The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 3 Update

September 2, 2024

The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 3 Update

The 2:49 Project Week 3 was another good week in the books. There are still things that need improvement, but on the whole, everything is going in the right direction. With few exceptions, everything is trending better than the training block I had earlier this year. Garmin might not agree, but that's a subject I'll tackle in a separate post. So, generally, I'm pleased with the week and look forward to week 4, rounding off the first month of marathon training.

By the way, if you are following along with the training, I'd love to hear how your training went last week. Even if you are following your own plan, I'd appreciate seeing your progress. Please comment at the bottom of this page or on any of the social media accounts. Let's do this together.

The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 3 Update: The Daily Updates

From a weekly running perspective The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 3 was a success. I hit most of my goals, got a few extra km's and I'm starting to feel the benefit of the discipline and focussed training. I'm still finding it hard to be 100% on point every day in all aspects of the program, but it is becoming easier as the weeks go on. That's the trick though, isn't it? Micro-improvements each week. Each day building on the day before. With momentum building, I take great satisfaction in seeing the improvements add up. With three weeks in the books, I'm excited for week four that's just starting. Have a quick read of the daily breakdown on how week 3 looked.

Monday:

Monday was a rest day. As I've been mentioning in the training videos, I consider my bodyweight exercise routine to be low enough impact that I do it every weekday, even if it is a rest day. Also, I went for a walk with Roisin and doggo in order to get the steps in. I said in the week 2 update, that I am spending a lot of time at my desk doing video editing on a Monday. This was the case in week 3 as well, which is why the walk was important. I needed to move at least a little bit. It was a good day and targets met.

Nutrition 1916 kcals:

122g of Protein
206g of Carbohydrates
73g of Fat
3500ml of Water

Strength & Conditioning:

Although it was a rest day, I did my 20 minute bodyweight strength routine. As it is short and low impact, I don't believe it inhibits the adaptation process that a rest day is meant to promote. I increased my repetitions up to 40 for each exercise from Monday going forward.

Sleep:

On Sunday evening I was in bed at 22:33 and up Monday morning at 04:35. The sleep breakdown looked like this:
0:28 Deep Sleep
3:50 Light Sleep
1:44 REM Sleep

Total Sleep: 6:02

Tuesday:

The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 3 Tuesday was a hill repeat session. Valencia is not a hilly marathon and this was not a race specific session. Hills are an excellent method of building strength, speed and aerobic capacity and I will always include hill repeats in almost every training block. I like to get these non-race specific sessions early in the training block, especially the base phase. If the race is undulating, there will usually be more than one hill session and will often include a downhill session as well. For Valencia, this will probably be the only hill repeat session in the 16 week block. That said, there aren't many flat roads where I train so hills are a big part of my daily running routine.

The hill repeats were followed with 8k (5 miles) easy effort. After the hills my legs were jelly for a good while. There wouldn't have been a lot of enthusiasm for the remaining 8k, but I got them done and was pleased when I was back home. In total, I covered 15k (9 miles). I wore Saucony Endorphin Shift 2 trainers and it was 27 C (80 F) at 9:37am when I got out.

Nutrition 1885 kcals:

180g of Protein
180g of Carbohydrates
49g of Fat
3500ml of Water

Strength & Conditioning:

20 minute bodyweight routine done.

Sleep:

On Monday evening I was in bed at 22:56 and up Tuesday morning at 05:11. The sleep breakdown looked like this:
0:09 Deep Sleep
4:27 Light Sleep
1:30 REM Sleep

Total Sleep: 6:06

Wednesday:

Wednesday had me doing a 10k (6 miles) easy effort run. I actually felt really good on this run, especially considering the harder session from the day before. It likely felt that much better because I had the old pair of Alphafly 1's on, which is not normally a shoe for an easy effort run. This particular pair are well past their sell-by date, however, and don't have the pop a fresher pair would have. The temperature when I began at 8:14am was 23 C (73 F). In addition to the 10k, I also got out for a walk.

Nutrition 1945 kcals:

This was another good day of eating.

175g of Protein
171g of Carbohydrates
58g of Fat
3250ml of Water

Strength & Conditioning:

20 minute bodyweight routine done as well as Yoga for runners.

Sleep:

On Tuesday evening I was in bed at 21:41 and up Wednesday morning at 05:09. The sleep breakdown looked like this:
0:41 Deep Sleep
4:31 Light Sleep
2:16 REM Sleep

Total Sleep: 7:28

Thursday:

The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 3 Thursday session was a 15k (9 mile) run at easy effort once again but with the last 4k (2 miles) at a steady effort. The overall easy pace was 4:50/km (7:47/mile). This run felt excellent. On these sessions where I'm aiming to finish strong with a steady effort, I have been trying to push a little harder in the last k or two. For this run I wore Nike Zoom Tempo Next % trainers and the temperature was 24 C (75 F).

Nutrition 1988 kcals:
On those nights when we have a big meal planned for the evening I do my best to watch my consumption throughout the day. Thursday we had a homemade paella with chicken and chorizo, so for the rest of the day I was well behaved.

199g of Protein
165g of Carbohydrates
62g of Fat
4000ml of Water

Strength & Conditioning:

20 minute bodyweight routine done.

Sleep:

On Wednesday evening I was in bed at 21:47 and up Thursday morning at 05:14. The sleep breakdown looked like this:
0:40 Deep Sleep
3:58 Light Sleep
2:49 REM Sleep

Total Sleep: 7:27

Friday:

Friday's will, more often than not, include an easy effort 5k social run in the morning. This is a run with friends where we have a good catch up and a few laughs. As it should, it finishes up with a sociable coffee For this run I wore Nike Revolution 6 trainers. The temperature at the start of the morning run was 23 C (73 F) at 8:30am.

This week was a double session and the second run was a 5k steady effort. This was a good run with a strong wind blowing at 17:00 when I got out. The temperature was 29 C (84 F).

Nutrition 2812 kcals:
This was not one of my better days. I was doing quite well, but after dinner I lost a bit of will power. That said, it could have been worse, and at the very least, it was the evening after my weigh-in this week, so mentally, I have 7 days to make it right. Way too many carbs and too much fat saw the calories climb.

141g of Protein
365g of Carbohydrates
91g of Fat
3500ml of Water

Strength & Conditioning:

20 minute bodyweight routine done.

Sleep:

On Thursday evening I was in bed at 22:38 and up Friday morning at 04:54. The sleep breakdown looked like this:
0:45 Deep Sleep
3:37 Light Sleep
1:53 REM Sleep

Total Sleep: 6:15

Saturday:

Saturday had me running a 5k steady effort in between 1.5k easy warm up and 1.5k cool down (1 mile each). I felt strong on this run and held the steady pace for the last 6.5k because it felt good. I wore the old pair of Alphafly 1's once again and overall the pace was 4:31/k (7:16/mile). The temperature was a very comfortable 22 degrees C (72 F).

Nutrition 1990 kcals:

162g of Protein
152g of Carbohydrates
76g of Fat
4000ml of Water

Strength & Conditioning:

I did 20 minutes of yoga for runners. In addition, I got a sports massage on Saturday. I don't have anything bothering me at the minute, so this is routine maintenance more than anything.

Sleep:

On Friday evening I was in bed at 23:51 and up Saturday morning at 04:33. The sleep breakdown looked like this:
0:20 Deep Sleep
2:30 Light Sleep
1:49 REM Sleep

Total Sleep: 4:39

Sunday:

For the 2:49 Marathon Project Week 2 Sunday LSDR, I had 27k (17 miles) on the plan. I got out at 9:09am while it was 24 C (75 F) outside. I wore the Hoka Rocket x2 which, once again, isn't a shoe for slow running. They were just the next one up in the rotation and in addition, my feet feel great in them for longer distances. The run went very well and for the last 5k or so I picked up the pace slightly but the vast majority was the LSDR that I was looking for. Overall, I ended up with just over 29k (18 miles) in the bag which will set me up for the week 4 LSDR of 32k (20 miles).

Nutrition 1809 kcals:

142g of Protein
177g of Carbohydrates
52g of Fat
3750ml of Water

Strength & Conditioning:

None - only running

Sleep:

On Saturday evening I was in bed at 22:35 and up Sunday morning at 06:39. The sleep breakdown looked like this:
0:25 Deep Sleep
4:26 Light Sleep
3:11 REM Sleep

Total Sleep: 8:02

Body Weight

The 2:49 Marathon Week 3 Update had a relatively positive weigh-in on Friday morning at 160.4. I was showing down 1 pound from the previous week. We all know that a once a week weigh-in isn't the best method for determining one's true weight, however, it is a method that I've used for years and it gives me a good guide. This is the case particularly over a 16 week block. I suspect I am actually slightly lower than this and I'll see what this Friday brings. If I was down to 158 or even lower, I won't be surprised. I feel good and I feel leaner.

Strength & Conditioning

I did my 20 minute routine every weekday this week. If you would like to see my current morning Strength and Conditioning routine in a somewhat comical 1-minute video short, click here. In week 4 I increased the reps to 40 per exercise.

I managed to get 2 x 20 minute yoga sessions done this week and supplemented this with a sports massage as well.

The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 3 Update Lessons Learned

I don't do hill repeats often, but I do run hilly routes on almost a daily basis. So this isn't really a lesson learned, but a reminder of how hard hill repeats can be. As I mentioned above, my legs felt like jelly after my third set. This wasn't even what I would consider a hard hill session. I'm glad Valencia Marathon is a flat course.

The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 4 Running Sessions

This week's sessions are described in this post and on YouTube. The Week 4 Training Sessions in brief look like this:
Monday: No running day
Tuesday: 13k (8 mile) Tempo Run - 3k easy - 7k hard - 3k easy (2-4-2 in miles)
Wednesday: 10k easy AM run + 7k easy PM run (6 miles and 4 miles)
Thursday: 13k (8 mile) run with last 4k (2 miles) at steady effort
Friday: 5k (3 miles) easy effort AM + 7k (4 miles) steady effort PM
Saturday: 11k (7 miles) Tempo run (3k easy - 5k hard - 3k easy) (2-3-2 in miles)
Sunday: 32k (20 miles) LSDR

The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 3 Update Summary

The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 3 Update describes another positive week. Although I once again missed my target one day on nutrition and only got 2 yoga sessions in, things are going in the right direction. I am looking forward to the tempo sessions this week to see how my pace is adapting to the first 3 full weeks of training.

I need a new pair of trainers for my rotation as I feel I need a good cushioned, non-plated trainer to fill a gap. Most of my trainers at the minute have seen better days.

Where Can You Follow the 2:49 Marathon Project?

I accidentally pushed out the week 1 video on the wrong YouTube channel. The correct channel is this one here: JMRunCoach

Daily updates will be shared on my Instagram account and Tiktok account. Weekly updates will be in longer form on YouTube , my Facebook page, and here on the A Heart for Running blog.

If you are on any of these platforms, I would very much appreciate a follow. It would be a huge boost to my chances of reaching my goal.

Also, for anyone who wishes to get email updates, please subscribe to the mailing list at the bottom of this page and the weekly updates will be delivered directly to your inbox. Ensure to check your junk box and allow the emails from here through.

#MarathonTraining #RunningTips #EnduranceTraining #RunningCommunity #FitnessJourney #249MarathonProject

Weekly Metrics:

This is the Week 3 Updates

Friday Weigh-in Pounds: 160.4 lbs (-1)
Friday Weigh-in Kg: 72.8 kg (-.4)
Average Resting HR: 40 bpm (-)
Average Nightly Sleep: 6:34 hours (-3 minutes)
Average Daily Protein: 160g/day (+4g)
Average Daily Water: 3.750 ml/day (-36ml)
Total Weekly KM's: 87.6 km (+3.4 km)
Total Weekly Miles: 54.4 miles (+2.6 miles)

Click here to see last week's metrics