My last marathon was NYC back in 2021, so I’ve been away from the crazy 26.2 game for a bit. But now I have a new one on the horizon, in October in Baltimore. Earlier this month, I was considering which 16-week training plan to tackle (this handy calendar hack allows you to compare a variety of options, for all sorts of distances, although for the nuances and details–and to support the community–I highly recommend buying the associated book or subscribing to the underlying service once you figure out which one seems to suit). I found myself being snobby as I compared the options, giving more weight to those that had workouts six days a week, looking down my oversized nose at those with only five. Surely a five-day-a-week plan wasn’t really for “serious” runners like myself?
In the end, I got over myself and opted for a plan with only five running workouts a week. Two of those running days are paired with a strength-training workout, which is something altogether new for me and brings in additional work. I’m now in Week 2 of the plan and already, lemme tell ya, I’m hugely grateful for the Monday and Friday days off. The truth is, I had to admit, if I looked at my Strava feed, I am really a five-day-a-week guy in general when it comes to running, but one of those days off has always been some type of disappointing Failure to Run thing rather than a planned break. So now I’ve taken the negative energy out of it and just embraced my reality.
The workouts on my plan are already feeling challenging in terms of physical demands and also in terms of the time I’m able to devote to them. Having two days off works a new kind of magick, I have to say. It gives each week a different “narrative” shape by breaking down each of the sixteen weeks into two blocks–the Tue/Wed/Thu block and the Sat/Sun one. My last workout in each block has the benefit of rewarding me with a day of recuperation and recovery. Not just physically but mentally. It’s always been this way for my Sunday long runs, but now my Thursday run has this added plot twist too, just this extra carrot on the stick to chase after. And what a valuable reward it is. It’s sooo nice to have those two days where I don’t worry about the when/where/how I get out the door for a workout. And it’s not like the days off pull me out of the training mindset in any way. On Friday, I may not be running, but I wake up already getting my head ready for whatever the plan is asking of me on Saturday, but in a relaxed way.
I am a full-blown convert to this five-day-a-week thing. I only wish I’d figured this out sooner.
rundaddio.com 