Swashbuckler's Marathon Debut?

Crappy title I know........................

Past

For those that don't know me this will be my latest attempt at getting and keeping a log going. Feels like I've been running forever. In truth I have been running since 2010 but spent roughly 7 years running like most of the "unconverted" and trying to run as hard as I can every day that I went out, without any meaningful structure.

In 2017 I started getting coached (by ecoli/Myles Splitz/Testosterscone) from these parts. That was when my running really took off. In that same year my first daughter joined the world. 2018 saw me hit some PB's at various distances that still stand today. 36.05 for 10k, 1.19.52 for HM being the two that stand out.

Some injuries & interruptions to training hit me a bit towards the end of 2018 and into 2019 but I got back on track. 2019 saw my second child arrive to the world. No major PB's achieved in 2019 and another injury break. Most of my focus that year was around 10k training - I struggled a bit that year.

2020 was the pandemic year and I spent a lot of time building strength, staying away from race specific stuff. Very enjoyable year of running to be honest. Ran a 17.02 5k TT although I'm skeptical as I haven't got near that since. I came into 2021 in good shape without the distraction of races.

Present

2021 saw my third child arrive to the world. I have spent a good chunk of this year being coached by a friend in Kerry. Racing was limited again in 2021 but the one race I did run was Banna 10k in August where I ran 36.22 on a course that had a very tough windy last 3km. Was feeling decent after 7k and was on track for sub 36 but the last 3k caught me.

Since the birth of my third I have really had to manage the running carefully. I have made the mistake in the past of trying to balance everything ramping at the same time (work, life, family, running). That kind of stress is probably one of the main reasons for injuries in the past. I am no longer coached. I feel I need the flexibility to pick and chose what I do rather than sticking to a rigid plan. This will be completely contradicted later when I explain my next plan! You could argue that a coach would be flexible and that has certainly been my experience. I just don't feel like I want to be last minute texting all the time to suss out what can change because I had a sh*te night sleep, or unplanned meetings at work. As it stands I have moved to a new role at work, new baby is here and we're in the middle of a neverending pandemic.......Seems like a bad time to set a big goal right?

Future

It's been a running (literally) joke for a few years on here the fact I've stuck with the shorter distances and refused to go near the marathon.....Well rightly or wrongly it feels like its time. At this stage it feels like there's always a reason or an excuse not to take the plunge. Realistically travelling abroad is off the cards for me for a while. Similarly, getting into Dublin is unlikely in the next couple of years. With that, it seems like Limerick Marathon is ideal - I live here so I dont have to worry about any of the travel logistics. Do I want to wait til 2023 - No........Do I want to spend another year just training away - No...So my plan is to start training for Great Limerick Marathon which will be run on the May bank holiday 2022. Whether I make it to the start line I'm not sure. Whether it all becomes too much with everything else going on, we'll see. I'm more than happy to try - and if it doesnt work out then so be it. Nothing ventured nothing gained.

The Plan

As I said above , right now I'm not coached and I feel like this needs to be the way for a while for this to work. Maybe I won't have the most optimal training programme but I need flexibility right now. I've sussed out several different plans. To me the one that seems to fit me the best is a Jack Daniels plan for a few reasons - 1. Two big sessions and the rest of the weeks running is flexible as long as you hit weekly mileage target. 2. Not ideal but there is flexibility for sessions to move around if necessary. 3. I like the look of the sessions - lots of mixed tempo, threshold sessions. However, I will adjust if/when necessary.

In terms of the plan itself its the 2Q 56-70 miles/week plan although i wont be going near 70 miles peak. I plan on training ultra conservative over the initial 6 weeks and seeing how I'm adapting.

I will need to improve diet/nutrition. That's a work in progress and has always been an issue for me.

My intention is to start the plan on Dec 30th which allows me roughly 17.5 weeks of training. I will be initially targeting running my big sessions on weird days. Not what people will be used to seeing - Thursdays and Mondays. We'll see how it goes.

Until then my intention is to keep things ticking over as I have been doing since Baby No.3 arrived in September. I'm in decent enough shape right now - possibly not peak shape but not far off. Training has gone pretty well since the 36.22 in Banna apart from sleep dis-improving with the new arrival.

Let's hope I can keep the log going - at least up to May 1st! Part of my motivation for logging again is down to the endless amounts of experience on this forum that I hope to leverage. Also so I can stop asking AMK endless questions on his log................