The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 11 Update

October 28, 2024

The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 11 Update

For the 2:49 Marathon Project Week 11 Update I have nothing but positive emotions. My body finally feels better than it has for the better part of 5 or 6 weeks. I was able to put in a couple of good sessions and a good long run. It's funny how only a short break can reignite the desire to put in the work. I missed a total of 8 days, but that time was filled with a sense of disappointment and a feeling that putting this all out there was a mistake. But after a few good sessions, it reminded me that this is the reason why I'm sharing the experience. We can all do hard things. Sometimes things go well. Other times will feel like a struggle. But in the end, it's all about the challenge and becoming better and stronger than we were.

The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 11 Update: The Daily Updates

Week 11 couldn't have come at a better time. Isn't it funny how things align themselves. When things are going well, everything seems to fall into place. When they aren't going well, it's the complete opposite. One negative seems to feed the next negative. So struggling with energy and motivation then led into the adductor strain. Getting to and addressing my iron deficiency got me feeling back to myself and 8 days off running with the injury and boom! I'm ready to go again. I'm feeling every bit as positive as I did in week 1. To top it off, the short break has allowed my entire body to soak up all the hard work that had been put in in the early training.

I need to admit something here. I toyed with the idea of not being fully transparent this week. However, my conscience got the better of me. l struggled to eat in the early part of the week. I haven't been happy with my weight during this block at all. I haven't eaten particularly disciplined. So you will probably notice my effort to get my weight back in-line to somewhere I can accept. I'm a little more satisfied with where I am.

You should also notice that on the whole, my sleep was very much back to normal. Saturday included a late night trip to the airport and a lie in on Sunday as a result.

Monday:

Monday was a no running day. I am a runner and video content creator now.

Running Details:
HRV: 86.1

Nutrition Statistics:
Calories: 865
Protein: 51g
Carbohydrates: 144g
Fat: 18g
Water: 3 Litres

Strength & Conditioning: 20 minute bodyweight routine

Sleep: 6 hours 30 minutes

Tuesday:

The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 11 Tuesday session was supposed to be 11 miles (18 km) easy. I did not run, but I could definitely feel the pain in the adductor easing. This was obviously a positive sign.

Running Details:
HRV: 72.8

Nutrition Statistics:
Calories: 1000
Protein: 111g
Carbohydrates: 66g
Fat: 30g
Water: 3 Litres

Strength & Conditioning: 20 minute bodyweight routine

Sleep: 6 hours 35 minutes

Wednesday:

Wednesday of Week 11 was supposed to be a 10 mile (16 km) progression run. I went out for a test drive on the adductor instead. I was going to do an easy 5k but it felt really good, so pushed it out to a 4 miler (6k). This felt so good and filled me with hope that I was back on track.

Running Details:

Distance: 4 miles (6.5 km)
Avg Pace Overall: 8:17/mile (5:09/km)
Running Shoes: Nike Revolution 6
Time & Temperature: 11:55 - 21 C (70 F)
HRV: 69.7

Nutrition Statistics:

Calories: 1065
Protein: 108g
Carbohydrates: 111g
Fat: 21g
Water: 3.5 Litres

Strength & Conditioning: 20 minutes body weight routine & 20 minutes yoga

Sleep: 7 hours 08 minutes

Thursday:

This was supposed to be 13 miles (21k easy). Despite feeling good and rearing to go, I decided it was best to give my body a day between running sessions and I opted for a walk instead of a run.

Running Details:
HRV: 29.5

Nutrition Statistics:
Calories: 1405
Protein: 97g
Carbohydrates: 144g
Fat: 49g
Water: 3 Litres

Strength & Conditioning: 20 minute bodyweight routine

Sleep: 6 hours 37 minutes

Friday:

For the Friday session of the 2:49 Marathon Project I felt I was ready to pick up where I left off. Having only missed 8 days running, I decided not to adjust the sessions as they aligned quite well with what I wanted to do. This was a 7 miler (11km) tempo run. This was run as 2k easy, 7k sub 6:40/mile (4:15/km) pace., followed by 2k easy. These were my splits on the tempo portion:

4:02
4:11
4:17
4:08
3:59
4:02
4:02

I was greatly encouraged by this run. This was definitely the first run I've had in weeks where I felt like I was on track. Let's build on this one.

Running Details:
Distance: 6.8 miles (11 km)
Avg Pace Overall: 7:06/mile (4:25/km)
Running Shoes: Nike Revolution 6
Time & Temperature: 15:29 - 22 C (72 F)
HRV: 33.3

Nutrition Statistics:
Calories: 2190
Protein: 116g
Carbohydrates: 259g
Fat: 74g
Water: 3.75 Litres
Strength & Conditioning: 20 minute body weight routine

Sleep: 7 hours 51 minutes

Saturday:

Saturday was a scheduled day off and it felt right, so I kept it in order to be prepared for Sunday's tough session.

Running Details:
N/A
HRV: 55.4

Nutrition Statistics:
Calories: 2529
Protein: 100g
Carbohydrates: 326g
Fat: 88g
Water: 4.25 Litres

Strength & Conditioning: N/A

Sleep: 9 hours 40 minutes

Sunday:

The 2:49 Marathon Project week 11 Sunday run was a tough session with 10 miles (16 km) at an easy effort followed by 10 miles (16 km) at sub 7:00/mile pace (4:20/km). I honestly did not know how this would go. The weather was wet, cold and breezy and those are not my favourite conditions. I just went out and didn't think too much about it.

The pace for the harder efforts were as follows:

4:26/km - 7:26/mile
4:46 - 7:02
4:17 - 6:53
4:17 - 6:55
4:17 - 6:52
4:23 - 7:15
4:14 - 7:13
4:11 - 7:21
4:27 - 7:30
4:32 - 7:19
4:28
4:27
4:37
4:43
4:29
4:33

Running Details:
Distance: 19.9 miles (32 km)
Avg Pace Overall: 7:44/mile (4:48/km)
Running Shoes: Nike Revolution 6
Time & Temperature: 11:55 - 21 C (70 F)
HRV: 77.9

Nutrition Statistics:
Calories: 1660
Protein: 85g
Carbohydrates: 227g
Fat: g
Water: 2.75 Litres

Strength & Conditioning: N/A

Sleep: 5 hours 34 minutes

Body Weight

For the Friday weigh-in, I came in at 150.6 lbs, which is 68.3 kg. This may not look like a practical or a sustainable weight-loss week. However, I only have to be at my lightest for one day and that day is coming quickly. I am aware of that and I believe this is a key metric for me to run my best.

Strength & Conditioning

I did my 20 minute routine 5 out of 5 weekdays this week. I only managed to get 1 x 20 minute yoga sessions done.

The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 11 Update Lessons Learned

This week being such a low volume week but with so much positivity, I'm just grateful to be feeling as good as I do. A marathon training block is tough, on all fronts. when things start falling into place it is a beautiful feeling. It's an opportunity for me to be grateful to be feeling well and to be associated with so many positive people.

The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 12 Running Sessions

This week's sessions are described in this post and on YouTube. I am back to feeling much more like myself and I look forward to pushing myself in week 12. Here are the week 12 running sessions in brief:

Monday: No running
Tuesday: 6 miles (10k) easy
Wednesday: 13 miles (21k) CoP run with 11 miles steady pace under 7:00/mile
Thursday: 5 miles (8k) easy
Friday: Rest day
Saturday: 6 miles (10k) tempo run with an eye on 6:15/mile (3:53/km) effort in middle
Sunday: 10 mile (16 km) easy + 5 miles (8k) sub 6:50/mile (4:15/km)

The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 11 Update Summary

For the 2:49 Marathon Project Week 11 finished on a high. I'm feeling good both physically and mentally. Only a few more weeks of hard work to go and I'll need to make the most of them.

Where Can You Follow the 2:49 Marathon Project?

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 11 Updates

Friday Weigh-in Pounds: 150.6 lb (- 3 lb)
Friday Weigh-in Kg: 68.3 kg (- 1.4 kg)
Average Resting HR: 42 bpm (+1bpm)
Average 7-Day HRV: 60.67
Average Nightly Sleep: 7.13 hours ( +47 minutes)
Average Daily Protein: 95g/day (-35g)
Average Daily Water: 3250 ml/day (+ 250ml)
Total Weekly KM's: 49.5 (+2.4 km)
Total Weekly Miles: 30.7 miles (1.2 miles)

Click here to see last week's metrics