18 Weeks Until NYCM 2019
6/24/2019
After a few months of talking about participating in the 2019 New York City Marathon, the time has finally come to start the official training program. I’ve been running a few races before to get used to race conditions, but my training runs have been inconsistent because I favored only getting outside to do it when I felt like it. That’s not my attitude moving forward and luckily I stayed consistent in my lifting so that at least I’ll be strong enough to endure.
I will be following the “Advanced First Timer” program in the Hansons First Marathon. This book contained a few different training programs based on your skill level (from couch-to-marathon to express), so I chose the one that was recommended for those who have run up to a half marathon and have a specific time goal in mind. As a personal trainer, I know how to come up with a strength program, but I wanted to utilize a tried-and-true approach for this feat into the unknown.
The program is 18 weeks of different lengths and paces of running. It lays out when to go for a long run, when to pick up the pace on a tempo run, rest days, and when to go into other zones such as lactic threshold and speed work. The biggest component, as with any training program, is to be consistent; even if there is no time on a particular Sunday to do 10 miles, but if you can fit in 6 miles, it’s still better than nothing. They do stress making sure you get the speed work and recovery days as well. The point of the program is to condition and prepare you for all different points in the race and for the body to utilize all of its energy systems.
My goal this summer is to stick to the program at least 80% of the time. Why not 100%? Well, I have a trip to Iceland planned early on with no time between tours to fit in running in the middle of a country I’ve never been before, and I’ll also account for the possibility of an extreme heat wave or hurricane making conditions unsafe. I plan on writing a weekly recap to maintain accountability for my training, as well as my writing! Let the mileage begin!
This is the Hansons First Marathon “Advanced First Timer” training plan transcribed into my 2019 planner. Writing with a pen and paper helped me memorize exactly what I needed to train that day.
My goal finish time was 4 hours or below, so I transcribed the recommended training paces so that I knew how fast I was supposed to run on a particular day. For example, on a “6 Mile Easy” day, I was supposed to be as slow as 11 minutes per mile. I can walk faster than that, but I had to trust the process.