Lakeland to London: The Road to the Start Line
It’s almost go time! The past few months have been packed with high mileage, tough workouts, and the kind of quiet discipline that only runners truly understand. As I get ready to toe the line at the London Marathon, I’ve been reflecting on how this training cycle has gone, what has clicked, what I’ve had to fight for, and where my mindset is heading into race day. Here’s a look at the journey so far and the goals I’ll be chasing across the pond.
Going back to just over a year ago I had thought my running career had come to an end. I had just competed in my third Olympic Trials and thought it was time to hang up the shoes. At that point it had been a long career and just thought it was the right time to do it. Well I couldn’t have been anymore wrong! This lasted a few months and I was already getting the urge to get back out on the roads for some mileage. You could say I pulled a Tom Brady by jumping out of retirement. To this day I still feel a little embarrassed by ever thinking I would be done with this sport but I have zero regrets about it. I’m a runner for life. I want to be that old guy competing in local races and chasing after age group podium spots!
So the path to getting back into shape again definitely wasn’t an easy one. I was in the worst shape I had been in, maybe ever? But that wasn’t even the worst part of it. Unfortunately my body was giving my issue after issue. First it was my hip flexor that took me out for a couple weeks but was able to bounce back quickly. Then it was a calf strain which ended up being the toughest injury I ever had to deal with. This took months to get past. I would get into a rhythm with the training then I would strain it again. 4 separate times this happened! But finally I was able to really get back into things starting in the late fall.
I was originally planning on trying to get myself ready for the Chicago Marathon in October but unfortunately my calf wouldn’t let that happen. Then I thought I could try for the Jacksonville Marathon in December but my fitness was not in a position to be racing a marathon. That’s when I decided to keep things simple and train for the Celebration Half Marathon in January. Fortunately it ended up being a smooth buildup. My main goal for the training was just to build my base back up and potentially be ready for a spring marathon. I was able to increase my mileage up to 130 miles and felt that I was in a good position fitness wise. The half marathon itself wasn’t a bad result, 1:09 for the overall win, but I was in the middle of making some big personal changes in my life and didn’t feel I was primed for the result I was planning for with the race.
This is when I had made my final decision to really commit myself to London. I told myself that the only way I would try for a race as big as London is if I had a smooth buildup leading up to Celebration. Fortunately things went well and the journey to my next marathon was about to begin! After a down week I had 12 weeks to get myself as ready as I could be for this marathon, which was exactly the timeframe I needed. I went back to my PR training block for Berlin 2022 and recreated that training for myself. For the people who have seen my training in the past they know that it’s not a common approach. I’m a high mileage runner. You could say an extreme high mileage runner. It’s not what I prescribe to my runners as a coach. It’s just something that I know works for me. And I’ve tried other types of training approaches but unfortunately I didn’t have the success I was wanting. I just know that if I wanted to run the times I have in the past that I needed to train in a similar manner.
So the training block began and things were going very smoothly. The goal was to start at 90 miles for the first week and work it up each week until the peak at 160 miles. For the most part I would say things went very smoothly which was surprising to me. I’m now 38yo and wasn’t sure if I would ever be able to handle the higher mileage again. Fortunately I didn’t have to deal with any major issues. Around the second week I did experience some hip discomfort which had me concerned but that eventually cleared up. I didn’t have to adjust my training at all which was a blessing because I was nervous at the time. Then during my 150 mile week I started developing some Achilles pain but again it eventually cleared up on its own without having to adjust anything. I was surprised this happened considering the amount I was running. But overall for the most part the training went very well. I nailed some big sessions that really boosted my confidence. For my 3 big long runs I went 24, 26, 28 miles and hit them at 5:43, 5:43, 5:44 paces. That 28 miles was huge for me. It showed me that I still got it. One of the things that many will notice was how often I struggled with my midweek workouts. Yeah, it’s not much fun having to bail or adjust sessions but this wasn’t anything unusual for me. During my PR buildup I was less than 50% with hitting my midweek sessions. I was still feeling confident because of the volume I had backing me up and I’m feeling the same way this time around.
We're now one day out from race day. I’m definitely feeling the anticipation, in a good way. The taper crazies are hitter me like usual. Everything seems to be falling into place as they have in the past. Now I’m really trying to lock down a more specific goal for race day. I’m 2.5 years removed from my PR marathon. I also haven’t raced a marathon since the Trials last year in February. The weather on race is currently looking promising. It’s a 9:35am start and it’s looking to be 50-55 degrees throughout the whole race. This is pretty much ideal for me. I would say a minimum goal would be under 2:20. This is 5:20 pace. But my main goal is to be back in the 2:17 range so about 5:15 pace. I think my plan will be to hang around the 5:15-5:20 range through halfway. This should put me around low 1:09 through halfway. Then the real racing will begin. In all of my past successful marathons I was able to drop a negative split the back half of the race. If everything is feeling good out there I will try to do it again and chase after the 2:17 goal. But if I’m not feeling too hot then I’ll try maintaining. I believe these are realistic goals I have set. Just hope it’s my day out there! But no matter how the race turns out I’m just happy to be lining up for another marathon. I’m healthy and feeling good. Can’t wait to take on the streets of London!
Here are some key highlights during my training:
• Training block was 12 weeks (February 3rd to April 27th).
• Total mileage run during the training block: 1,370 miles.
• Didn’t miss a single run or even just a mile.
• Biggest mileage week: 160 miles that was 4 weeks out from race day.
• Biggest Individual training session: 28 miles at 5:44 pace.
