Enough of fooling around with short and easy runs. It is time to get serious about running and start fulfilling a plan which will bring me enough endurance, maybe even some speed, to finish all the events that I already entered for this autumn.
Why 19 weeks? Because I am a week late for a 20 weeks plan with due date on November 12th 2023, that's why.
Events
These are the events I intend to participate in and finish in style and have already paid the entry fee:
| date | event | distance |
|---|---|---|
| 02.09.2023 | Logarska - Celje ultramarathon (SLO) | 78 km |
| 08.10.2023 | Cold River (SLO) | 100 km |
| 22.10.2023 | Ljubljana marathon (SLO) | 42 km |
| 12.11.2023 | Athens classic marathon (GRE) | 42 km |
All four events are with a reasonably flat profile, on gravel and asphalt roads (both marathons fully on asphalt), not mountain nor trail runs.
Plan
I took the 50 Miles Intermediate Training Plan from Ultrarunning Magazine, quote:
This training plan is intended for runners who have completed an ultra distance before and/or have 2-4 years ultramarathon training experience and are trying to improve upon their time or placing from previous years. The plans are intended for runners that have some experience doing interval work and back-to-back longer runs. If you are looking to add more structure and guidance to your training, these plans are for you. If you are new to ultrarunning, or have over 5 years experience training for ultramarathons, the Beginner or Advanced plans will be a better fit for you.
The load is quite significant, comparing it to the mileage that I cover at the time. The month of June was the most productive with 265 kilometers covered.
The chart in the Coros Training Hub shows the training load.
Since my plan is time based, the peak weeks are around 13 to 14 hours long.
When inserted in the calendar, the plan looks like this, an example for the last two weeks of the plan in November:
Fancy, isn't it.
The beauty of it is that you have this plan on the watch too, It guides you during the runs and it shows you the realisation after the exercises.
It will be interesting to follow how will I stick to the plan and how the metrics will change with the passing weeks. They will improve, hopefully.
For the record, and to be able to compare them, here are the basic metrics as of today.
Running Fitness & Running Performance
VO2 Max
Resting Heart Rate
Pace Zone Distribution
Threshold Heart Rate & Pace
Running Fitness
Race Predictor
The goal is to run the Athens marathon in under 3:45. Will I succeed?
Better and better
:ervin :lemark