A Contrast in Styles

The past few weeks of training have been a bit of a shock to my system - but in a good way (I think). As opposed to the higher mileage/slower pace training runs to which I had become accustomed over the last year or so of running ultras, much of my training lately has been in my higher heart rate zones as I push ahead with my attempt to PR or even go sub-3 hours in Boston in April.

There are a number ways to train for a marathon. In my experience, I've noticed that most plans can generally be grouped into one of two schools of thought. The first places more emphasis on long, slow mileage (high base miles) with a dash of speed work at the end of the training cycle. The second is a lower mileage but higher effort approach that focuses more on tempo runs, progression runs and fartlek-style speed work throughout the course of the training cycle. Last year in Boston I was coming off of a number of weeks of much higher volume training at slower paces which actually served me very well in that race, powering me to a new personal record in the marathon. I would routinely hit 80+ miles in training and had completed a 100k, 100 miler, and a 50 miler in the months leading up to Boston. This gave me a huge mental advantage as well - by the time I toed the line in Hopkinton , I viewed that race as little more than a long speed work session. 

Fast forward to this year. I have intentionally stepped my training mileage down considerably (not to mention having cut out the spring ultras that I have run over the last couple of years) in an effort to focus on some recovery and avoid becoming burned out on the trails. This hasn't tempered any of my Boston ambitions; in fact, I am setting the bar higher for this year's race. To compensate for the lower mileage, my training has been squarely in the second camp this year, with much more high-intensity work (zones 3 and 4) being done on the roads and even on the treadmill instead of the trails.

cowtownmarathon.org

My first key training race in preparation for Boston will fall in about a week's time at the Cowtown Half Marathon where I will get my first real opportunity to gauge how things are going. If everything goes according to plan, I should finish in the 1 hour 26 minute range, which (depending on how I feel after that effort) would tell me that I am right on target with my dreams of a 3-hour Boston. I'll have another key half marathon in March where I would hope to improve on my Cowtown time by a minute or two. 

That's the plan, anyway. Now we'll see how it all comes together.