The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 7 Training

For The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 7 Training I will be building on the momentum I've been gathering. In week 7 there are a few good challenging sessions and the weekly volume is building. The temperatures in this part of Southern Spain really cooled off in week 6, but the forecast is showing plenty of 30+ degree temps for week 7. That said, the mornings will most likely be cool. I've definitely noticed the difference in my performance in training during the cooler days and I hope this continues from here on out.

I have broken down my upcoming 2:49 Marathon Project Week 7 into the training sessions and what the goals are for the week. In addition, at the end of this post, I'll discuss the importance of good sleep for marathon performance. Additionally, I'll talk about the techniques I put in place to ensure I keep my body well rested.

The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 7 Running Sessions

The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 7 running sessions has 6 days of training. Starting the week with a rest day will be much appreciated after 11 days without a break. The total volume for this week is 70 miles (113 km). This week is once again focussed on speed endurance and weekly volume. There are two days with running at marathon target pace or faster.

Monday: No running day

This no running day, as I mentioned, is much needed after so many consecutive days of training. I will do my strength work, go for a walk, but very little else.

Tuesday: Mile Repeats

Tuesday's mile repeats session will be structured as follows:

2 sets x 4 reps x 1 mile
200m walk - into slow jog recovery between reps
3 minutes between the two sets

The goal for this session will be to run each rep between 6:00-6:05

Wednesday: 12 miles (19k) easy effort run

This mid-week 12 is a great way to build volume and the easy effort will be good recovery effort from the hard session on Tuesday. My gut tells me my legs will be heavy. This acts as both good physical training as well as a mental challenge, which is just as beneficial.

Thursday: 7 miles (11k) easy effort run
This 7 miler will be another chance to get some good volume in without sacrificing my harder effort on Friday afternoon. I'm taking into consideration the effort that will have gone into Tuesday and the fatigue my legs will be feeling. This is the reason that I'm not doing my second pacey session on Thursday, as I normally would.

Friday: Double Session - 5k Social Run + 6 miles (10k) with 3 miles (5k) at tempo pace
My typical Friday morning social run is on the plan once again. This is followed up with a 6 miler with half at sub 6:30 pace. These pacier runs are a good challenge and the bread and butter of a good marathon training block.

Saturday: 7 miles (11k) CoP run
I will execute this session as follows:
2 miles (3k) easy - 3 miles (5k) steady - 2 miles (3k) easy

Sunday: 26 miles (42k) LSDR

This one is going the full distance. I will be running this as a slow run, no added MP effort this week, but there won't be many more like this.

Strength & Conditioning

For the 2:49 Project Week 7 training strength and conditioning routine I am increasing my reps to 50 reps per exercise.

50 x push ups
50 x crunches
90 second plank
50 x squats
50 x dead bugs (each side)
50 x bicycle crunches (each side)
50 x lunges

I repeat these until I hit 20 minutes. This is almost always 2 sets of each exercise. I then finish the routine off with:

50 reps close hands push ups

Yoga

I perform a 20 minute yoga for runners routine from YouTube 3 days per week. This is a very welcome stretch after all the running during the week.

A Few Minutes With the Coach

Each week I will take the opportunity to discuss something that strikes me during the course of the training block. Hopefully, we can all take something away from this section based on my experience or from those I coach. This week it is about the importance of sleep for marathon training.

The Importance of Sleep

For the 2:49 Marathon Project I know I need better quality sleep than I would if I wasn't training for an event. Why? Well, the human body tackles some specific physiological functions during the hours that we sleep. Studies have shown that during sleep our body will release growth hormone to help repair the muscle tissue that we break down during our hard sessions. Our cortisol levels are reduced, decreasing our stress levels. Additionally, our immune system has an opportunity to revitalise and keep us healthy.

As a general rule, I believe we runners focus on our training, our nutrition, strength and conditioning, but sometimes neglect sleep. Speaking personally, when I addressed my sleep issues head on, and began getting to sleep quickly after getting into bed, so many things improved. The big bonus, as a runner, was that I began hitting some particularly significant marathon times.

What Do the Studies Say?

All the studies show exactly what I have experienced personally, sleep deprivation has a negative impact both physically and mentally. Better sleep quality is shown to benefit cognitive awareness. I suppose a good way to explain this is when I wasn't sleeping well, I found it harder to stay mentally focussed on anything, never mind a tough running session.

Sleep loss, without question, has a negative effect on athletic performance. For one thing, endurance sessions are negatively impacted. This is the case even with partial sleep loss. A runner's perceived level of effort is higher when they are tired. Imagine trying to hit race pace in training when even a steady run feels awful. One study actually showed that runners who ran slower than their predicted marathon pace had more disturbed or discontinuous sleep. Additionally, marathon runners with a slower completion time are associated with a longer time to fall asleep.

Logically then, better sleep and sleep habits, will help tremendously when training for a specific marathon time. It is not the only thing we need, however. We also need to feed our bodies good nutrition to give it the fuel to rebuild muscle, tendons and ligaments while we sleep. We need to put in the training and prioritise sleep, particularly when in the middle of a training block. For me, it has made a huge positive impact.

How Did I Tackle Sleep Problems?

Sleep was a big issue for me prior to 2021. It was then that I knew I had to face it and fix my lack of sleep. Getting to sleep and staying there was the real problem. I started by getting up an hour earlier. I got out of bed at 6am for a start. What I liked about that was that I now had an hour to myself in the morning. I had time to read and do some other daily tasks without feeling under pressure.

The second thing was I began exercising in the morning as soon as I got up. I used to lift weights in the gym, but I was constantly battling tendonitis in both of my biceps. So I started doing a bodyweight routine for 20 minutes each morning as soon as I got up.

I actually enjoyed this early morning with a quiet house. I thought if a little is good, more must be better, so I tried a 5am start and eventually landed at 4am. Now, I appreciate the absurdity of this that many people will see. This isn't necessary, or even practical, for most normal humans. However, for me it turned a very frustrating and disruptive sleep cycle into an amazingly beneficial one. By 9:30 or 10 pm I was getting to my bed and falling asleep within minutes and staying there. I now will normally wake early and full of energy.

The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 7 Training Summary

In summary, the 2:49 Marathon Project Week 7 Training Sessions are going to hit me with some good challenges. For the first time in a few weeks, I'm pleased with where I am physically and I'm ready to tackle Tuesday's mile repeats and Sunday's marathon long run.

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. 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.

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Weekly Metrics:

Weekly Metrics will be updated on Monday's Post.

Previous Weeks:

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Week 16