Can You Race Well After an Average Marathon Training Cycle?

When Your Marathon Training Cycle Doesn’t Go as Planned

Today I’m going out for “just” a 10 mile run with the run club (things marathoners say, right?) & then right to a soccer game. I’ve pushed my 21 mile long run, with marathon pace, to Monday, because this week I’ve been fighting a cold. It’s mild, but it’s put the brakes on what was supposed to be one of the biggest weekends of Chicago marathon training.

Does One Bad Week of Marathon Training Matter?

See that I didn’t say “most important” week of marathon training? One week of training is not any more important than the others. Although people tend to use the word “peak week” or “peak marathon training” – every single week is just as significant as the last. And no one week can make or break your training.

That being said, on Wednesday, after another rest day to recover from the cold, I did find my mind spiraling to all the ways this training cycle hasn’t been excellent – I’m not hitting any weekly or monthly mileage PRs, my marathon pace is not any faster (running in record humidity and heat doesn’t help), I’m doing less strength training (because I’ve focused more on my pelvic floor PT program), & my every day nutrition hasn’t been as great.

What Has Improved During This Marathon Training Cycle?

But you know what has improved this training cycle?

A Stronger Marathon Training Mindset

My mindset – I’m putting less pressure on this training cycle as a whole, on my paces and my performance. I’m having far fewer moments of doubt before and within workouts.

Making Marathon Training More Enjoyable

Fun – I spent 16 days in Costa Rica, a week in Barcelona, I’ve spent days at the beach with my kids, done workouts with my neighbor that may not have been the most efficient due to our talking, but they were enjoyable. I feel incredibly fortunate to have a lot of fun and I certainly can’t complain about that!

Better Marathon Workout Execution

Workout execution – while my mileage may not be as high and my paces are adjusted to current fitness, I’m nailing my workouts and feeling really strong during marathon pace. Last Saturday, just before I came down with this cold, I had a REALLY great 20 mile run with 11 miles of pace work (photo of Jen and I after, below), in very hot weather. I was just above marathon pace for some of the intervals, but given the heat and humidity, I call it a big win that my legs felt so strong throughout.

Two runners smiling after completing a 20-mile marathon training run with marathon pace intervals.

Stronger Legs and Better Running Efficiency

Legs – my legs feel stronger, more fluid and less heavy and my running efficiency has improved – likely from the pelvic floor program, improved fueling and better training load management.

Improving Long Run Fueling for Marathon Training

Long Run Fueling – I’ve gotten up to over 60g carbs/hour on long runs, which is really going to help in the final miles of the marathon.

I am looking at this training cycle not as “worse”, simply as different.

How to Handle Setbacks During Marathon Training

That temporary moment of getting down about being sick this week was just that – temporary. I didn’t blame myself or tell myself my goal time isn’t possible.

I’m trusting my coach, looking objectively at the data (I ran a course PR at AFC half – that shows improvement! And this is my 5th consecutive year of really solid marathon training) and celebrating the fact that I’m the most relaxed and excited about Chicago marathon race day than I’ve been about a marathon in years.

Can an Average Marathon Training Cycle Still Lead to a Great Race?

I share with you as a reminder that no training cycle ever looks the same. And things like mileage and pace are just two factors of success on race day. If you’re in the middle of a pretty “average” training cycle, with lots of interruptions and road blocks like mine has, can you make a list of all the reasons it HAS been a pretty great cycle?

Remember that every training cycle builds on the last.

Don’t count yourself out of having an excellent race jut because you’ve had a pretty “mid” training cycle.

I know I’m not.