episode 22: How I Think I Cut 20 Minutes off My Marathon Time, Part 2

I wanted to improve my running in 2012, so I set out to provide my body with better fuel.

Here is a look back at what I did differently last year. Part 1 is on changes I made in diet and Part 2 is on my training. Many baby steps, experimenting and regressions.

Things you should know

-I’m not a nutritionist.

-These are personal experiences that helped me shed fat and run faster, and it may not work for you.

-On average I ran 50-60km per week in 2012.

-I am 5 feet 9 inches tall.

-I was 160 lbs in January 2012 and now 148 lbs.

-In December 2011, I ran the Taipei Marathon in 3:49. A year later I ran the same race in 3:27.  

I wouldn’t call myself a serious runner prior to December 2011.  I had done a few half-marathons, marathons, triathlons and a 50km ultra for the challenges but I never trained properly and results were average. My friends and I would run most Saturdays (10-20km), and during the week I went to the gym and did cardio that usually didn’t involve running unless it was before the mentioned events.

It was only after the initiation of 3 Dudes on Ultra Mission (run a 100km in early 2013) that I began to run more and found the joy in running. I consulted many books and Internet sites for training plans and tips, and below is what I did in 2013.

January and February – base running

-Most training plans I read suggested that if a person is able to complete a marathon in 5 hours, 6 months should be plenty to train for a 100km. And there is no way around it, putting in the mileage is a must.  

-I planned to gradually build up my base throughout 2012, and run a marathon or participate in an endurance event every month.

-I began to run trails and mountains on weekends to work on my up and downhill capabilities.

-I ran between 40-50km per week for Jan and Feb.  

-I ran a 50km at the end of February. My first ever 50km was actually a couple of years back in the summer of 2010. I believe my time was around 6:50. This time around, I completed in 5:20. (That’s why I love running. Progress is guaranteed if you put in the effort)

March and April – Achilles tendonitis

-I had a four-month fling in 2011 with minimalistic running shoes, and developed Achilles tendonitis. After I switched back to traditional running shoes, my left Achilles tendon healed but not my right one. In early-March, it flared up and I had to shut down training for a week, but it has since been under control.

-Weekly mileage ramped up to 50km plus.

-In March, we held the inaugural 3 Dudes Marathon (only three participants). Tom is the reigning champ.

-End of April, we ran a mountain marathon, which was a week before a 53km ultra, our May event (gotta get used to running on tired legs)

May and June – core and strength training

-I started to work on my core more consistently, about 2-3 times a week. I do a wide variety of abs and lower back exercises to mix things up.

-For strength, I only do three things: pull-ups (different grips), push-ups (different width) and dips (different width).

-I hit the heavy bag or shadow box with wrist weights at least once a week (usually 6-7 3-minute rounds) for active recovery.

-Weekly mileage remained at 50km plus.

-The 53km run was my longest race at the time, but it was not as bad as I expected despite only a week after a marathon.  

July and August – bodyweight squats and 84km under 24 hours

-I incorporated bodyweight squats (hand over head style) and one legged squats into my training twice a week. But the squat exercises gradually faded out in the fall due to laziness and time issues as I had to increase my weekly mileage (but mostly laziness).

-I ran a 2-day-2-marathon event in July.  Starting times were organized so that runners had to complete 2 marathons in 24 hours. My first marathon was a bit under 4:30, and the second one was slightly over 5 hours, pretty much the times that I had expected. (The two marathons also made up for not participating in an event in June)

-In August, I participated in a 7-hour ultra. I had to run a 3.5km loop in the mountains (down 1.7 km then up 1.7km) for 7 hours. I completed 60km, making the race the longest and farthest I had ran at the time. My lower body began to cramp up on the last km up, and left me wondering how I was going to be able to run another 40km.

September – 60km per week

-Weekly distance increased to 60km.

-I had signed up for an Olympic distance triathlon for October, so I had to get in some swimming and biking, which made hitting the 60km target rather difficult.

-In mid-September, we ran an 18km off-road race in the middle of a rain storm. The rainiest run I’ve ever experienced and many parts of the trails were flooded.

-I also ran 40km that involved multiple mountains (some parts involved getting on all fours) and river tracing from Taipei to Yilan (a town southeast of Taipei). We ran out of water and had to hitchhike to the train station.

October – 6-month training plan began

-The plan called for 3 x 70km weeks and a 52km week with interval work outs (I made up the distances, completely arbitrary) in Oct. I’m proud to say I hit all four weekly goals, and gathered real momentum for the coming weeks.

-The triathlon was held in Taidong, my favorite town in Taiwan. Overall time was average, just over 3 hours (breaststroke and mountain bike), but I was able to run a sub-45-minute 10km split.

November - increased mileage and a 65km ultra
-November called for 2 x 75km, a 60km rest week and an 80km. I comfortably exceeded my goals for the first three weeks, but missed the target for the fourth week with only 66km (drank too much for my birthday, and was too tired to get out on Sunday to complete the last 14km).

-The 65km was a monster (I wrote a race report). My first top-20 finish and gained confidence. The 100km was starting to feel less insane.

December – personal record at Taipei Marathon

-I had to decide whether to treat the Taipei Marathon as part of my training and run pace or run it as fast as possible. After chatting with a few friends, I decided to give it my best shot. I tapered down a bit the week prior to the race.

-I ran 91km, 52km (including the marathon), 50km, 90km and 100km, respectively, for the five weeks in December, hitting all my weekly targets.

-The 90km and 100km weeks were rough. On the two Sundays, when I did the last runs of the week, I hit the wall both times during the last 3-4km (I’m assuming it’s good for ultra training).

2013 thus far

-In January 2013, I decreased my mileage since I felt burn out after the increased distance in December.

-I did a 60km week, and then attempted to ramp it back up to 102km the next week (the plan called for 110km but I was just too tired), For week 3, I ran only 56km, and I was off to my annual ski trip. I managed to get in a few interval work outs on treadmill while on vacation.

I’m now back and ready to get back on track. 40 days until game day.

Others:

-I also competed in three off-road races ranging from 15-20km. Tough trail climbs and stairs.

-I active recovered on Mondays and rested on Fridays. But depending on my schedule, weather and body, I moved the days around. During those 90km+ weeks, I had to forego a few rest days to hit the targets, which probably wasn’t smart.

-Weekday runs were typically around 10-15km, but for those 90km+ weeks, I would run a couple of 20km so that I didn’t have to kill myself on weekends.

-I mixed up the workouts: Long base running at pace, 10-12km temple runs and some high-intensity intervals training on treadmill, stationary bike or elliptical machine.

-I believe strong core, hills, stairs and intervals are the key to build running power.

-Downhill is a bitch. I personally prefer running uphill.

-I purposely bonked quite a few times (didn’t eat breakfast before long runs) just to get used to running on an empty tank and being fatigue.

You can also follow my running adventures on https://www.facebook.com/pages/3-dudes-on-ultra-mission/271137916280936 or https://twitter.com/williewenli