Farewell to Big Bearpen

I am in Week 8 of the marathon training plan that I mentioned in my previous post, and today I ran Hill Repeats, right on schedule.  The plan I am using is perfect for me, I think, based on the Bart Yasso plan I used to qualify for Boston in 2009, but amended somewhat for my aging 65-year-old body.  At the time, I had experimented with many different training plans, including the so-called "Less is More" or "F.I.R.S.T." plan devised by the Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training, which prescribes only three days of training.  That plan was certainly unusual for me, and my marathon (Knoxville, I think) did not go very well - I felt that I would have benefited from more long runs.  The Bart Yasso plan prescribes long runs in the final couple of months of 18, 20, 20, 15, and 22 miles in consecutive weeks.  It worked in 2009, but I have realized since then that my body simply cannot withstand that kind of training, so my long runs this time will be 18, 12, 20, 12, and 20.  There is pretty good evidence that running more than 20 miles is not accomplishing much other than increased risk of injury.

A Google search for marathon training plans will result in a wide variety of often conflicting advise.  I watched a podcast the other night by a young Olympic qualifier, whose marathon time was 2:37 (just under 6-minute miles), who ran her long runs in 9-minute miles.  That same night, I watched a podcast from a coach with very good credentials who disputed the necessity of long runs and high mileage at all; he said maximum mileage even for elite runners should be no more than 35, and long runs no longer than 12 or 15, with most of those miles run faster than goal pace.  So a runner doing research has to take a careful, reasoned approach and find a plan suited to his or her own time limitations, fitness level, age, and experience.  After 19 marathons I still have a lot to learn, but I know what my body is not capable of doing!

The interesting thing about this plan is that it transitions half-way through from long runs and hills to more high-intensity training during the week, while still maintaining the long run (amended in my case) on weekends.  So from now on I will be running Tempo runs, Yassos (those 800-meter intervals named after Bart), and Mile Repeats.  Gone are the hills until the end of the program.

So today I decided to do my Hill Repeats on my favorite mountain, Big Bearpen (see earlier posts).  I ran to the summit, back down most of the way, up again, back down, and then up a third time (my own variation on traditional "hill repeats"), the words of Henry V ringing in my ears each time I turned to climb:  "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!"  I was rewarded by one of those glorious mornings we have in Highlands when, at a certain altitude, we find ourselves rising above a luminous sea of clouds with the tall mountains pushing through - Whiteside gleaming in sunshine, its summit just protruding from this gleaming bright fog!  On the summit, vertical shafts of sunlight slanted down through the morning mist, and the trees facing east along the summit road seemed to be breathing huge clouds of vapor as the sunlight burned off last-night's rain.  What a glorious farewell to Big Bearpen!  It looked a little like this photo I lifted off the internet (because I do not carry phone or camera when I run):

All of this climbing must be doing some good after all, as my legs seemed to simply sail uphill each time.  Six weeks ago "BearpenX3" would have been an unthinkable entry in my running log at this morning's speed and intensity.