Schedule
- Goal Race: 3:30-4:00 Berlin
- Plan: Pfitz 18/63 by thebottlefarm (Unofficial)
| Date | Day | Workout | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-08-04 | Monday | Rest or cross-training | Yoga and mobility drills Core workouts |
| 2025-08-05 | Tuesday | VO₂max 12.9 km w/ 5 x 600 m @ 5K race pace; jog 50 to 90% interval time between | 13.01 km @ 6:05/km |
| 2025-08-06 | Wednesday | Medium-long run 19.3 km | AM: 20.02 km @ 6:04/km PM: Core and strength workouts |
| 2025-08-07 | Thursday | Recovery + speed 9.7 km w/ 6 x 100 m strides | 11.10 km @ 7:00/km |
| 2025-08-08 | Friday | Recovery 8.0 km | 10.50 km @ 7:03/km |
| 2025-08-09 | Saturday | 8K-15K tune-up race (total 9-13 mi/14-21 km) | - Actual: 10 km @ 4:11/km - Total: 20.01 @ 5:40/km |
| 2025-08-10 | Sunday | Long run 27.4 km | 27.37 km @ 6:07/km |
- Total:
- Expected: 93.34 km
- Actual: 102.03 km
Thoughts
Monday
I was thankful for a full rest day of no running after last week’s Friday and Sunday quality runs that demanded a lot from my lower body. I don’t think I will be able to run even at easy pace this morning.
Same as before I followed Vlad Ixel’s yoga for runners and mobility for runners workout videos followed by Pfitzinger and Douglas’ Basic Core Workout Session. The last one had more repetitions compared to the ranges in the book because by this time I let it all loose especially only lower back to help me feel better which it did.
I had a doctor’s appointment afterwards and I had to run briskly to cross the street before the stoplight turned red. Unfortunately that made my left shin feel sore to the touch. There was no pain while walking but only when I pressed the shin bone. I have to check if this will affect my run tomorrow or I should take a rest day to help it recover more.
Tuesday
I woke up with the left shin still tender and responds with a bit of pain when touched. I tried to walk and again there was no pain. I only have a few discomfort from the ankles but I didn’t have any warning signs that I should cancel today’s workout. Of course walking barefoot around the house comfortably is not a reliable basis if I can run or not so I decided to do some dynamic workouts before running to really make sure that there’s no pain as I engage my lower extremities.
Now that all the tempo runs have ended last week, I didn’t have any anxiety the night or even days before this. I am more relaxed and just excited to do the short but intense laps because in my head, shorter distances regardless of the pace targets will be “easier” in terms of the time needed to suffer.
Before the run
I took a flask containing 50% maple syrup and 50% water as an experiment for today. I read a few consistent comments in reddit about people running and cycling with maple syrup but for long distances. I know that I have a short one today but it’s still a good opportunity to test it. My only hesitation is the consistency of the liquid because it is way watery that my usual homemade gels with pectin. My stomach usually hurts a few moments after having watery nutrition during runs so I also have this point to check during the run. I didn’t take a loperamide tablet as well to help the assessment and that the run is not beyond 90 minutes so there’s no use for me.
For the warm-up I did some A-skips, A-walks and B-skips together with the rest of what I follow from the Advanced Marathoning book. Fortunately I still didn’t feel any pain during and after doing all of those dynamic stretches and drills so I decided that to continue.
I also wore my Puma Deviate NITRO Elite 3s because the forecast was a rainy morning. I was going to bring out the Asics Magic Speed 3s again but I didn’t want to risk slipping just in case.
During the run
The warm-up at Zone 1 and the following short two kilometers at Zone 2 were great because I was able to keep my heart rate down and not get too excited especially while wearing the very light DNE3s. I had an itch to start immediately when I arrived at the track but we don’t listen to those voices anymore.
When the first lap of the main block started, as always, I had my music on and just listened to my body as I attacked it. Unfortunately I went too fast again versus how I should feel at the expected 3:58/km. I still have that problem to properly pace especially during there intervals just because I am always thinking that I will not reach the target which is the reverse!
I took some sips of my maple syrup concoction each two laps and I didn’t have any trouble with my stomach. I made sure to take one sip and divide it into two swallows to not surprise my stomach with too much volume and there were no pains so I believe it works! I’m not sure about the energy it provided but I will try it again for tomorrow’s run because I will have more changes to observe during a more relaxed and longer session.
The second lap was faster, as I always wanted it to be, and I had to go to another route of making sure each lap was faster. Unfortunately my pride didn’t want me to go back to 3:58/km coming from a 3:45/km so I decided to at least the succeeding laps do not go slower than the first.
After the second lap, I can feel the exhaustion from the quick and demanding laps accumulating so I decided to change my strategy. I usually start out too strong and too fast so by the last 300 m, I tend to slow down and break down my form of engaged core and higher cadence of around 180 spm. I decided to switch it up for the last three: go steady at the first half and use all my energy and willpower to make sure the last half is faster.
| Lap | Distance | Time Elapsed | Pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 600 m | 2:14.7 | 3:45/km |
| 2 | 600 m | 2:13.3 | 3:42/km |
| 3 | 600 m | 2:12.4 | 3:41/km |
| 4 | 600 m | 2:11.1 | 3:39/km |
| 5 | 600 m | 2:11.1 | 3:38/km |
I think I nailed the last three using the new strategy! I got too tired in the first two by the 400th meter but with the halved way, I forget the fatigue and just think of going faster until my watch beeped stop. I am happy with the results! I still had the same exhaustion during the two minutes of rest in-between but I felt more satisfied because I felt that I didn’t waste anything in the whole lap.
At the end of the laps, I normally let myself lay on the grass surrounding the track to recover but today I didn’t need to and proceeded to finish the cool down until the end. Yes it was tiring but it wasn’t as great compared to my tempo runs before and I was able to go down the Zone 2 target after a kilometer or so.
After the run
I always have various pains on my legs, calves, shins and/or ankles after the main block of a speed day but there weren’t so much today. I was able to take myself home during the cool down and I don’t know if it was just because of the joy from the negative splits I did.
At home I did my static stretches and had a generous foam roller massage on my thighs and hips to help the recovery faster.
Finally I will not do any core and strength workouts this afternoon because I have a long run tomorrow. I consider it as a quality day so I will probably do that double hard workouts tomorrow.
Wednesday
I was really excited to do this run yesterday because of two reasons: it will be my first long run after a quality day (no recovery day in-between) and I will test my maple syrup and water mix as alternative to my homemade gels.
Before the run
Unfortunately I woke up feeling sad from a dream I don’t remember anymore and this genuinely affected my overall lookout of the day. On the other hand, I don’t have any pain or discomfort on any part of my lower body especially my left shin bone when I was walking around to prepare.
Regardless this is part of life and it will not stop me from going outside to run. I brought my 250 ml flask of leftover maple syrup mix from yesterday and two packs of gummy bears before leaving.
During the run
The first four kilometers were a struggle emotionally because the negative feelings after waking up still lingered and it was a long run so I didn’t have any music to distract me aside from my metronome’s ticking. Fortunately it didn’t affect me much mentally and physically aside from my legs and feet trying to warm up with the Asics Superblast 2s which went away after a few kilometers.
Today’s medium-long run has the same format as the others based on my current target marathon pace of 5:20/km.
- 1.6 km warm-up @ Zone 1
- 4.43 km @ 6:08-6:24/km (20% less than my target MP)
- 13.3 km @ 5:52-6:08/km (10% less than my target MP)
As mentioned, I did my cadence practice again with my metronome app and started with 180 spm immediately in the second block. It was rough this time compared to the other days in terms of staying within the target pace because of my emotional state but halfway through it I found the rhythm. I was able to stay within the ranges without too much effort.
After that, since I didn’t have any music to accompany me, I used the time to console myself and think of things to look forward to the next days. It wasn’t a quick turnaround but I reminded myself that I have to accept that there are things I can’t change and that’s fine. If I recall correctly, it never went away (it’s still here with me as I’m writing this journal note) but that joy and excitement I get from running took over at the start of the third block.
I divided the third block into three groups with increasing paces from 182 to 186 spm and everything went well throughout aside from going over the upper limits of the target range when I reached the last four kilometers. I chose to keep my cadence rhythm over the pace again because I was having fun and didn’t feel any discomfort!
Aside from the other minor discomforts on my legs and ankles, I realised that my left hip was no longer in pain. I felt nothing, which was a good thing compared to last Sunday’s long run. I think I have to accept that I can’t put a flask on my tights’ left pocket to prevent any stimuli for this specific pain for the rest of my plans.
All throughout the run, the maple syrup concoction was consumed after every four kilometers I believe. It was my mistake to bring leftovers (I think it was only half - 125 ml full) because I wasn’t generous with the nutrition intake. I felt hungry immediately after two or three kilometers from the last sip but good thing I had a gummy bear pack to help me for the last four. I believe that it was effective because even though my stomach grumbled two or three times this morning, there were no sensations of tiredness or even slow down due to the need for more food that I always experience during long runs without proper nutrition. The watery consistency didn’t bother me as well though I took a loperamide tablet for safety. Overall I will try it again but will make sure to bring more than enough for anything beyond 16 km!
After the run
I like rounding up my distances so from the prescribed 19.3 km I ended it at 20 km just to keep it consistent. I walked longer this time because the route I ran through is eight kilometers each lap and I appreciated that cool down regardless.
My legs still feel fresh though there are a few small painful moments when you press on them but not to the point where I can’t walk or run properly. I hope to feel better emotionally as the day passes and I am thankful for the two recovery days coming!
Evening workout
I felt better now after a day of working and some rest. I had enough motivation to do two sets of core and strength drills from the Advanced Marathoning book.
Thursday
My recovery run today was fine although I went above the Zone 1 range on the latter part due to excitement from the music I was listening to.
The first three kilometers with my Saucony Triumph 22s were terrible especially during the beginning. I swapped the old Asics Novablast 3 insoles to my Puma MagMax’s to check any differences and it was evident during the first 300 meters. Each step was clunky and I felt the firmness of the shoes’ foams. It was terrible! Regardless I didn’t turn around to replace the insoles and moved forward.
Afterwards, all the complaints I had suddenly went away when I started increasing my cadence a bit and ran “more lively”. The foams became flexible and easy to push into during each stop and it was an overall satisfying experience for relatively heavy and slow shoes.
I was supposed to do six repetitions of 100-meter strides but I decided not to this morning because my shins and ankles felt vulnerable and not fully recovered yet from the past two days’ hard work. I’d rather miss the stimulus and technique correction from the strides versus prolonging my legs’ recovery and the possibility of injuring myself. This time I wasn’t disappointed with myself and more strict to not do anything counterproductive.
Friday
It was a nice run. My Triumph 22s had the same softness and that sufficient comfort to do easy runs as yesterday’s. It could have been better in terms of responsiveness and bounce because I might use it over the SB2s because of the amount of foam on the forefoot and mid-foot area.
My heart rate unfortunately got stuck at an average of 120 bpm, four units more than my current Zone 1 upper limit of 116 bpm but halfway through I just ran using my feeling of how easy I can do. I reminded myself that tomorrow I have tune-up race where I can do everything I wanted. I’m terrified right now.
Saturday
I will never ever lose the nerves the day before any tempo or race workout but I will always show up no matter what!
Unfortunately I didn’t find any race between the recommended 8 km to 15 km range today and the closest parkrun is just 5 km on a route with lots of downhills that I’m still cautious. I decided to do it in my trusted 800-meter concrete track that has no distractions ever.
Before the run
My regular pre-workout snack of a banana, an oatmeal and a loperamide tablet was mandatory this morning. It has worked a lot in my previous quality days in carrying me to the first five kilometers of the run and preventing any unnecessary stomachaches consistently.
As for nutrition, I bought one flask of my homemade gel with a new recipe by Jim Downing and a pack of gummy bears.
I wore my trusted Puma DNE3s again because this was a run with an interrupted long hard effort. I also put them in a runner’s knot finally after brushing off and forgetting that the heel was always loose during the latter part of the previous runs. It gave me a tiny bit of confidence boost knowing that I won’t have to think about it later.
During the run
Even though it’s a race, I still programmed it the same way as my tempo workouts:
- 1.6 km warm-up @ Zone 1
- 3.22 km @ Zone 2
- 10.0 km @ 3:59-4:14/km
- 3.22 km cool down @ Zone 2
Because my last 10 km personal best was 4:14/km, I decided to use it as my upper limit today with the lower end near my current 5 km pace (3:58/km). This was definitely intimidating on paper because in terms of my last tempo run the range was my 15 km to HM pace (4:16-4:22/km). Two seconds per kilometer was shaved and that’s a big deal for me.
This time I didn’t want to cut the Zone 1 and 2 runs because I was genuinely thinking how the “race” will feel like and if I can sustain them. Regardless I decided that I will do it same as before - run the first lap conservatively, make sure the second one is faster, and let the rest of the laps be guided by both the target pace and my “comfort”.
Same as before I took two sips of my gel every three laps or 2.4 km. The new mixture I made didn’t upset my stomach (thankfully) and I didn’t notice any difference from its effects compared to the ones I made before with other recipes. This is not a complaint but only an observation. I have no prior experience of how store-bought gels perform but the one I have is cheap and enough to carry me to my goals.
| Lap | Distance | Pace |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1.00 km | 4:14/km |
| 2 | 1.00 km | 4:11/km |
| 3 | 1.00 km | 4:13/km |
| 4 | 1.00 km | 4:10/km |
| 5 | 1.00 km | 4:08/km |
| 6 | 1.00 km | 4:15/km |
| 7 | 1.00 km | 4:10/km |
| 8 | 1.00 km | 4:13/km |
| 9 | 1.00 km | 4:10/km |
| 10 | 1.00 km | 4:02/km |
| Total | 10.0 km | 4:14/km |
As for the mind games during the run, I allowed myself to look at my watch (current pace only and to avoid looking at the distance left) every 800-meter lap and each kilometer beep to make sure I am still on track. Honestly there were times in the uphill part of the track that my pace goes down to around 4:20/km but I already had a technique to continue speeding upwards and maintain whatever is left to the flat part. This worked before and still carried me today.
I want to thank all the people online whose comments that basically say to “race by feeling” for situations like this because I never struggled keeping myself within the range (save for the aforementioned uphills but as I’ve said it settles back to a faster pace once of the flats). I really took it to heart and it supported everything to help me focus throughout the run. I employed it in all my previous tempo runs but today is significant because I realised how powerful it was.
Another thing that I did was to do various body checks on parts that I can control while running as a form of making sure I’m not maintaining a disadvantageous form and as a distraction. I did engage my core and sucked my stomach in many times, especially when I was breathing a lot. Unfortunately I am a mouth breather and my nose breathing needs a lot more work. The amount of air I inhale and exhale from mouth breathing is optimal to keep me going. Another body check was to keep my eyes looking straight ahead, to help the head be parallel to the ground. I just realised that I forgot to “feel tall” or imagine a string pulling my upper body to stay straight but let’s do that next time! As for the cadence, I didn’t think about too much except for when I wanted to speed up a bit but that’s more on instinct and not a specific number.
I began to struggle a bit in the sixth kilometer as proven by the only pace out of the target range and I don’t even remember what specific matter caused it. I was still breathing hard, the effort was hard but not intervals hard, I was on a “comfortably hard” level. I assume it was because of the delay in trying to put back my flask to my elastic pockets. This part coincides with the uphill always (there’s a marker for me to see) and doing a fast uphill run while trying to consume two gulps from a flask perhaps contributed to it. Despite this I don’t remember panicking or even paying it too much attention because I only went faster after.
By the last two kilometers I was already decided that I want to finish the 10 km and no more. I made a mental note at this mark if I can translate this to my half-marathon race in two weeks and sadly I wasn’t optimistic today. We’ll never know until race day!
As a treat, I made sure the last kilometer was my fastest and I absolutely crushed each lap’s pace. This time I had to lay on the grass immediately to rest because I gave my everything for a new personal record!
| Date | Time | Pace |
|---|---|---|
| 250801 | 42:17.8 | 4:14/km |
| 250809 | 41:46.4 | 4:11/km |
41:46.4 is almost 30 seconds shaved off from last week’s record and three seconds per kilometer! I was only hoping to keep the average of 4:14/km but I did it. I am proud of myself and I can’t believe that this full marathon plan has done great wonders not only to my long run adaptation but to my shorter distance records as well. The contrarian part of my brain is now telling me that “oh no we have to be faster in the next two tune-up races to keep the trend!” but I am confident that no matter what happens, all of these will all culminate in a successful marathon.
After the run
My feet were mostly sore but I can walk without any pain. I always do these checks now because the marathon date is nearing. I am extra careful to identify any lingering pain on my lower body especially my more susceptible ankles in order to help them recover as soon as possible.
I have the whole day to rest and fuel up for tomorrow’s long run. It is a shorter one but I will take it easy because my entire legs is vulnerable right now. I want to show up on next Tuesday’s intervals fresh and ready!
Sunday
I woke up with residual pain all over my body. It wasn’t too uncomfortable but the feeling of wanting to stay in bed to rest was overwhelming. Since there wasn’t pain on my legs and ankles when I wiggled them, there was no excuse to not go outside to run. I always surprise myself with these situations because two years ago I would have closed my eyes immediately but that was a different time with different fitness goals.
Before the run
After stretching the sleepiness away, I ate the same things as before: an oatmeal bar, a banana, a loperamide tablet and water for quality days.
I put on my extra wide nipple bandages that I cut last night. It was definitely better because of the sticky parts’ surface area against my skin.
As for the chest strap, I applied a generous amount of petroleum jelly on the area on my chest where the gadget will be placed. It has been effective in keeping the chafing away for more than three hours.
Lastly I bought a full flask of my new batch of homemade gel and two packs of gummy bears. I made sure to only out light stuff on my left pockets to not aggravate the left hip.
During the run
As stated in the Advanced Marathon book, the long run after a race should be casual and only up to 15-20% of the target marathon race. I made sure to never forget this when I first read the book because the thought of doing a 20 km+ run the day after a race with no recovery day between was intimidating to me. Spoiler: I survived!
The workout today is as follows:
- 1.61 km warm-up @ Zone 1
- 6.44 km @ 6:08-6:24/km (20% less than my target MP)
- 19.31 km @ 5:52-6:08/km (10% less than my target MP)
I didn’t bother to recalculate and re-program the pace targets on my watch. I just made sure to run the first two blocks easily without any care if I’m within the ranges or not.
As expected, I was super slow, my heart rate was unstable and my legs were very heavy during the first eight kilometers. There were no sensations of discomfort or pain on my shins, hips and ankles throughout that journey but my body was explicitly telling me that it is tired which I had to respect.
I was a bit alarmed during this time because I had some bouts of headache which never happened before. It came quickly for two or three times but that was enough for me to worry. During each, I took a sip from my flask because it could just be my body telling me it needs nutrition. I was anxious that something might happen to me afterwards because of this “early warning” and luckily it never came back in the main block. I can only think having eaten less yesterday than I should have. I will check again next time and hopefully this never happens again. I hope it was a by-product of the effort exerted yesterday.
I kept the cadence training today despite the need to keep everything easy by starting the second block at 180 spm. I believe that I still need to practice them especially with loaded tired legs for better retention. I hope I’m right and we’ll see the results tomorrow or on Tuesday morning.
Usually I will bump the cadence to 182 spm halfway through the second block but I decided to hold back and consider it later in the run after checking my body. It was still comfortable at the “casual pace” and by this time I know that doing additional changes will negatively affect the rest of my run which I don’t want to.
| Distance from start | Cadence |
|---|---|
| 1.6 km | 180 spm |
| 8.05 km (~19 km left) | 182 spm |
| 13.05 km (~15 km left) | 184 spm |
| 18.05 km (~10 km left) | 186 spm |
| 23.05 km (~5 km left) | 188 spm |
I chose a different route today - the Tiergarten where the starting and finish lines of the Berlin Marathon is placed. I figured that if I went to Tempelhofer Feld, my mental focus will take a toll especially with the residual fatigue. A new route will open new surprises I’ve never seen and will distract me to keep going. This definitely worked to my favor fortunately.
By the time I reached the start of the 19 km block in my plan, I was getting the groove back and decided to try keeping up with its range. I can always hold back again if it gets too hard. The confidence carried over to my cadence goals and I divided it into four-five kilometer sections with increasing cadence of two: starting from 182 spm and ending with 188 spm.
Nothing remarkable happened during the first half of the last block. I was able to keep the cadence, my feet didn’t mind the state of my SB2s’ foam and still be within the target paces. Even though I have been to this place multiple times in the past to visit the tourist areas, this was my first time as a runner and I saw a new perspective of the area. I did once during the 2024 Berlin Half-Marathon but to me it was a long time ago. I can compare the Tiergarten to a larger Treptower Park-Plänterward but with two “wings” on each side. Unfortunately I only ran on the main road and the side trails of the latter part after the giant statue. I will explore each of the two wings next time for more exploration!
This was an extra sensitive day for me so I made sure to do constant body checks. I engaged my core a lot of times today to keep my upright and I did it consciously now. I am not frustrated from forgetting it after a few hundred meters because I was more consistent today. I kept my eyes looking straight because I caught myself looking downwards a lot during the latter parts. There’s nothing interesting on the ground so I don’t know why I did that. Probably fatigue in a way.
As I approached the last 10 km, I already finished the entire length of the main road and now I had to go back to a familiar place. To keep it varied, I let myself run through the side trails of the road. Despite this, the fatigue on my legs were definitely more prominent and my ankles were starting to hurt. It came to a point that I wanted to cut the run at around the 22 to 24 km mark because I was afraid I will be injured if I continued. One detail was there were lots of traffic lights around the main road and I can say that the constant stops helped alleviate the pressure from my left ankle and I was able to continue to the end.
This moment really made me reflect a bit on how will I perform during the race. I know that I have everything against me in this run and this is not a proper example to base my marathon performance but I can’t help it. An ankle hurting at the 21 km mark made me think that if I were on a race this is just the halfway point! Good thing all those negative thoughts went away afterwards as always when I push myself to move forward.
Today had the longest final five kilometers of the week and the cobblestones on some parts of the park weren’t helping. Good thing that I was aware of my broken down stability and form so I moved to the paved biking paths if I can. By this time, 188 spm was not a problem and I decided to hold it back again to the lower half of the target pace. This really helped a lot in bringing me back to an easy felling honestly!
At the end, my flask was already empty and there was a water fountain waiting for me. I am thankful for this serendipitous moment.
After the run
I had to walk for a bit to find the nearest coffee shop. Initially I wanted to go home right away after a few stretches while walking but I remembered that the two packs of gummy bears left will not be enough if I went hungry during the trip. I found a donut shop and treated myself to two pastries and the required chocolate milk. I was able to sit down on a comfortable chair and rest a bit as I finished my meal.
When I got home, I diligently applied foam roller massages on my thighs, hips and buttocks. I believe that I did two sets of each this morning for extra recovery support.
I am still tired as I’m writing this. Actually more tired compared to previous long run Sundays because both my upper and lower body feel heavy and fatigued. My shins and ankles are tender, of course, but I already applied massage balm on them and hopefully they’ll feel better tomorrow morning.
Overall
This week has beaten last week in terms of the fatigue I feel after! The previous one was definitely had the longest distance required but the effort this time is much intense especially this weekend. I had to cancel my afternoon core and strength workout today because I am still weak and feeling a slight headache here and there even after a two-hour nap. Last week, by this time, I was already halfway through my cross-training.
Everything this weekend was a new experience to me in terms of running and I am truly satisfied and proud of all the accomplishments I achieved without hesitation. I didn’t know I still had all of these in me. I didn’t know that there will come a point where I will hate listening to any music or podcast while doing two-hour or more runs. I didn’t know that a marathon plan will lead to multiple 10 km personal records.
I still have two weeks with four quality days coming but they will be easier especially the last one because I will spend the weekend doing an official half-marathon race after almost two years. After that is the taper and a few more sleeps, I will see myself at the starting line.