Change of Plan

I would recommend the Run Coach training app for any person taking a serious approach to running a marathon. For me it was simply too aggressive, with goals that were of no interest to me. So I switched back to running with Hal. For my first two marathons, I used a program that came from a book called Four Months to a Four-hour Marathon. That actually worked quite well for me. When Pat and I trained for the 2020 BSIM, we used the app from Hal Higdon and it also worked really well for us. 

Following Pat's lead, and since I was already three weeks behind in my training, the change of plan has served me well. I will come to the long runs at the appropriate time, making up time by missing just one scaled-back distance run. This weekend I will run either 17 or 18 miles and two weeks from this weekend will run 20. If I do the prescribed 18 miles, next weekend will be a shorter 14-mile run; I may run only 17 and then do 18 the following week. 

Another change of plan for me, and not a welcome one, is that I will end up training for this marathon without putting in miles at the Morton Arboretum. I have enjoyed longer runs with a fair amount of terrain at the Morton in previous training seasons; but that just hasn't been in the cards this year. Instead, by tapping into my cycling routes, I've been able to take in more hills without the extra drive to get over to the arboretum.

We're 36 days from the Big Sur International Marathon, and hopeful for a decent showing. Patrick will run 18 miles this weekend in Lyon, France, while I explore parts of Winfield, Illinois. Two weeks ago he ran 16 miles in Central Park, New York; he clearly is having the better training season!

Stay tuned for one more announcement about the nature and purpose of this run!