Welcome to weeks 7 & 8 of this Chicago Marathon training block, the point where I reach the half way mark.

Following on from a rocky start, Weeks 5 & 6 had gone well, a good solid week in week 5 then a cutback week in week 6 whilst on our family holiday in Egypt. I did some light training out in Egypt but nothing too crazy, the aim is to kick on now and start to build some good fitness as the sessions and reps get longer in the lead up to the marathon.

Week 7 – 5th – 11th August:

• Monday: – 5 mile easy run @ 8:48/mi 127 HR
• Tuesday: – Rest Day
• Wednesday: – 4x8min @ threshold (10k) pace, 2min recovery (2 mile warm up & cool down)
• Thursday: – 8.3 mile easy run @ 8:35/mi 131 HR
• Friday: – 10k Alternations (1km @ HM Pace / 1km @ Marathon Pace) (2 mile warm up & cool down)
• Saturday: – 16 mile long run @ 7:23/mi
• Sunday: – 4 mile run off the bike @ marathon pace

54 miles for the week.

I began week 7 with an easy 5 mile run, the last run in Egypt and I am kinda glad to not be waking at 5:45am to run at 6am and it still be 36’c but I will miss the time away with the family and obviously miss not having to go to work. I could quite quickly get used to that non-working lifestyle.

I had planned to get straight back on it with the threshold session on the Tuesday but I ended up taking the day off as I felt tired from the late travel, it was gone 4am Tuesday by the time we were back home. Pushing everything back by a day worked well. I was able to run the full 4 x 8min session and whilst the pace was still down on what I was running at the beginning of the year, it was good for where I am now.

I woke early to run a 9 mile easy run before work on Thursday but the missed sleep on Monday was still in the body so it was a struggle getting out of the door. I managed to run 8.3 miles so not far off but just ran out of time to do the full 9 miles.

Friday was one of my favourite sessions of marathon training. 10k alternations, I really like this session as it helps to build my confidence around marathon pace. The session is simple, 5 lots of 1km at half marathon pace, 1km at marathon pace. Using the marathon paced k’s as a recovery teaches the mind that marathon pace isn’t too taxing.

The long run this week was back up to 16 miles again. After a shortened 12 mile long run in Egypt, it was refreshing to be back in the cooler UK weather and back on with the proper long run fuelling. I finished the week off with a 4 mile run at marathon pace, the intention was to run the 4 miles straight after a 2hr endurance ride on Zwift but I ended up missing the bike.

Something I have struggled with this year has been maintaining consistency on the bike when the run miles builds up during the two marathon blocks. It has been good in between but I just lack the motivation to sit in the garage on Zwift. The back and neck pain I am still suffering after the fall at the Boston Marathon 2024 makes it really difficult to turn my head to the right, which is preventing me from riding the bike outdoors. When you ride on the lefthand side of the road, not being able to look over your right shoulder is very problematic.

Week 8 – 12th – 18th August:

• Monday: – 5 mile easy run into 6x30sec hill sprints
• Tuesday: – 4 mile easy run @ 8:58/mi 128 HR
• Wednesday: – 4 x 15min @ MP | 3min recovery (2 mile warm up & cool down)
• Thursday: – Sick Day
• Friday: – Sick Day
• Saturday: – 10.2 mile easy run @ 8:50/mi 134 HR and 30min @ MP on Peloton Tread
• Sunday: – 1 mile aborted long run

40 miles for the week.

After a great first week back training following the holiday to Egypt, this week started well then went down hill, tried to recover it, did too much too soon and ended with a failure.

Now I have reach the midway point before Chicago and with New York City’s bridges in mind, I brought in a weekly hill rep session which has served me well for the last two Boston Marathons. Starting off with 6x30sec sprints after a 5 mile easy run. Nothing too serious but starting to build the familiarisation and leg strength to tackle the NYC lumps and that last hill in Chicago.

Tuesday was another easy run and one I took very easy yet the heart rate was higher than I would have liked for that pace. My throat was hurting a bit that morning too but did kinda clear up as the day progressed. A sore throat like that is usually a sign that I am coming down with a cold and low and behold, Wednesday felt worse and Thurs & Fri were a write off, I felt terrible. No energy or strength whatsoever.

I did run the planned 4 x 15min at goal marathon pace on the Wednesday which in hindsight, probably wiped me out for the next two days with my body fighting the cold bug but I didn’t feel bad enough not to attempt the session at that point.

Having missed 2 days running, I added an extra 10 mile easy run on the Saturday to make up for the missed miles. Not the planned session I had missed but I didn’t want to make myself feel worse by doing too much too soon. That afternoon I did the weekly 4 miles at marathon pace, again not doing the endurance ride beforehand.

Sunday I had planned the first 18 mile long run which would have put me up to 57 miles for the week, however, I made it half a mile into it and just knew that it wasn’t going to happen, I was feeling sick, low energy and generally not in any shape for 18 miles of running so I ran home for a 1 mile long run.

Not great, but its the first long run I have missed and still 8 weeks until Chicago so nothing to worry about. Time to take a day or two to get over the cold fully and hit week 9 and the second half of this training block.