2009 Richmond Marathon Training Begins

Here we go again! I’ve dug out last year’s custom marathon training plan (courtesy of McMillan Running), blown off the cobwebs and worked out my training paces for each and every workout Greg McMillan has planned for me.

With just 19 weeks to go until the 2009 Richmond Marathon, I figured it was time to start adding a little focus to my training and kick off the plan. So, for the next 133 days I’ll be following Greg’s workouts as close as possible and hoping his expertise will pull me through to a new marathon PR – anything under 2 hours 51 minutes will do the trick.

Last year I came oh-so-close, but missed the PR by just 27 seconds. This year, I intend on training just as hard, and coupled with my usual focus and determination, hope that I can put something special together on November 14th.

More as a point of reference than anything else, here are my training paces based on Saturday’s Independence Day 5k (adjusted due to the slightly long course):

Endurance Workouts
Recovery Jogs – 8:05 to 8:35
Long Runs – 7:05 to 8:05
Easy Runs – 7:05 to 7:35

Stamina Workouts
Steady-State Runs – 6:14 to 6:25
Tempo Runs – 5:59 to 6:14
Tempo Intervals – 5:54 to 6:06

I also have optimal training paces worked out for Cruise Intervals and various Speed Workouts, but the figures listed above make up the majority of my training plan.

One thing that stands out (and I need to remember) from Greg McMillan’s training guidelines is that:

Adaptation does not occur during stressful workouts, it occurs during the rest/recovery periods. With optimal stress and optimal rest, we will achieve optimal progress!

So, here’s to the next 19 weeks of training. I’m sure it will be a fun journey and hope you’ll enjoy tagging along….