How much to train for a marathon
Alright, when you lay out your marathon training program (or should I say “if”) it looks good on paper but will you really keep it up? If you are anything like me…you won’t. But you may get close.
Here’s what I had hoped to run.
Miles : 548 (882 K)
Here’s what I actually ran.
Miles : 484.5 (780 K)
Which means I made it about 88.4% of my goal. This seems good enough to me. Sure there were times when I could’ve ran instead of playing basketball or volleyball. Or I could’ve spent those 30 days of walking with my wife, instead joggling by myself. But life would’ve been just a little less fun. When you’re training for a marathon, you try to live up to your schedule. Just forgive yourself if you don’t quite make it. No one knows exactly the right formula for you anyway. 484 miles feels pretty good to me.
Yesterday, I also got my stats. Here is where I currently stand.
Weight: 186.4 lbs
Fat % = 13.9%
VO2 max = 60.19
Blood Pressure: 108/78
Some of these numbers I’m not happy about such as my weight (too high) and my % Fat (too high). The last time I got these measurements done was in May 2005 and my weight was 183.6 and fat % = 12.5. I guess I’m getting older. Damn.
On the plus side, my VO2 max went up from 56.92 to 60.19. That bodes well for an endurance joggler.
This will likely be my last post before the race. We are driving out in about 15 minutes. It’s about an 8 hour drive. I feel good. I feel confident.
Thanks for all the comments and support.
This Post Has 2 Comments
Hi Perry- I’m sure you get asked these questions a lot, and that I could find the answers somewhere on your blog already, but I’m lazy. Maybe you could give me a link 😉
1) What’s the most you’ve joggled? 3 balls? 4 balls? more? any other props?
2) What if you drop? Does that throw off your running rhythm? You gotta go chasing these things down? Other runners tripping? etc.
Hello Egyokeo,
So glad you stopped by. Here are some answers for you.
1. I have juggled 6 bean bags but only for a few throws. I’m pretty good at doing 5 bean bags. And I can juggle 4, 3, 2, and 1 of course. When I joggle, it’s almost always with three bean bags. On occasion, I’ll juggle 3 clubs but that’s a lot harder.
2. If you drop, you go back to where you had the drop, start juggling and then start running again. You can’t advance without juggling. It does throw off my rhythm a bit but not too bad. Mostly, it gives your body a chance to realize how tired it is, so it’s harder to start running again.
I use bean bags specifically so I won’t have to chace them down. Some people joggle with tennis balls. I don’t recommend this.
As far as tripping other runners, I do worry about it. That’s why I always joggle off to the right side, out of the way of any other runners. I also wear a t-shirt with my joggling logo (as seen in the header) which shows a joggler in a caution sign. On the back is the words “Caution: Joggler Ahead”