NEW YORK CITY MARATHON 2019 TRAINING UPDATE: WEEK 20 & 21 – THE TAPER

After NEW YORK CITY MARATHON TRAINING UPDATE: WEEK 19 was all about mountain biking in Myanmar, things are back to normal again now. I am back in the UK and entering the final two weeks of training before race day.

It is now time to taper back the training intensity and volume, not too drastically but slow down the super-fast sessions and give the body time to recover and refuel before race day.

Week 20:

Running: 29.3 Miles – 4hr 4mins
Bike: 33.4 Miles – 1hrs 36min
Swimming: 0 yrds – 0hrs 0min

The body clock has been messed up this week. Travelling back from Myanmar and two nights of light to no sleep has left me feeling really tired, especially in the evenings. My daughter also has a cold so I am trying my best to avoid catching that the week before the race but I am not hopeful. I did have the flu jab which may help but with my tiredness, the body is feeling low on energy leaving me more likely to catch bugs.

Monday:

2 x 1 Min Calf Stretches
30 Min Legs, Hips & Glutes Strength Training
5 Mile Easy Paced Run @ 9:00 min/mile

Tuesday:

65 Min Hard Muscle Development Ride on Zwift
2 x 1 Min Calf Stretches
30 Min Core Strength Training
10 Min Foam Roll

Wednesday:

30 Min Legs, Hips & Glutes Strength Training
Tempo Run:
- 1.5 Mile Warm Up
- 10 Min Stretching & 2 x 10 sec Strides
- 3 Miles @ 7:40 min/mile pace
- 3 Min Recovery Jog
- 2 Miles @ 7:20 min/mile pace
- 3 Min Recovery Jog
- 1.5 Mile Cool Down

The final tempo run for this training block. With race day now 11 days away, the aim was not to go out and smash a session but give the legs a light turn over.

I think I am starting to come down with the cold that my daughter has now as well, I fought it off for two days but looks like that battle has been lost. The combo of her cold and the drastic change in weather from the 49’c last Friday to 7’c on today’s run feels like a perfect storm. Hopefully, I have caught it early enough and the cold & flu tablets can shift it or prevent it from from setting in.

Thursday:

4 Mile Easy Paced run @ 9:00 min/mile pace

Friday:

30 Min Legs, Hips & Glutes Strength Training
30 Min Core Strength Training
2 x 1 Min Calf Stretches
30 Min Hard Tempo Ride on Zwift

Saturday:

11 Mile Long Steady Run @ 8:00 min/mile

Just 11 miles for the final long run of this block. Feels funny saying “just” 11 miles when right at the start of this training block I was only able to run 2 miles two times per week. Amazing how the body recovers and regains those fitness levels.

So the run today was a bit of a mess, to be honest. We had 24 hours of heavy rain which flooded a lot of the roads, I ended up running through ankle deep water on a few occasions, once slipping on the grass and falling into one of the deep puddles. For anyone who has followed my previous marathon tapers, they ALWAYS involve a fall so let’s hope that is it for the falling this year. The pace overall was 7:57min/mile and it felt very comfortable throughout. The week off last week and reduced mileage this week is giving the body a great shot at rest and recovery.

Another plus point, the cold seems to be clearing up, it looks like I have managed to dodge the worst of it. My daughter is also clearing her cold too which should prevent her from spreading it back to me.

Sunday:

30 Min Legs, Hips & Glutes Strength Training
30 Min Core Strength Training

Week 21:

Running: 13.9 Miles – 2hr 01mins
Bike: 41.4 Miles – 2hrs 9min
Swimming: 0 yrds – 0hrs 0min

This is the final week of training on this journey to the 2019 New York City Marathon. 21 weeks where I have gone from running 2 miles in week 1 to the high’s of 40+ mile weeks, 5k, half marathon and half Ironman PB’s.

I never thought that I would be in this position so soon after the calf tear. I thought that I would get back to pre-injury fitness but not in 2019. Being in a position where I am fit enough to make the start line in New York has already exceeded my expectations for this race. Honestly, 5 months ago I was looking at deferring to 2020.

Monday:

Rest Day
10 Min Foam Roll

Tuesday:

30 Min Legs, Hips & Glutes Strength Training
2 x 1 Min Calf Stretches
65 Min Hard Muscle Development Ride on Zwift
10 Min Foam Roll
Pre Race Interval Run:
- 1.5 Mile Warm Up
- 10 Min Stretching + 2 x 15 sec Strides
- 10 Min @ 7:30min/mile pace
- 3 Min Recovery Jog
- Repeat 5 Times:
  - 1 Min @ 7:10min/mile pace
  - 90 Secs Recovery Jog
- 3 Min Recovery Jog
- 1.5 Mile Cool Down

The last training run with any kind of effort in, this one was relaxed and steady by design. Nothing to be gained from pushing hard at this stage. Although looking at the pace goals where 7:30 was a relaxed pace, that was my goal race pace 12 months ago, although it doesn’t feel like I have moved on much, I am now targetting 7:03min/mile pace for Sunday’s race, a massive 27secs per mile quicker than 2018 and over 1 min faster than 2017. I just need to show up and produce the goods now overwise those figures are meaningless.

Wednesday:

30 Min Core Strength Training
10 Min Foam Roll
4 Mile Easy Paced Run @ 9:00min/mile

Thursday:

60 Min Power Sweet Spot Ride on Zwift
10 Min Foam Roll

Friday:

Rest Day / Travel Day / Expo Day
2 x 1 Min Calf Stretching
10 Min Foam Roll

Saturday:

2 x 1 Min Calf Stretches
30 Min Stretching
10 Min Foam Roll
Abbotts 5k Dash to the Finish Line

So the aim for the 5k is to use this race as a shakeout run ready for tomorrow’s marathon. I am writing this before the race so who knows what pace I will end up running, but the goal is 9:00min/mile pace as per all of my easy paced runs.

Sunday: