Marathon Training in 2020

I ran my first marathon (26.2 miles) in 2018 after having only completed one half marathon prior to that, way back in 2012. That year I had trained in the spring all the way up to running another half marathon by mid-June. My strategy was to run at least 3-4 times per week with one long run of increasing distance week-over-week, at least one short run of 2-3 miles, and some mid-range runs as well. After completing my second half marathon, I dialed the long runs back a bit in the following weeks to recover but was back at 13 miles by the end of July. I eventually topped out at 20 miles two weeks before the Philadelphia Marathon in November. Then, a couple of short runs and a long run of about 10 miles in the week leading up to the marathon helped me stay in shape enough to finish in under 4 hours. My main goal was just to finish but I had also been targeting to beat 4 hours and the feeling at the end, having accomplished both was one of the best experiences of my life.

Now, 2 years later I find myself wanting to beat my previous marathon result but 2020 has presented numerous new challenges to doing so. Mainly, the question of whether the marathon will actually take place due to COVID-19 becomes an easy excuse for putting off training. The fact that the marathon usually draws crowds in the thousands, where social distancing and wearing a mask for hours may not be feasible, makes me think that the marathon probably will not happen unless our number of cases goes down significantly in the next couple months. Regardless, I still want to run the 26.2 miles in November even if I have to make up my own course and not get a medal afterwards.

Another factor this year is that I am significantly behind on my training compared to where I was in 2018. Like many, I quarantined for most of March and April. Then I caught COVID (more on this in another post) and had to completely rest for about two weeks. My running in earnest only started again in mid-June and now in early July the farthest I've run is only 5 miles. I did this the other day in a heat index over 90 degrees so I'm going to try to start planning my runs for either early morning (6:30-8 am) or after dusk to beat the heat. Looking at a calendar, there are enough weeks left for me to add one mile to each long run and still get to 20 miles well before the scheduled date for the Philadelphia Marathon. So this week I will run 6 miles and in another 7 weeks I'll be back up to running a half marathon. It's daunting now to think about but taking it one week at a time and approaching each long run with determination will get me there.

I think this same approach can be taken to any running distance so if you're new to running and the thought of running a 5k (3.1 miles) or even running without stopping for 1 mile sound like impossible tasks - trust me, they're possible. Just set reasonable, achievable goals from one week to the next and you can work your way towards your bigger goal. COVID may have also kept you inside and out-of-shape the past several months but now is a great time to get outside and shake out those feelings with a run around your neighborhood!