Going off-plan without going off-plan - Marathon Week Three

I didn’t think I’d be turning to an eighteenth-century Scottish poet for help with my marathon training plan. But perhaps Robert Burns missed his true calling as a running coach when he wrote:

Robert Burns, To A Mouse The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men Gang aft agley

Even the best plans in the world can go wrong. And that couldn’t be more true when it comes to marathon training. So this week, I thought it would be good to go off-plan deliberately, preparing for when life/injury/illness inevitably gets in the way.

However. There are ways to do it. And ways not to do it. Let’s start with the original plan for this week:

• Monday – rest

• Tuesday – track session, plus run there and back

• Wednesday – easy 60 mins

• Thursday – intervals – 20 mins warm up, 15x (1 minute very hard, 1 minute easy), 20 mins cool down

• Friday – rest

• Saturday – 90 mins including hard effort at parkrun

• Sunday – 90 minutes long run

Tip one – swap tracks for trails

Tuesday was set to be a lovely day. A lovely, but hot, day. So the idea of waiting for the hottest part of the day to sprint round in circles on a track didn’t hugely appeal. Luckily, I had the option to get out of the city, so decided to take myself to a lake, run up to a monastery (resisting the beer garden at the top) and run down again. One hour, 12km, 300m elevation gain. Followed by a swim with a host of wildlife at the end.

But how does that make up for your speed session?

While you won’t (or are unlikely to) run uphill anywhere near as quickly as on the flat, the consistent hills build your fitness in a whole host of ways. Runner’s World puts it best: “In short, hill running will make you a stronger, faster and healthier runner.” Read the full article for more.

I should also add that I have a trail run coming up in mid-July. It involves a bit of climbing, so some hills were definitely in order.

Tip two – swap an easy run for cross-training

Once you get really into the plan, you may find you have a couple of days where you’re simply exhausted. Or at least need some variety. One trick to mix it up is to swap an easy run for some cross-training. This can be anything from swimming to cycling, walking to stretching/strength training. Just having that change of scene can get your motivation, energy and performance back up again.

While I haven’t hit that point yet, I’m finding that adding some strength work and stretching is definitely helping.

In conclusion…

…it goes without saying that going off-track regularly is not a good idea. You have a plan for a reason. But adding variety every now and then should keep you motivated and interested, especially during those tougher weeks.

Oh – and a final obvious but painful lesson of the week. Don’t eat spicy food the night before a long run. Trust me when I say that variety is the only spice you want in life during your marathon training.

Total time/km/miles: 6 hours. 71km. 44 miles.ng run. Trust me when I say that variety is the only spice you want in life during your marathon training.