Schedule
- Goal Race: 3:30-4:00 Berlin
- Plan: Pfitz 18/63 by thebottlefarm (Unofficial)
| Date | Day | Workout | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-09-08 | Monday | Rest or cross-training | Yoga and mobility drills Core drills |
| 2025-09-09 | Tuesday | Original: Recovery + speed 8.0 km w/ 8 x 100 m strides Substitute: Cross-training |
Yoga and mobility drills |
| 2025-09-10 | Wednesday | Recovery 6.4 km | 8.08 km @ 7:02/km |
| 2025-09-11 | Thursday | VO₂max 12.9 km w/ 3 x 1,600 m @ 5K race pace; jog 50 to 90% interval time between | AM: 13.03 km @ 5:53/km PM: Strength workouts |
| 2025-09-12 | Friday | Recovery 6.4 km | 8.04 @ 6:46/km |
| 2025-09-13 | Saturday | Original: Recovery + speed 8.0 km w/ 8 x 100 m strides Substitute: Recovery 8.0 km |
8:02 km @ 7:05/km |
| 2025-09-14 | Sunday | Medium-long run 19.3 km | AM: 20.04 km @ 5:56/km PM: Strength workouts |
- Total:
- Expected: 61.16 km
- Actual: 57.24 km
Thoughts
Monday
Coming from a demanding weekend, my entire body was heavy and sore when I woke up this morning. Despite that my only concern is the healing progress of my left posterior tibial tendon. It is only painful now when I exaggerate my twisting and nothing from regular movement and walking.
Due to that assessment I continued with my Vlad Ixel yoga and mobility session. The latter has a lot of ankle-related exercises and I am thankful that I was able to push through them with little to no pain on my problem area. Afterwards I did the “Basic Core Strength Session” activity from the Advanced Marathoning book to continue training my core.
I am still not sure if I will run tomorrow even though it is a recovery run. If my ankle is fully comfortable by the end of the day and tomorrow morning, then I will reconsider going outside otherwise I will strictly just repeat today’s workouts.
Tuesday
My left ankle and PTT were still sore when I woke up early in the morning. It had a sudden jolt of pain when I tried twisting it because every now and then I will do that to check. I made an easy decision to not run this morning and give it another day to heal. Although when I was fully awake and tried walking there was no pain at all.
I just continued with the same yoga and mobility session today as they are very effective in keeping me prepared and safe while running. My right hamstring is less tight now during the stretches but I can’t fully extend it yet. Nevertheless an improvement is welcomed.
By tomorrow I hope my left foot is ready and I can resume the runs.
Wednesday
Fortunately my left PTT is better after two days of no running. My Asics Superblast 2s were still comfortable and supportive enough for the comeback run today though its toe box is so spacious now. I will try to tighten the laces on that area a bit because it is sometimes unstable when my toes are all over the place. As for my right hamstring, it is unnoticeable now and I just remembered to take note of it in the end. Lastly both of my knees were sore once I stopped but not painful. I already remember that sensation from extended rest and no damage was done.
I am still debating if I will just do a general aerobic run instead of the prescribed intervals tomorrow because of the latter’s risk of impacting my ankles again. The final decision will be tomorrow morning after I wake up.
Thursday
I decided to push through with the VO2max intervals today when I woke up. My ankles and PTT didn’t feel any significant sores or discomfort. The only problem was I slept late because I was watching Monster Rancher 2 streams and wanted to finish a particular match.
Before the run
As usual I had to eat an oatmeal bar, a banana and took one loperamide to keep everything intact. I wore my Asics Magic Speed 3s but didn’t put on a heel patch because the heel counter felt soft today. Fortunately I was correct!
I made sure all my stretches and dynamic warm-up drills were generous but not too stretchy that I sprain my joints. I wanted to fully wake my legs properly to be ready for the last intervals of the plan.
During the run
Unfortunately I nearly twisted my right ankle after running clumsily over a heavily stoned path. Automatically, I slowed down and took the stoplight pauses to assist in the quick healing. It didn’t hurt after a few minutes and because of that I decided to continue the warm-up and the rest of the run.
- 1.61 km warm-up @ Zone 1
- 1.61 km @ Zone 2
- Three times
- 1.61 km @ 5K pace (3:58/km)
- 5:37 recovery (90% of estimated 6:20 to finish)
- 3.22 km cool down @ Zone 2
I was slow today compared to the middle of the plan. I wasn’t able to fully go in that zone of my current 5K pace of 3:58/km or faster no matter how much I tried.
| Lap | Distance | Time | Pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1.61 km | 6:51.1 | 4:17/km |
| 2 | 1.61 km | 6:39.2 | 4:10/km |
| 3 | 1.61 km | 6:37.5 | 4:08/km |
I was supposed to spend 5:37 minutes as recovery but I cut it down to around one minute less before lap 2 and almost 50% before lap 3 because it felt too long! Looking back, especially with the improvement between the last two, I think the recovery was too long and it jeopardised the momentum I had from the last lap that could have been carried over to the next.
After the run
Regardless I am still happy of my results because they are under my 10K pace which is enough stimuli as long as they’re faster that my target marathon pace of 5:10/km. Additionally my legs are not too sore and I think I can do the strength workouts tonight if all goes well after eight hours of rest later.
Evening workout
My legs recovered quite a bit from sitting down and my work after the run so I decided to continue with the strength workouts in the evening. Coincidentally, calf-centered exercises were the theme of the videos I randomly selected today! I was anticipating for resistance band exercises because I find them the most fun but my calves haven’t been worked a lot for a while so this was still beneficial.
- Build Stronger Claves - Calf Workout For Runners - 15min HOME WORKOUT
- MARATHON STRENGTH TRAINING WORKOUT/ FOLLOW ALONG - 4/4
- 5 Minute Glute Workout for Runners (FOLLOW ALONG)
I loved the single-leg tiptoed exercises because my calves really had to support my body while and the leg to practice stability. The effort was hard enough that I didn’t feel too much impact on my precious ankles and PTT. I only struggled with the last glute workouts because I had to do single-legged sit-ups and leg lifts that were totally withering on those parts of my feet especially the left side. Nevertheless I finished all of them to add to my non-running support this week.
Lastly I did another round of foam roller massage to my thighs and hamstrings to aid recovery.
Friday
My legs were so heavy and tired today during the start! It was fine because I have gradually learned to embrace and accept genuine slow days where I’m not too impaired to run but I will be super slow no matter what. I am thankful that there were no lingering pain on my ankles and PTT that could have manifested later in my run. I was actually faster today because I re-checked my running form and I was more intentional with my forefoot strikes without increasing my heart rate too much. I reminded myself not to do anything new regardless of the things I learned today and keep it all the same up to next week’s marathon.
I am excited for Sunday’s last long run because I expect a lot more people running outside and I get to wear my AP3s again!
Saturday
Today’s run was terrible. My body felt heavy, my legs felt over it and I had a lingering stomachache even though I took an emergency loperamide before running (which shouldn’t have been the case because this was just a short run). I still persevered and finished everything though I didn’t do the strides again. It only felt better (nearly to what I usually am on a normal running day) when I went into a slight uphill in the last 500 meters. I guess I had some rest as I was waiting for he stoplights to change but the change of mood was welcomed.
Sunday
Before the run
The same routine: I ate an oatmeal bar, a banana and took a loperamide tablet. After that I sprayed on my sunblock (even though the forecast was around 40% chance of rain) and put petroleum jelly on my chest when the HRM strap will settle.
I brought two 250 ml flasks for my final experiment: one homemade gel and one Vitargo mix flavoured with maple syrup. I wanted to try if the thick gel and the watery mix (which I tend to avoid) will not upset my stomach. I know one long run is not enough for experimentation but I found that the differences of the solutions’ consistencies will add to the distraction during the race and the watery mix will help push some of the gel in my mouth.
I wore my AP3s again since they will be used next week. I did not wear heel patches again because they have proven to not rub that area in previous runs.
During the run
I don’t know why but all my warm-up sessions this week have been terrible: my body felt heavy, my legs felt like they were over it and my motivation was less bright because of the first two. I am positive it is just from the taper week madness but I can’t help but worry! Regardless I still kept the “suggested” 180 spm cadence during this time which helped to make me focus.
- 1.61 km warm-up @ Zone 1
- 4.43 km @ 5:57-6:12/km (20% less than my target MP)
- 13.28 km @ 5:41-5:57/km (10% less than my target MP)
Everything improved when I started increasing my cadence at 182 spm in the second block as I focused on gradually reaching the goal range. I remember that I lightened up a bit because I knew I was back into what I wanted and should feel like in these long runs.
For my nutrition practice, I took 1/3 of each flask every 20 to 25 minutes alternating between the gel and mix. I still had one flask from super thick gel batch but I didn’t have to take off the cap because they flowed better than the earlier ones.
I observed that I was more aware in keeping a straight body and engaging my core throughout the run. Though I noted that I didn’t use my thighs too much or it wasn’t just obvious to me. Yes, I engaged my core mindfully and transferring the focus to my thighs was natural now but this morning I didn’t feel the latter too much. I will revisit it again in the remaining easy runs but it is something not to worry about.
In the main block, I started at 184 spm cadence. This was so natural and comfortable for me together with the shoes. I also tried softening my foot strikes because I felt like I was pushing them down too much. That part wasn’t too intrusive with what I have been doing in my long runs that it could’ve sabotaged anything and actually I felt more dainty and less heavy-footed when I did that small change. I will also keep checking this especially on Wednesday’s dress rehearsal for any last observations.
Midway through I also realised that I don’t feel any tightness on my right hamstring anymore regardless from when I woke up this morning and as I was running. It just needed two weeks to go away and I’m thankful that it never interfered with my previous runs.
Initially I decided to keep the cadence of 184 spm for the entire main block but I found myself feeling more confident and less worried so I let myself increase it to 186 spm for the last 5 km. It was just so easy to do because I didn’t need any distractions aside from the tick tocks of the metronome app and the nature around me. I was a bit worried still because yes I felt great and the run was easy since my targets today are not my target marathon pace of 5:10/km but as they always say: follow the plan and trust the plan.
After the run
I finished at around halfway the race next week and I have to be honest: I felt that I could go on for another 10 to 16 km at the same average pace but not more than that. I purposely made sure to do a body check at the end and the not-so stellar self-review could just be from my taper craziness. On the other hand, of course I still felt like I have a lot of life more on my legs physically and could go on mentally.
Again, I already did all the hard tempo runs and long runs in the past 17 weeks and since I plan to treat next week’s race as just like any ordinary long run day, I should not have any worries!
At home I did downward and upward dog stretches followed by generous foam roller massages to my thighs and legs for faster recovery.
Evening workout
Since I had a less intense long run in the morning, my legs and feet weren’t too beaten up after. I still had energy to do my strength workouts in the evening.
As always, I pulled from my pool of Vlad Ixel videos:
- Strength For Runners - Resistance Band Workout - 15min FOLLOW ALONG
- MARATHON STRENGTH TRAINING WORKOUT/ FOLLOW ALONG - 1/4
- Stronger Glutes For Runners - 5 min home workout - FOLLOW ALONG
The first one was my favourite because I enjoy doing resistance band workouts. I used my “light” (or 2 out of 5 in resistance) band for the entire session and looking back I should have switched to the next stronger band because it was getting easy. For the rest of the other videos, I only struggled with the floor oblique twists as usual but I think I performed better today as I paused for two seconds at each point. I figured that I got fatigued easily when I did the twists faster and slowing down was the right call. Lastly, I had to do squats in all three videos which was a cool coincidence. I don’t think that I put too much work on my thighs and glutes due to only using my current body weight.
The entire session was fun and quick which I prefer. I am thankful that I didn’t skip it again due to a sore ankle or PTT.
Overall
After coming from last weekend’s crazy two-day back-to-back quality runs, I had to skip Tuesday’s workout even though it was a recovery run. This week is the first of the two-week taper and I promised to listen to my body and to be on red alert for my ankles and PTT.
Unfortunately I had moments of sluggishness and feeling not myself at the start of almost all the runs this week which was concerning but I attribute them to my taper anxiety that’s just all in my head.
I have one more week left before the race and I just have to avoid doing, eating, consuming, drinking and wearing anything new especially on Sunday. It will just be any other long run day but with extra 10 km at the end and a lot of people around me. It’s been 17 weeks of hard work and I can’t wait to finish it all on my first marathon!