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Chicago Marathon Training Log - Week 1

Writer's picture: Dylan BellesDylan Belles

Updated: Mar 19, 2024



Week 1 - February 26th - March 3rd.

Chicago Marathon Build-up.

33 weeks to go. 


This October, I’m racing the Chicago Marathon.


I’ve run the Chicago Marathon, but I’ve never raced. In 2021 I helped pace the lead American Women through 24 miles. A strong effort, but a run that was in prep for the NYC marathon that November.


I loved the course and the ease of navigating Chicago. I’m all for low-stress racing, and while it’s hard to call a major marathon low-stress, getting to Chicago, having a place to stay, and getting to the start line wasn’t a heavy burden on the mind and body. 


I reached out to the organizers after the US Olympic Marathon Trials. I was given a spot in the American Development field, meaning I don’t get the perks of being in the elite field. Still, I get a great starting position and a few extra amenities before the race including a dedicated warm-up area (which includes bathrooms and some nutritional items) and an escort to the start line.


As of March 26th, I have 33 weeks to plan and prepare for what will hopefully be a record day.


I haven’t run a personal best since Frankfurt in 2019. I’ve come close and had a few great performances (better races, just not faster times) but that 2:16:59 still remains my PR. 


I’d like to bring that PR down, and with the time I have to prepare, I will make it happen on a good day. 


33 weeks is a good chunk of time to get my body ready. I’ve got the St. Louis summer to battle, but I’ve also got sea level on my side, for the first time in nearly a decade! Being away from altitude will allow me to be more pace-specific and not play the guessing/conversion game that comes with training at 7000 feet. By the time I left Arizona, I would go to guess that my conversion was only a couple of seconds if that. The longer you’re at altitude, the more the paces replicate what you can do at sea level. However, at sea level, recovery should be much quicker and I have access to easier places to run fast and flat - perfect for the Chicago course.


You may think 33 weeks sounds like a lot of time to train for a marathon, but I’d disagree. 


Here’s why.


I don’t like to see training in terms of 12-16-20 week cycles. In my mind, there is no “today I’m training for a 5k” or “tomorrow I’m training for a marathon.” As long as there’s no hard reset point (seasonal breaks etc), everything I do today is helping me be more prepared in October. As race day nears, my training will become more specific to the distance, but there will be no hard line. No “marathon block.” 


Everything I do is a slow build-up to the marathon. This is one reason I love having a marathon further out in the distance it doesn’t constrain me to a set number of weeks where I have to get my you-know-what together. I’d much rather take the longer approach and accumulate a greater mass of work versus cramming the training within a set period of time. 


As much as possible, I try to encourage others to do the same. While this approach is not always realistic for some, if you have the time, you’d be surprised what you can do when you’re not racing a marathon every 3 months!


Anywho, rambling aside, here’s what week one looked like -



Overview: 64 miles, 2 quality sessions, 1 day of hill sprints, and a "good" long run.


Given I'm starting from scratch, my mileage is on the lower end, at the moment, but appropriate for where I'm starting at. Later in this build, I'll see a number in the triple digits, but for now, it feels right!


Here's a more specific breakdown -


Monday

7 miles - General easy/recovery day with no pace in mind. Kept this one flat.


Tuesday

9 miles + Hill Sprints - Steadier 9 miles today (felt good) and worked in 6 x 10 seconds hill sprints after I completed my run with 1:50 walking/standing recovery.


Wednesday

12x 45 seconds at Threshold w/ 75 seconds recovery. Hit this one a little harder than asked, I'll need to keep myself more in control, but on average I was running between 4:55 -4:55 for the 45-seconds and 5:45-6:00 for the 75-second recovery. Logged a little over 4 miles of work at 5:30 pace average. For most of these sessions in threshold to marathon range I try to keep my recovery honest if the pace is coming easy to me upfront. The faster pace at which I can recover, the better that is for my aerobic/strength development.


Thursday

Easy 6 miles with the purpose of finding hills to include.

Friday

8 x 2 minutes at Marathon Pace w/1-minute recovery. Similar to Wednesday, I colored outside of the lines just a smidge by running closer to 5 min pace for the "on" part and 6 min pace for the off part. I'm not a 2:11 marathoner so I should relax a little. Naturally, as the workouts increase in volume, I'll be forced to chill out. I averaged 5:20-5:25 pace for the entire workout which was between 4 and 5 miles.


Saturday

8 easy - with the purpose of finding hills to include


Sunday

90 minutes on the Katy Trail - a flat, dirt path that runs across the entire state. One of my favorite places to churn out a good long run in the U.S. It Felt good throughout and found a steady rhythm in the 6-minute range - A "good" but not hard long run.


Overall, I'm happy with how the week unfolded. I love the early stages of training and building the way through training. Give me 2 good workouts and an honest every week and I'd be a happy man!

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