon): 30-40-minute easy pace run
*4-mile race (38:26): This day was hot, but I was ready to race the Achilles Hope and Possibility 4-Mile Run. My plan called for a 30-40 minute easy pace run, but it could only be one or the other for me. If I ran this four-mile run in under 40 minutes, then it was faster than easy pace. If I didn’t, then I was running longer than 40 minutes. So, I raced this to my second fastest 4M run ever. I skipped the water stations and pushed hard to the finish. The start of the race was crowded and slow, but that was a nice way to start the uphill part of the park. From there, it was on.
Contrast therapy: 20-minute sauna and stretch, 2-minute ice bath, 20-minute sauna, 4-minute ice bath
Air compression: 45 minutes
Monday June 30: 30-minute cardio + strength training
Strength training (45:00): 45 min of legs and core with 5 min warmup on Peloton
Peloton (30:00): Low impact ride with Emma Lovewell
Sauna: 15-minute stretch and sauna
Sauna: One more end of the day 18-minute sauna before bedtime
Tuesday July 1: 0.25-mile interval workout
4-mile run (38:26): Intervals are my least favorite type of run, but one that I gain so much from in my running fitness. This run was six intervals of 0.25 miles hard and 0.25 recovery with a 5-minute warmup in beginning and cool down at end.
Sauna: 21-minute stretch and sauna
Sauna: Another end of the day sauna for 22 minutes before bedtime
Wednesday July 2: Cross training or OFF + 15-min strength training
Strength training (25:00): 25 minutes of core with 5 min jump rope warmup
Contrast therapy: 22-minute stretch and sauna with a 4-minute ice bath
Air compression: 45 minutes
Thursday July 3: 4–5-mile easy pace run
5.2-mile run (55:17): Easy pace. Beautiful morning run. Not too hot for the easy run. I could feel the regular running making a difference in the ease with which I do it.
Sauna: 30-minute stretch and sauna
Friday July 4: off
*Climbing (~7:00:00): As mentioned above, this was supposed to be a day off. Instead, we climbed for seven hours. It was such a fun and challenging day that was painful on the feet and exhausting. I woke up by 3:00 AM after an early night to bed in the green on my WHOOP. Going into this I felt better than just about any climbing day ever, and I was sure to let Patty know that when we started so that she was aware I was up for anything. My body was fresh and mostly recovered as I was just coming of an injury to my pectoral muscle. Of course, this would be the first test for of it, and while I was confident it was ready, I was not without some trepidation over it. Aside from the exhaustion from the day, I got through it without any further injury. It was a much appreciated departure from the training, but one that I suspected would make the coming days a bit more difficult . . .
Saturday July 5: 8–10-mile run
Air compression: 20 min to recover before the run which I anticipated would be a tough one.
*10-mile run (1:44:22): As predicted, this was tough, but it didn’t stop me or slow me down. I went extra hard on this uncomfortable day knowing that the discomfort was just a state of mind, and it wasn’t going to stop me from finishing. I was exhausted from climbing, but I was not going to let my choice to climb interfere with my training! (See the Instagram post above in the blog for more on this.)
Air compression: 40 minutes
Hyperbaric oxygen: 60 minutes, with a 30-minute nap inside the chamber. (I’ll have to cover this recovery in more depth at some point.)
Contrast therapy: 22-minute sauna with stretching, 3-minute ice bath, 22-minute sauna, 3-minute ice bath
Sunday July 6 (17 weeks until the marathon): 30–40-minute easy pace run
3.3-mile run (34:57): Getting my miles in at an easy pace.
Air compression: 45 minutes while watching the F1 Grand Prix in Silverstone. What an amazing race and congrats to Nico Hulkenberg on his first-ever and well-deserved podium after starting as the last one on the grid!
Contrast therapy: 18-minute sauna with stretching, 1-minute ice bath, 16-minute sauna, 1-minute ice bath
Nap: 56-minute nap (this was crucial!)
Monday July 7: 30-minute cardio + strength training
Rowing (30:00): 30-minute resistance intervals row with Sera Moon on my Hydrow. I very much enjoy the days that I get to mix up my cardio and do some of my other workouts. The cross training definitely helps the body.
Strength Training (45:00): Core and upper body.
Sauna: 20-minute stretch and sauna
* This was one of those really long workout Mondays that I mentioned above. This seems to be my toughest day of the week to get through mentally. I love the workout, but the commitment to both strength training and cross training is time consuming and exhausting, especially after the long weekend of running and the extra day of climbing. I knew this was going to be a long week and already started looking forward to Friday when I would finally get a rest day.
Tuesday July 8: 0.25-mile interval workout
5-mile run (48:59): My least favorite type of run again. Six intervals of 0.25 miles hard and 0.25 recovery. 1-mile warmup and cool down. Very humid. Very tough. Great for my fitness.
Contrast therapy: 16-minute sauna and 3-minute ice bath
Wednesday July 9: Cross training or OFF + 20-min strength training
Jump rope (10:00): Love this warmup.
Strength training (40:00): Legs and core.
Sauna: 20-minute sauna and stretch
Thursday July 10: 10-min warm-up; 20-min Tempo pace; 10-min cooldown
4.2 miles (40:00): Good run. Ran my tempo pace from after the warmup to the end. As an fyi, tempo runs should be run at a pace that's about 10-15 seconds slower than one’s 10K race pace. The pace should feel "comfortably hard". You should be able to sustain the pace for the entire tempo interval and not be slowing down towards the end. The run should begin with an easy pace warm-up and an easy pace cool-down. I skipped the easy pace cool down, as my walk home from Central Park was enough for that, and I was up for more during the run.
Sauna: 18-minute sauna and stretch
Friday July 11: off
*Off: Finally!!! This was much needed, but even as I looked forward to this rest-day, I must admit that it was not easy to take the day off. I constantly feel like I want to be doing something, and I told myself repeatedly during the day that the only way to win it was to not work out.
Contrast therapy: An off day from training doesn’t mean recovery stops! 25-minute sauna and stretch and 5-minute ice bath
Saturday July 12: 7-8-mile run
*8.1 miles (1:21:00): This week’s Saturday run was a step down in miles with an 8-mile run day, and this run was included an important 4-mile race. I did my now usual pre-race run – after once thinking people were crazy for doing so – and this time ran right through the start line of the race as I arrived after nearly all other runners had started (they keep the start open for 30 minutes). At mile one, I caught up to the first group of runners and ran with the crowd for the remainder of the race. But the importance of the race came from the fact that it was the 9th race in the 9+1 that I needed to do to qualify for the marathon in 2026! 9+1 means run in nine races and volunteer in one. I’ve now done them all, and I could be running my second NYC Marathon a year from November. Who knows? For this year’s race, I was unable to get in by doing the 9+1, as the races were full once I realized last year that this was a possibility. So, this year, I am raising money to run for The Fresh Air Fund – a charity that provides outdoor experiences to children of underserved communities. It took me too long in life to find my passion for the outdoors, and I want kids to have the opportunity to see the importance of it early on.
Remedy Roller: Remedy place has some amazing recovery technology. One of the fascinating remedies is the Remedy Roller, which is essentially like a foam roller on steroids. It’s like being foam rolled with a Theragun all in one. Here’s a short clip of what I did for 30 minutes . . .
Contrast therapy: 15-minute sauna and stretch, 1-minute ice bath, 14-minute sauna, 2-minute ice bath, 13-minute sauna, 3-minute ice bath.
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