Schedule
- Goal Race: 3:30-4:00 Berlin
- Plan: Pfitz 18/63 by thebottlefarm (Unofficial)
| Date | Day | Workout | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-08-18 | Monday | Rest or cross-training | Yoga and mobility drills Core drills |
| 2025-08-19 | Tuesday | VO₂max 12.9 km w/ 5 x 600 m @ 5K race pace; jog 50 to 90% interval time between | 13.01 km @ 6:15/km |
| 2025-08-20 | Wednesday | Medium-long run 17.7 km | AM: 18.08 km @ 6:05/km PM: Core and strength workouts |
| 2025-08-21 | Thursday | Original: Recovery + speed 9.7 km w/ 6 x 100 m strides Substitute: Cross-training |
Yoga and mobility drills Core drills |
| 2025-08-22 | Friday | Original: Recovery + speed 6.4 km w/ 6 x 100 m strides Substitute: Recovery 9.7 km |
12.02 km @ 6:47/km |
| 2025-08-23 | Saturday | Original: 8K-15K tune-up race (total 9-13 mi/14-21 km) Substitute: Recovery 8.0 km |
11.12 km @ 6:53/km |
| 2025-08-24 | Sunday | Original: Long run 27.4 km Substitute: 21 km @ 15K to HM |
2.15 km @ 7:05/km 21.41 km @ 4:20/km |
- Total:
- Expected: 88.51 km
- Actual: 77.78 km
Thoughts
Monday
My left ankle was less sore when I woke up compared to yesterday. There’s still a bit of discomfort so I am now leaning towards skipping the hard run tomorrow morning.
The yoga and mobility workouts were fine as always but I was less flexible today as expected. My left ankle hurt a bit in some of the drills such as lunges and I hope it will recover for the rest of the day. For the core part, I did the basic again from the Advanced Marathoning book because I was lazy to do the advanced. To compensate for difficulty I increased the repetitions and made the entire plank section a full one minute.
Tuesday
I had generous amounts of sleep in the past two days and I believe that helped me recover faster for today. My left ankle was still suspicious in terms of having some form of soreness when moved around but doesn’t feel any pain when I walk or put pressure on it.
I decided to continue with the intervals today because of that and brought my Asics Magic Speed 3 after many weeks of waiting. I started using my Puma Deviate NITRO Elite 3s over it because the latter was so responsive and light compared to the former.
The workout went well! I actually didn’t check that I was only supposed to keep the repeats at my current 5 km record of 3:58/km and I did an average of 3:50 per lap. It was a short distance so I didn’t bother checking my pace and did everything by feel again.
| Lap | Distance | Time | Pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 600 m | 2:18.1 | 3:50/km |
| 2 | 600 m | 2:21.2 | 3:55/km |
| 3 | 600 m | 2:18.1 | 3:50/km |
| 4 | 600 m | 2:17.7 | 3:50/km |
| 5 | 600 m | 2:16.0 | 3:47/km |
The difference between the two shoes I mentioned for faster paces were definitely obvious but I didn’t mind the extra effort I had to exert in order to do each lap. I made sure to engage my core and increase my cadence which made it more enjoyable. My left ankle didn’t act up in any part of the workout especially during the first 600 m so that was a good sign. I was on alert to shift to just a recovery run for any single sign of foot pain which thankfully never happened.
I spent the most time to finish the second lap based from the results and I believe it was due to my initial exhaustion for the first lap and thinking if I should dial back on the paces (but as I’ve mentioned, I never looked at my target pace so I thought the first 3:50/km was the baseline). Regardless I did everything by feeling as mentioned and I crushed the last three laps! The last lap was crazy but I wanted it to be the fastest.
At the end I wasn’t too thrashed that I had to lay on the grass again or sit down somewhere which is a good thing. I have a race on the weekend so this will be the last day before Sunday where I can do all the fast runs I want. I will focus on recovery on the remaining days to make sure my legs are fresh for the half-marathon!
Wednesday
Before the run
My left ankle was still suspicious when I woke up but there was no pain when I put on pressure while doing my morning stretches. I proceeded to continue with the long run. For preparation, same as before, a banana, oatmeal bar and loperamide tablet before leaving with my Salomon Aero Glide 3 GRVL shoes.
I know that I recorded a new MP of 4:59/km last Sunday but I didn’t update all my workouts this week and beyond because of my ankle. I will reconsider it again next week after this weekend’s race. My priority is for this discomfort to fully go away and the race will add more load to it. It will be best to delay changing everything for a week for recovery.
During the run
The first half (eight kilometers) were done in 180 and 182 spm. It was a bit of a struggle because the ankle started feeling uncomfortable but not too painful that I had to consider fully stopping. I hang onto the hope that it will eventually go away and I will forget about it similar to last weeks. It did eventually but it wasn’t consistent.
I had to speed up a bit when the second block with a target of 20% less than my MP (5:20/km) and had to really exert some force to keep up. It wasn’t too exhausting but definitely something I haven’t done in a while because before the target paces were slower and can be achieved with my regular “easy” effort.
As I was at around 4 km, I made a mental note that after one loop (roughly 10 km) and the pain starts to feel prominent, I will stop and walk home. I had to be realistic and to be extra careful against injuries.
The main block was 12 km and it was spent at a gradual 184 to 188 spm cadences. I divided this block into three-four kilometers.
As expected, it was the most fun because the cadence finally carried to the target of 10% less than my MP without too much effort. The ankle was still uncomfortable but it came and went many times. I remember it only hurt a bit when I was in uneven surfaces such as the cobblestone paths I can’t avoid. On the dry forest trails there weren’t and that could be from the less tough soil and gravel.
After the run
Overall it was fun run with my new trusted long run shoes despite the ankle scare. It was really uncomfortable when I was walking for the cool down but it eventually went away after a kilometer.
I am thankful for the recovery runs in the next three days and I will make sure not to aggravate it further in preparation for the half-marathon race.
Evening workout
Initially I was already decided that I will not do any workouts at night because my ankle was still sore after the run. Fortunately after eight hours it was gone and I felt fine enough that I will not aggravate it with the drills.
I did two rounds of the “Basic Core Strength Session” from Advanced Marathoning but replaced the leg pushaways with its more difficult counterpart in the advanced set. After that I did one rpunds of the “Strength Training Session” with the updated weights from last week and two sets of bicep curls because I wanted to. I only did one instead of two because of the last additions. I hope I get a good night’s sleep because of everything I did today!
Thursday
I did not do the recovery run today because my left ankle was still sore. It had some feedback when pressure is applied and this was my sign to not do anything crazy that might make it worse.
I settled for the usual yoga and mobility workouts by Vlad Ixel as substitute to keep me moving. This is good because I need catch up on the amount of these cross-trainings in order to keep my body bulletproof for the second half of the training plan.
I hope a day’s rest is enough to help it recovery so I can do my easy runs on the next two days.
Friday
The recovery run today was supposed to have strides but I avoided them to not aggravate my ankles. To compensate I did extra two kilometers which are not terrible stimuli.
There was still some form of discomfort on my left ankle that feels like there’s a splinter inside it but not too much that I have to stop. Eventually it went away in the last few kilometers but it was hard to judge if it was just from fatigue, the AG3 GRVLs + high cadence, or something else. I hope it goes away tomorrow so I can do my best on Sunday’s race.
Saturday
Today was a combination of recovery and shakeout run for tomorrow’s race. Again my left ankle is the focus and it is better this morning compared to the last three day’s. I kept it really slow today because I have all the time in the world tomorrow to go my fastest in the last ten or five kilometers of the race.
I have eaten a lot in the past two days: fried chicken, rice and stir-fried noodles (a typical plate in a Filipino party and I just realised it) and drank a lot of water regularly. I hope these will all carry me to the finish line tomorrow.
Sunday
Before the run
I had a good seven to eight hours of sleep last night. I had quite a day walking around with a friend yesterday so I slept easily thankfully.
The race was at 9:00 so I decided I have to be there at least an hour before to warm-up and catch any toilet needs. I woke up at around 5:30 and had chocolate oatmeal with bananas. It was quite filling and I thought I won’t be able to finish them. I also took my loperamide afterwards which was around two hours before the run started. I wore my SB2s for comfort during my commute instead of wearing my race shoes immediately like before. This was one of my good decisions today after my friend suggested me to consider this change.
I was quite anxious all morning because of the nerves and I kept telling myself that it is just any normal running day but we have to run faster and there’s a lot of people around. It didn’t help and the two bus rides to the starting line just upset my stomach. I have accepted that I will always be anxious of races no matter how many times I have done them in the past seven years but I hope I get better next time. My stomach felt all the negative energy I had during the bus ride so I immediately went in line for the toilets near the event. There were already a lot of people around and fortunately the lines were fast and the toilets were everywhere.
I also wrote my racing plan into my left arm just below my watch with a pen to remind me. I was aiming for a negative split with gradual two- or three-second faster paces after each five kilometers. I wanted the last lap to be the fastest as always.
| Distances | Pace |
|---|---|
| 0 - 1 km | 4:30/km |
| 2 - 5 km | 4:20/km |
| 6 - 10 km | 4:17/km |
| 11 - 15 km | 4:15/km |
| 16 - 20 km | 4:13/km |
| 21 km onwards | < 4:13/km |
After a successful trip to the toilet, I felt much better both mentally and physically. I still wasn’t able to find my friend so I decided it was time to change into my Puma Deviate NITRO Elite 3s, put on lots of petroleum jelly and sunscreen all over my exposed extremities and drop off my bag to the staff.
I did a total of two kilometers or 15 minutes of slow running warm-up inside the starting corral with other runners. I didn’t do this before but after all my tempo runs, I gradually learned appreciated the extra preparedness it provided in all of them. I didn’t complete my usual 20-30 minutes because the crowd started to fill the area. I did a final recheck of my shoes’ lacing and stayed a few rows from the elites at front.
During the run
I went too fast in the first kilometer at 4:16/km instead of listening to my plan of doing it under 4:30/km. To be honest my heart was already at upper Zone 4 this time because of all the stimuli around me and I had trouble calming down. It didn’t help that within the first mile was a giant, winding uphill that surprised me even though my friend already warned me. Still, I love uphills so I knew what to do to overcome it - higher cadence, tilt my upper body forwards and breath to keep calm.
I brought my headphones during the run because I considered what if I needed music for motivation during the latter part of the course. I chose quite a few upbeat songs for the first ten kilometers which affected my faster paces. I should have waited.
The hill flattened and I eventually felt much relaxed. I went into that mode of working hard comfortably in the later five kilometers that I familiarly felt during my tempo runs. This was a good sign. Unfortunately I was still too fast at around 4:16/km compared to my planned 4:20/km. By this time I was following a group of Adidas Berlin runners as my unofficial pacers because they were consistently just in front of me which was motivating.
The course was a two-loop 10.5 km route and it passed the starting area. I believe that by this time I kept the trend of being too fast because I did an average of 4:11/km between the 9 to 11 km marks based from the laps. Ouch. I should be doing 4:17/km by this time. I passed the starting line together with the group I have been following for the first half.
The mental games started around this time because my mind had thoughts of this mark being the end of my previous tempo runs and I was trying to fight it back. It didn’t help when I saw the uphill again. I tried everything to keep it together again but the fatigue from doing too much in the first half has taken over. By the 13th kilometer I was already slowing down a bit at 4:20/km to recover. I also lost the pack of runners I was following but I switched to others immediately in front of me.
The shoes were still fine at this mark from what I remember. They were bouncy and I can feel the thick midsole catching each step I did though my ankles were tired and the stability was gradually breaking down. I put on blister protectors for both my heels because the DNE3s tend to rub that during my long run and unfortunately they started getting irritated. I forgot about them later on but at around the 18th or 19th kilometer I assumed my right upper heel was bleeding and I have to deal with it later during my rest.
I was still hanging on by the 17th kilometer but after that, no matter how many gels I took, no matter how I tried to increase my cadence, I had nothing else to pull from. I am truly appreciative of all the people watching that kept shouting encouragements but they weren’t getting through my tired body and mind too. That broke my heart a bit because it was a real time realisation. I was nearing my end of my wits and the only thing that kept me going to the finish line was the desire to get the medal and rest.
For the last four kilometers, I am still pleased that I did not go over 4:30/km looking back. It was the hardest four kilometers of the year because I was just over it. I wanted it to end. I also realised that they made the course a bit longer by a few hundred meters because my watch already signal the end of the half-marathon and I still can’t see any finish line arch! That was terrible honestly.
Finally I chose to not do a sprint on the last kilometer because as I’ve said, I had no more left in me. I felt relief when I saw the narrow barricades appear again from the distance and when I was a few meters away from the end, my right thigh suddenly became tight! Fortunately I carried on like nothing happened and was thankful it manifested during this point because it will break my heart if it did on the middle of the race.
Finally I smashed my previous record of 01:33:46 last June 2024 using my ill-fitting Adidas Adizero Adios 8 with today’s 01:31:18 with the DNE3s! That is more than two minutes shaved off from my last try!
Even though I did a positive split, I am still extremely proud of myself and this is just a proof of how helpful the 18/63 training has been because I actually set four new personal bests today (aside from the 10 km I did a few weeks ago):
| Distance | Time | Pace |
|---|---|---|
| 15 km | 01:04:09 | 4:17/km |
| 10 miles | 01:08:55 | 4:17/km |
| 20 km | 01:26:18 | 4:19/km |
| Half-marathon | 01:31:18 | 4:20/km |
I will take all the lessons from all the wrong decisions I did today and will diligently apply them for future races. It has proved that I can do it but I just have to be better at pacing myself at the beginning if I want a negative split and possibly a faster half of the race. I am still young and have more races in me so I have all the time in the world to practice and to do better!
Half-marathon donr and I now have the full marathon waiting in four more weeks!
After the run
The following were hurting after I crossed the finish line:
- my right upper heel from all the rubbing with the DNE3s (though there were no blood and just irritation)
- my left upper armpit sore from all the friction (though I applied lots of petroleum around that area before; it wasn’t red or bruised thankfully)
- my right thigh was tight and I had to walk with a slight limp to keep it neutral
- both the calves are sore from all the support
- both arms were hurting (which means we really need to do lots of bicep curls)
I ate a half of a banana, a cup of water, two cups of iced tea, two bottles of grapefruit-flavoured alcohol-free beer and my friend’s cookies and chocolate milk after all of that. Of course my stomach complained afterwards with that combination.
I walked a bit with my friend to the bag drop, stretched, changed into clean clothes, switched into our own SB2s and walked slowly more until we stopped in front of the paramedics tent for some cold compress for our legs and to check our pictures and results. I put the cold compress on my right calf most of my turn because it was the one that’s hurting the most out of everything else from my head to the toes.
The journey home wasn’t comfortable because I started having headache but can’t sleep on the bus properly from all the stimuli around me (checking my phone, the shaky vehicle, the cold of the air-conditioning) and I think I should have eaten first before leaving the venue. I am a trooper and was saving money so I still continued.
When I got home I did the longest foam massage session I ever did for my thighs and calves. I really felt the relief especially when I pressed harder on my right thigh that’s tight. I expected it to hurt more but it was the opposite - it loosened and felt better. Unfortunately I didn’t have any appetite by this time so I just ate three slices of raisin bread and cheese with a liter of electrolytes mixed with water that I planned to bring but my bag was already full. That was enough together with another banana and cleaned myself.
Overall
Despite the ankle scare in the middle of the week and three missed or switched runs, I closed this week with new running milestones and I am thankful for all the training I put myself into in the past 13 weeks.
The next few days will be crazy in terms of recovery but I know my body is resilient and I will need all of these to prepare for the full marathon in September. Four more weeks, a few more long runs and I know I am on the right track!