Schedule
- Goal Race: 3:30-4:00 Berlin
- Plan: Pfitz 18/63 by thebottlefarm (Unofficial)
| Date | Day | Workout | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-06-30 | Monday | Rest or cross-training | Yoga and mobility drills |
| 2025-07-01 | Tuesday | Lactate threshold 14.5 km w 8.0 km @ 15K to half marathon race pace (4:16-4:22/km) | 8.0 km LT @ 4:21/km Total: 17.13 km @ 5:33/km |
| 2025-07-02 | Wednesday | Recovery 9.7 km | 12 km @ 7:26/km |
| 2025-07-03 | Thursday | Medium-long run 17.7 km | 18.06 km @ 6:10/km |
| 2025-07-04 | Friday | Recovery 9.7 km | 11.69 km @ 6:33/km |
| 2025-07-05 | Saturday | General aerobic + speed 12.9 km w/ 10 X 100 m strides | 13.13 km @ 6:04/km |
| 2025-07-06 | Sunday | Long run 30.6 km | 30.59 km @ 5:52/km |
- Totals:
- Expected: 94.95 km
- Actual: 102.59 km
Thoughts
I was expecting the long run last Sunday was going to give me a hard time on Tuesday but I think the 175-180 cadence helped me avoid over-striding which contributed to my shin pain and extended fatigue last week. The pain wasn’t there by Monday morning and I felt well on Tuesday morning.
Unfortunately I was so worried and anxious by Monday night and when I woke up, Garmin said that I only slept for 5.5 hours which is not good especially on a lactate threshold morning so I just made sure to manage my expectations during the workout in case my legs feel heavy and I am not able to hit the target range of 4:16-4:22 per kilometer.
Tuesday
I experimented a bit by listening to the metronome for 182 steps per minute during the LT workout and I believe it hindered my ability to beat last time’s 4:18/km because I found myself achieving the target cadence but not the pace. There were a lot of times I was just cruising to the cadence but not running fast enough! Good news is that I did not feel any fatigue or hindered by any after-effects of the short night’s sleep but I had to focus because I was teetering between 4:20-4:25/km.
I didn’t have time to turn off the metronome application on my phone while running so I just hit play on my playlist to drown the metronome. It didn’t work because I was still able to change my focus between the two (which I think is not a hindrance) but I learned that I can hit my 15 km to half-marathon paces just by focusing and the power of upbeat music.
Overall even though my A-goal was to beat last time’s 4:18/km, a 4:21/km average for 8 km was still a great result! I believe the problem this time was I didn’t “lock in” that much during the middle of the workout because by the last kilometer I finished at 4:14. I will use the remained of the day to rest my legs and make sure to get at least eight hours of sleep this Tuesday night.
Wednesday
On Wednesday morning I expected some level of pain on my left shin and ankle and fortunately there weren’t when I woke up! Ever since I started this training plan, I set my recovery days to stay only at my Zone 1 instead of Zone 2 to keep me from doing too much effort. It has been very helpful in forcing me to slow down and accept the average 7:00/km paces but this time I actually went over to the lower half of my Z2. My purpose was to keep the cadence around 175 steps per minute (actual is 174 spm) because last week I hurt myself by over-striding during the general aerobic and recovery workouts. I think I did not perform enough to increase my accumulated fatigue from yesterday’s hard workout and the quick steps helped me focus on staying tall and lowering my shoulders.
Thursday
I believe that today went beyond my expectations!
Unfortunately throughout the entire workout I had to endure stomachache because all the toilets in the the park are closed. I don’t know if they’re either permanently closed to the public or opens at a later time in the day. Nevertheless this was the only issue which I am confident was caused by the watery gel I brought as nutrition. It was watery because it was a leftover from Tuesday’s and it was more than half that I didn’t want to waste. I will take note of this in the next workouts.
First, I was supposed to listen to a podcast but the desire to listen to nothing took over and I just started my metronome app to 180 steps per minute by the half of the first block of 20% less than marathon pace (MP). Again it was easy to do and my legs immediately got the hang of it after 500 meters or so. Eventually when it got to the main block of 10% less than MP, my only trouble was going over the upper range of the target pace versus the cadence to maintain. Gradually I was able to control it but let the cadence take importance over the target pace (but not too much because I was also aware to not overdo it today).
I observed that halfway through the main block, together with my Puma Deviate NITRO 3s (DN3) whose upper limit is around 16 km, it wasn’t feeling any discomfort in terms of the shoes’ cushioning (honestly it was a struggle to focus myself to isolate this because of the stomachache). To compare with my previous medium-long runs, the same shoes will be noticeably flat but still responsive though that feeling of obviously hitting the concrete surfaces was prominent which I didn’t like. This time, I believe that the NITRO foam was still active and that the plate was just there for additional support. I believe that this was the result of the increased cadence through my mixed fore and mid-foot strikes and this lessened that overall fatigue throughout the run.
By the end, my legs and ankles still felt fresh and felt that I could go up to half-marathon distance but the pain in my stomach had higher priority.
Again in my previous runs with the same shoes but less cadence of around the lower 170 spm, I will feel more fatigued at the end but today I am confident that I did the same effort but with less damage! I hope to continue training myself with higher cadence if this carries over the next few weeks and only during long runs.
Friday and Saturday
Recovery and GA days after the medium-long run day went well. I spent the two nights after that to fully recover at least eight hours of sleep and I felt fresh the mornings after.
I also tested my pair of Mizuno Neo Vistas (NV) for the GA and I love the thick foam along the fore and mid-foot! The upper reminds me of Nike’s Flyknit technology but Mizuno’s is more sock-like and has less structure which can be dangerous for other runners who need better stability support. Unfortunately by the 8th or 9th kilometer, my left foot felt tight even though the right had no sensation! I will either loosen it a bit next run or do a runner’s knot to force my foot backwards to the heel.
As I’m typing this my left shin (again) has been hurting (2 out of 10) and I assume this is just caused by the new shoes and should go away overnight. Nothing can stop my long run tomorrow!
Sunday
As I’ve said before, I am the most terrified of the LT workouts among the kinds of runs that Pfitz and Douglas have included in their plans but today’s long run of 30.6 km was a slow and gradual scary feat. I wore my pair of Asics Superblast 2s because they’re currently my most trusted long run shoes and hoped for the best.
I also brought two 250ml flasks of my homemade energy gel and two small packs of gummy bears to get me through the day. The two flasks was to test my stomach’s response to increased amounts of the gel (two large sips after each 3 km) and to estimate if they are more than enough for a full marathon.
The workout was divided into three portions according to the recommendations in the book:
- 1mi/1.6km warm-up @ Z1
- 4.5mi/7.24km @ 20% less than my target MP
- 13.5mi/21.73km @ 10% less than my target MP
I decided not to put the usual 1.6 km cool down at the end because I wanted the last and most important block to be end of the entire thing. I applied this setting to all the long runs in the calendar.
The first two portions were uneventful although I started too fast and because I was feeling good all over, I decided to keep it. The pace I did throughout the second block was actually the third’s target pace range. I know this was a terrible idea and I might regret this in the following days of my recovery but I will make sure to keep the efforts in check next time. Also during this I started sipping more of the gel and have consumed about 1/4 of the first flask at the start of the third.
The third block was my primary focus to nail today and again I am thankful for all the things I experienced during this. First is that the SB2s were starting to lose their responsiveness a bit with regards to my preferences at around 16 km but with the metronome app keeping my cadence at 180 spm, I shrugged it off because nothing was hurting or feeling uncomfortable by this time. By this time, the faster paces from the previous block carried over and I averaged 5% less than my target MP which I still continued. To add, my left shin from yesterday’s first run with the NVs didn’t give much trouble today and I was grateful for that.
Second, I think 60% of the entire long run was spent only listening to the metronome app instead of listening to music or podcasts. I was entertained enough by just looking at my surroundings, greeting fellow runners and keeping the cadence consistent. This was a total opposite of my previous 5 km training block this spring where I can’t last a kilometer without hearing people discussing something from my headphones.
Next, I was able to finish the first flask at around the 21 km mark which is around the halfway point of a marathon. I promise that I didn’t plan this. I also consumed the first pack of gummy bears two kilometers after to taste something different. All throughout this the gels were effective by keeping my body feeling fueled and pushing away any fatigue which means I don’t have to change anything in the ratios from the recipe I followed from runwithperseverance was effective.
Before this, my longest run was the 27 km from Week 4 and I struggled a lot around 23 km because of the flattened foam of my DN3s (they’re retired now). I was anticipating for this to happen again even with the more cushioned SB2s and surprisingly it didn’t! I believe that aside from the shoes, the other difference was the faster cadence at 176-180 spm, although making me go faster than the target pace, kept my legs from tiredness earlier. The earlier one averaged at 171 spm according to Garmin and that is a difference of night and day.
After this mark I was pleased so far especially with regards to having no mental barriers that can handicap my focus to finish the rest of the run. It was also hot and humid this morning but I wasn’t too affected by the heat.
Unfortunately something new happened by 28 km because I suddenly felt my right heel drop and feel stiff! It became a bit uncomfortable to keep my fore and mid-foot strike form and it was worse when I tried to plant my entire feet to the ground because I felt the SB2s’ heels were lower and have less cushioning. On the other hand, I eventually kept my natural foot strikes and cadence because the discomfort in the right heel became less noticeable. I didn’t feel any need to actually fully stop running to rest due to massive pain. I know better now to listen to my body and there was no such urgency in what I felt. I just slowed down a bit and adjusted the cadence to a lower target to not trigger it again. Another fact was the my right foot’s arch wasn’t in pain so I was still able to continue.
That minor setback actually affected my rock solid motivation with worries and it was ridiculous because I only had two kilometers left! Nevertheless I hope to not encounter this again next Sunday and I will do some extra stability and heel raises this coming week.
It has been around eight hours since this long run and my right heel is still sore. There’s no pain whether I stand up or twist it around so I am hopeful it will calm down in a few hours or days. My left shin quiet now with some niggles here and there but nothing serious. Both ankles are in the same boat so I need to be extra careful and it’s perfect that Tuesday’s workout is just a recovery run.
Overall
This week has been the most challenging so far with a crazy sandwich of a lactate threshold run and a three-hour long run but I was able to finish all of them! I didn’t skip any day due to some form of pain that made me think twice. I am looking forward to the next week and the goal is still to keep the momentum going without any obstacles up to the starting line in September.