The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 7 Update

For the 2:49 Marathon Project Week 7 Update, everything is going pretty damn good so far. That's not to say all is perfect, but I really can't complain about anything. The metrics look good, I feel good, and my running is going in the right direction. Week 7 had some good solid miles and included the first marathon distance run of the block.

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 7 Update: The Daily Updates

The objective of this week was to increase both the intensity as well as the volume and both goals were met. The total weekly mileage reached just over 73, (nearly 118 km) and I had two sessions of tempo pace or better. So, although it was hard, it was an effective training week. Here is how the week played out day-by-day,

Monday:

Monday was a no running day. What I'm finding is that the entire process of documenting this project is a huge undertaking. It is taking up quite a bit of time on Monday's and Friday's. That was certainly the case on this particular Monday as I ended up at my desk and my computer for the vast majority of the day. Editing videos and writing the blog is more time consuming than I had envisaged. Good thing this was a non-running day then.

Running Details:
N/A

Nutrition Statistics:
Calories: 1350
Protein: 80g
Carbohydrates: 134g
Fat: 53g
Water: 2.25 Litres

Strength & Conditioning: 20 minute bodyweight routine done.

Sleep: 8 hours 23 minutes

Tuesday:

The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 7 Tuesday was a pretty brutal session and it certainly felt that way from start to finish. Sometimes, when I see a certain session on the plan it can be in my head for a week...just bouncing around as I fret over it. This is true, despite the fact that I write the plan! Still, seeing the session and working through it are two different things. The sessions are always manageable despite being hard, otherwise they wouldn't be on the plan. I executed this session in a less perfect manner, but the effort was certainly there.

One issue with living where I do is that I don't have access to a track. I do my intervals on the flattest road that I can find. That leaves me exposed to a strong wind on most occasions and this day was no different. That all said, I completed the 2 sets of 4 reps x 1 mile (8 x 1 mile repeats in total). The splits weren't particularly impressive:

mile 1: 5:58
mile 2: 6:06
mile 3: 6:27
mile 4: 6:04
mile 5: 6:06
mile 6: 6:31
mile 7: 6:20
mile 8: 6:33

Running Details:
Distance: 10.06 miles (16.28 km)
Avg Pace: 6:16/mile (3:53/km)
Running Shoes: Hoka Rocket x 2
Time & Temperature: 11:06 - 26 C (79 F)

Nutrition Statistics:
Calories: 1841
Protein: 130g
Carbohydrates: 221g
Fat: 48g
Water: 2.25 Litres

Strength & Conditioning: 20 minute bodyweight routine & 20 minutes Yoga

Sleep: 7 hours 43 minutes

Wednesday:

Wednesday of Week 7 was a mid-week medium/long run of 12 miles at an easy effort. Despite the fact that the effort was meant to be easy, it felt hard. This was always going to be the case and it was one of the objectives of the week. I wanted to build fatigue in my legs and Tuesday did that. This set me up for an uncomfortable easy run.

Running Details:
Distance: 12.66 miles (20.4 km)
Avg Pace: 8:32/mile (5:18/km)
Running Shoes: Asics Novablast 3
Time & Temperature: 09:19 - 22 C (72 F)

Nutrition Statistics:
Calories: 2002
Protein: 139g
Carbohydrates: 187g
Fat: 71g
Water: 3000 Litres

Strength & Conditioning: 20 minute bodyweight routine.

Sleep: 7 hours 31 minutes

Thursday:

Thursday was the second easy run back-to-back and much appreciated. This was a 7 miler and my legs were still feeling the mile reps from Tuesday. In addition, the temperatures decided to climb up to 29 (84 F) for me. As the distance added up my legs loosened and I felt better. I do love running in the sunshine and the warm temperatures, so even if they were slow, the miles felt great.

Running Details:
Distance: 7.58 miles (12.2 km)
Avg Pace: 8:46/mile (5:27/km)
Running Shoes: Saucony Endorphin Shift 2
Time & Temperature: 11:02 - 29 C (84 F)

Nutrition Statistics:
Calories: 2051
Protein: 158g
Carbohydrates: 203g
Fat: 62g
Water: 4 Litres

Strength & Conditioning: 20 minute bodyweight routine

Sleep: 7 hours 46 minutes

Friday:

For the 2:49 Marathon Project Week 7 Update, Friday was another 5k social run in the morning and a tough 6 mile tempo run in the afternoon. The tempo run was 3 miles at 5k pace or better in the middle, which I struggled with. However, once again, the effort was definitely there. I chose a downhill route to begin with and after which it flattened out and then a gradual incline. The struggle was getting the legs turning over on the flat. If I'm 100% honest, I was slightly disappointed with my pace, but it's like I tell the athletes I coach, if I had it on the day, I would have given it. We always give what we got. The overall pace on the tempo portion was 6:18/mile (3:55/km)

Running Details:
Distance: 9.22 miles (14.87 km)
Avg Pace: 6:18/mile (3:55/km) *tempo portion only
Running Shoes: Old Nike Alphafly 1's
Time & Temperature: 1st run: 08:43 - 23 C (73 F) - 2nd run: 18:35 - 27 C (81 F)

Nutrition Statistics:
Calories: 2441
Protein: 181g
Carbohydrates: 297g
Fat: 64g
Water: 4.5 Litres

Strength & Conditioning: 20 minute bodyweight routine

Sleep: 9 hours 4 minutes

Saturday:

On Saturday of Week 7 of the 2:49 Marathon Project I had a CoP run with 2 miles (3k) easy, 3 miles (5k) steady effort, and then 2 miles (3k) easy. I felt back to my normal self this fine morning and enjoyed every step of the run.

Running Details:
Distance: 7.2 miles (11.6 km)
Avg Pace: 7:43/mile (4:48/km)
Running Shoes: Nike Zoom Tempo Next%
Time & Temperature: 10:18 - 22 C (72 F)

Nutrition Statistics:
Calories: 1581
Protein: 134g
Carbohydrates: 187g
Fat: 33g
Water: 3 Litres

Strength & Conditioning: 20 minute bodyweight routine

Sleep: 6 hours 50 minutes

Sunday:

For the 2:49 Marathon Project Week 7 Sunday Runday I ran my first full marathon of the block. I love these long runs and look forward to the challenge they provide. I'm definitely a volume kind of guy as opposed to an intensity lover. That may sound crazy for someone who loves a 5k almost as much as a marathon, but it is true. On this long run, my wife accompanied me on her bike and brought along water as we explored new roads and different landscapes. This was a thoroughly enjoyable run.

Running Details:
Distance: 26.5 miles (42.66 km)
Avg Pace: 8:28/mile (5:16/km)
Running Shoes: Asics Novablast 3
Time & Temperature: 8:39 - 17 C (63 F)

Nutrition Statistics:
Calories: 2631
Protein: 194g
Carbohydrates: 259g
Fat: 89g
Water: 4 Litres

Strength & Conditioning: 20 minute bodyweight routine

Sleep: 7 hours 18 minutes

Body Weight

The 2:49 Marathon Week 7 Update showed a positive result on the scale this week. I am getting closer to my weekly goal weight and for week 7 I tipped the scale at 154.6, only .6 of a pound above my target for the plan. This is 4 pounds lighter than I was at this point in my Manchester training, so that is a positive.

Strength & Conditioning

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

The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 7 Update Lessons Learned

Week 7 went well. If I have anything to be concerned about it might be the time commitment that documenting this project is taking. I am considering moving my long run to Satruday because I am on coaching calls all day Sunday and then I have this update blog and vlog post to prepare on Monday. If I could get a head start on it during Sunday, after my last run of the week, that would be ideal. As it is now, when I finish a 3 to 4 hour long run, I simply don't have the energy to do much more on the computer. So moving this long run to Saturday may be a positive step and one I will be considering.

The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 8 Running Sessions

This week's sessions are described in this post and on YouTube. This is my first cutback week. I think it comes at an interesting time and may be a blessing or a curse. All I can do is find out. The Week 8 Training Sessions in brief look like this:
Monday: Rest day
Tuesday: 6 miles (10 k) easy + 4 (7k) miles tempo (6:30/mile 4:02/km or faster)
Wednesday: 14 miles (23k) easy
Thursday: 5 miles (8k) easy + 5 miles (8k) steady
Friday: 5k (3 miles) easy effort
Saturday: 5 mile (8k) trail run
Sunday: 12 mile (20 km) easy + 8 miles (13k) sub 7:00/mile (4:20/km) run

The 2:49 Marathon Project Week 7 Update Summary

For the 2:49 Marathon Project Week 7 leaves me in a good place for the upcoming weeks. I have slightly lower volume and less intensity for week 8. However, the focus on the Sunday run with longer sub 7:00/mile portion will be a great session to put in the bag and I'm looking forward to that. I will want to keep the momentum from week 7 as far as sleep and nutrition went. Sleep in particular was a problem area coming into this week and I think it is back to a good, consistent level.

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 6 Updates

Friday Weigh-in Pounds: 154.6 lbs (-.6)
Friday Weigh-in Kg: 70.1kg (-.3kg)
Average Resting HR: 41 bpm (--)
Average Nightly Sleep: 8:02 hours (+88 minutes)
Average Daily Protein: 145g/day (-3g)
Average Daily Water: 3286 ml/day (+107 ml)
Total Weekly KM's: 117.9km (+14.89 km)
Total Weekly Miles: 73.2 miles (+9.2 miles)

Click here to see last week's metrics

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