2023 Marathon Training update

“Every marathon I ran, I knew I had a faster one in me”.

(Dick Beardsley)

My Walk into the Future allowed me to take the deep dive to sign up, train and complete a full marathon in 2022.  The concept of running a full marathon had been with me for a while but I never committed to the process prior to 2022. 

The 2022 Palm Beaches Garden of Life Marathon was the targeted race, and I am proud of my training efforts and completing the race.  I did not think I would want to run another one but was surprised with my recovery and the impact the marathon had on me completing shorter races.  I learned how to manage the pain and continue to press forward during races.

I leveraged an 18-week training program last year and decided this got me prepared for my first marathon and it will be the training program for 2023 as well. 

I am currently finishing week 9 of the training program so I am halfway through with a lot more miles to come.  I thought all miles were equal and incorporated too many miles on my exercise bike last year.  I quickly discovered the error in my thinking and training process during the 2022 Game On Treasure Coast Half Marathon.  This race was part of my training, but I did not perform as well as I should have—the miles on the bike did not translate to running in the Florida humidity.  I completed the race in decent shape but could not find another gear to go faster which was disappointing. 

Fast forward to 2023 and I made a concerted effort to ensure my training miles were outside.  This meant I had to set a consistent bedtime so I could get up earlier in the morning to get my Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday runs in before work.  My bedtime during the week is 8:45 pm with an alarm time of 4:45 am.  Never thought I would go to bed this early, but it is necessary for my training program.  Getting proper rest is a key component to quality training sessions.

I also invested in my nutrition plan more than I did in 2022.  The proper use of carbohydrates and hydration are two of the improvements I’ve made so far.  The carbs allow me to perform better during my early morning runs.  My increased water intake provides a solid foundation for my training and keeps me fresh.  I have increased my form roller use as well to negate muscle soreness throughout the week.

All of this is designed to help me arrive at the 2023 Palm Beaches Garden of Life Marathon ready to perform and run faster than last year.  This race is flat and provides an opportunity for runners to go fast—I did not leverage this fact last year and will look to improve my time and enjoyment of the race day atmosphere.

Last year I identified I was excited and terrified to complete a full marathon but now I’m looking forward to each training session and getting closer to race day.  Yep, my mindset is completely different this year.  LOL.

MAIN

The 18-week training plan starts out with lower mileage and slowly builds up each week.  Here are my total weekly miles so far this year:

• Week #1: 16 miles
• Week #2:  20 miles
• Week #3:  26 miles
• Week #4:  30 miles
• Week #5:  29 miles
• Week #6:  27 miles
• Week #7:  30 miles
• Week #8:  18 miles
• Week #9:  37 miles 

My miles during the work week are completed in my new neighborhood.  I have an area in the neighborhood that does not have traffic since construction has not started there yet.  This gives me a convenient place to run in the mornings safely.  I bring my own water or Gatorade and leave it on my route so I can stop and get fuel during the run.  This is a new feature of my running.  Last year I utilized a hydration backpack, but it seemed to impact my running because it moved around a lot.  Ditched the hydration backpack and decided to place my drinks in strategic spots—seems to be working for me so far. 

My long runs are still done on Hutchinson Island—this allows me more options to get double digits miles completed safely.

I am happy with my progress so far and look forward to additional miles on this journey.

My next training update will be the week prior to the marathon.

Thanks for following me on this journey!

Irie!

“The marathon never ceases to be a race of joy, a race of wonder”.

(Hal Higdon)