Thursday, April 25, 2013

Stupid Is As Stupid Does- 25 Miles Per Week Marathon Training

...if you think you know what I'm doing wrong, you're going to have to get in line.   Glass House ~ Ani Defranco 

Part of the beauty of life is we are allowed to be stupid, act stupid, and look stupid. We are free to be dumb and dumber.  I have finally found freedom, and you know what it is? It is going to the grocery store wearing plaid shorts and a pair of black, knee high socks, with sandals on, of course, and a pajama top.  The same thing I'd laugh at old men for doing when I was a youngster.



I'm 50 shades of stupid. Let me list the things I'm doing wrong:

I should stretch, I should floss more. I should eat more fruit and less chocolate.  I should write to an audience rather than criss-cross across genres. I should wag more and bark less.

And I certainly should run more than 25 miles per week if I'm training for a marathon.

The word 'should' can be a terrible word.  It's usually on the other end of something shaming, or some kind of I told you so.

I spilled the juice.  "Well, you should have put a cap on it!"
Okay genius

I bonked at the marathon
Well you should have ran more than 20 miles a week.

In fact, I should probably use the word should less.

But, here I am, right in the middle of 'stupid'. One month until the Bayshore Marathon and I'm averaging 25 miles per week. Then again, the crumbling chromosomes in my legs are to blame. I started the training off with a huge "ROOARRR!!" but training for 4 marathons in 2 years was biting off more than I can chew. Stupid.



But it's all good. I may be going to Hell in a bucket, but at least I'm enjoying the ride.

 The Bayshore Marathon is a month away, and if anybody else is running it and averaging less miles per week than me, I'd love to hear about it. Otherwise, I'm crowning myself 'King of Stupid'. 

Go ahead, knock me off my stupid mountain. I dare you. But first you better come at me with less than 25 miles per week.

Nope. You can't. I thought so.




9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mark,

I just completed the Lansing Marathon and that means I did complete more 25 miles in one week. ;o) However, the previous month before the race I dealt with numerous leg issues and my mileage ranged from 8 - 25 miles and I managed to finish with a nice 3:36. My legs sure did'nt care for the last two miles, but I am sure that your experience gleaned from your previous marathons will carry you through 26.2 at Bayshore. I will be running Bayshore and I am really going to try and increase my mileage over the next couple of weeks, but we shall see. I was talking to an ultra-marathoner last night and he believes that marathoners can reach a point where you can "finish" the marathon distance on any day of the week. Keep that thought in mind as you eat up the miles at Bayshore. Keep running and keep writing.
Rob

Mark Matthews said...

Thanks. Yes, I'm banking on the miles over the last 2 years, and a nice, restful taper to carry me. I may be burying something significant - I have run a couple of 14 milers, a 16, 17, and 18 miler, and will have three 20 milers done. Some weeks have had just 2 running days. Either way, I'll see you at the Bayshore Chute.

Anonymous said...

Mark - well, yes, and no. After doing Goofy's Challenge in January, the six weeks of mileage breaks down to:

33, 10, 10, 52, 30, then marathon week for an easy sub-4:00 marathon.

Technically, at a month out, I was on 10 miles a week. Insanely stupid. Even more impressive was the fact that my longest training run was 16 miles. That 16 miles was not straight, though. It was a series of 6 X 5K tempo intervals, at that. You can check it out on DM starting with week of 1/28-2/03. I *think* what is happening, is that with this old guy at least, the aerobic bank is full of deposits over the years. I just tweak some speed, and all is good to go. In fact, I'm in "sustainment" training, with no race on the near schedule, but with 25-30 miles a week I'd run a marathon without batting an eye.

Call yourself crazy, sure. I call you wise (well, ok, "old").

Christopher

Bari said...

I'm running the half at Bayshore and my miles for the past few weeks have been down, too. I think my highest was 20 and that was over a month ago. This week I haven't ran at all but I'm running a half (as a training run or I'm never going to make it to Bayshore) on Saturday. I think you can definitely say you have enough miles in the bank. Maybe you won't PR at Bayshore but I have no doubt you'll finish.

Kathee said...

Don't beat yourself up. You will suffer for it later ;).
That's the beauty of running!

Char said...

It's only stupid when it all falls apart. Up till that point it can be genius. Running less to avoid injury isn't a bad idea until mile 20 in a marathon. Running more to avoid bonking is great till you get a stress fracture. It can be a fine line between genius and stupidity.

Mark Matthews said...

Thanks.... I think I was fishing for some of these answers. It' all good in the end, because if it's not good, it's not the end.

Vaudiophile said...

I find your commitment to doing stupid things inspiring. You are a true testament to the bravery of the human spirit.

Here's some inspirational music to help you on your quest.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMhwddNQSWQ

Detroit Runner(Jeff) said...

I hear you. This is why I took this year off of marathons. One thing great about them? There's always another one coming soon.

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