I am having serious doubts today about completing this marathon cycle.
When I threw my hat in the ring last spring, it was to take advantage of a ridiculously inexpensive marathon sign-up, with the thought process that I would give this a try. With the health stuff, there was always going to be a question if I could pull this off. As of today I am not sure I can. Here are the reasons:
1. I am seeing virtually no gains over the last 3 months. I thought I would see a boost when the weather changed in the fall, but I was seeing similar pace to heart rate results even when the weather cooled down. This is not happening, even with ideal weather conditions this winter. I could not have asked for better training weather.
2. I checked my paces at this point in my training vs my 2016 Chicago build-up. I am either right at or even slightly slower than I was at that time. And that cycle was in the middle of a brutally humid summer here in KC. This is very discouraging, especially with the great temps I have been getting.
3. I am certainly running more speed work this cycle than I ever have.
4. Every workout, and I mean EVERY workout, is hard. Meaning my perceived effort is on the difficult side. For example, my 5 miles at MP tonight was hard. My heart rate was in the 170's, which is normally HM rate for me.
Now, I know the Hanson plan is designed for cumulative fatigue, so I get that I should expect to be tired. But 7 weeks in I expect to see some gains in pace relative to HR. Now, I also understand that it's possible I have set my goal too high. BUT, I am basing my training paces on the running calculator chart that the Hanson plan suggests. I based it off of my spring HM of 1:51. So I've tried to use those recommended paces as my paces for these workouts.
Now, I also understand that this is supposed to be hard. I am ok with that and expect hard work to produce results. And unfortunately, I am not seeing any right now. I would think after 7 weeks I would see small victories.
And all I see, and this is also based on a lot of data from two previous marathon cycles, is that I am in no better shape than I was then. Maybe even worse. And I'm not running this race to run a 4:30 again. That's not why I am attempting this again.
So I am seriously considering aborting this attempt. I don't know if the stomach stuff has affected other parts of my body - maybe my ability to build endurance and speed. I don't know. I do know that I am having zero symptoms otherwise. My diet has been balanced (a few more calories of course), and I have had zero stomach and colon flare ups since I started.
Everything feels good except my paces and heart rates. I am just working way too hard in terms of perceived effort. I don't think I can get there.
Damitol.