- My right calf has been barking at me on and off for a month or so now. It's not serious -- never slows me down or forces me to limp later or anything -- but it always feels better with a little bit of rest. Lifting doesn't bother me -- not even leg presses.
- I firmly believe that building lean muscle is going to be a big component of my marathon training. Every gym workout includes some core work, which I think helps with my form, especially on hills. But I do a lot of upper-body work, too. I'm sure that will help with arm swing and possibly other form issues, but more importantly, I'd rather carry muscle than fat.
So today's workout:
- Drop-weight sets on sitting bench press (130-110-90 - might be a bit much for me, since I'm only getting 130 up 6 times), butterfly (90-80-70) and leg press (330-305-280)
- Three sets of lunges, 12 each on each leg; three sets of bosu crunches holding a 10lb dumbell above me with straight arms, 12 each set; 3 30-second planks
- Drop-weight sets of lat pulldowns (80-70-60) and tricep presses (40-30-30)
But my emphasis on resistance training sort of leads me to the other topic of the day: What training program to embark upon? I've been doing a lot of reading up. There are parts of Higdon I like, and there are parts of Galloway I like. But neither is perfect, and neither feels exactly right for me.
- As I mentioned above, I want to incorporate more weight training in than either of them do. In fact, Higdon's Novice1 makes no provision for resistance training and advises against it unless it's already part of your routine.
- I'm just not down with the Galloway run/walk method. I may use it to some degree in the race, but I'm not persuaded that it actually improves your fitness levels more than just running does. (I saw some really good advice of simply walking through the hydration stations, which is really just 15 seconds every mile and a half, but also ensures that your fluids go into your body, not down the front of your shirt.) Also, the argument for employing it is that you save some strength for later in the race, when you really need it. Now perhaps when I start getting into 15+ runs, I'll be singing a different tune, but generally in my longs, my last mile is my strongest.
- My big problem with Higdon is that you never go more than 20 in training. He actually says "race-day magic" will carry you the other six. Now I know that thousands of people have successfully finished marathons using this method, but I'm not comfortable with the idea of expecting some magical store of energy to carry me to the finish just as I'm depleting my last little bit of glycogen.
I have some other reservations about following one of these programs, or any of the others out there:
- I'm a novice runner as far as experience goes, but my body is well past the starting point for the novice programs. I need to challenge myself in different ways than the programs I've read would.
- Though I recognize that finishing a marathon is a special achievement and not something you can do every day, I think that focusing on it as a zenith, a crescendo, is not the same as a lifelong commitment to fitness. I don't want to have really high peaks and really low valleys. The marathon itself isn't the goal. Being fit enough to incorporate them into my life is the goal.
So I think my next move is to take the parts of all the plans I've seen and combine them with the experience I've gained on the road and in the gym, and design a plan that works for me. It will probably be a good idea to consult with a coach or trainer to make sure I'm dotting my I's and crossing my Ts, but I think ultimately, I need to do what works for me, not follow a rigid regimen just because it's what has worked for other people.
Tomorrow will be an off day. It's 9/11, and I feel like talking about calf soreness and mileage would just be inappropriate. I'll come back strong on Thursday, and I'm still hoping to get my long in on Friday so I can enjoy Rutgers football on Saturday.
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