TacticalBarbell.com

Marathon Training
Week 1
Age: Very late 40s
Body weight: 163 lbs
TM = treadmill, TRK = track workout, TE = total elevation

xx:xx format is minutes:seconds / x:xx format is hours:minutes

Day 1 am: Recovery, 6.1 mil 49:00
Day 1 pm: Recovery TM 5.0 mil 43:00
Day 2: Med-Long, 12.5 mil 1:36
Day 3 am: Marathon Pace, 8 miles @ 6:52 pace; 10.0 mil total
Day 3 pm: Recovery TM 4.0 mil 34:30
Day 4 am: Easy 6.1 mil 48:15
Day 4 pm: Recovery TM 5.0 mil 43:00
Day 5: Med-Long TM 14.1 mil 1:48
Day 6: Easy TM 9.1 mil 1:12
Day 7: Long 18.1 mil 2:15

Some pullups and pushups thrown in here and there, plus 1x5x240 on a Horizontal Leg Press Machine (after day 1 pm)

Mileage for the week: 90

--> Anyone new to this log might want to see the last two entries of my other log, "FortyP's 9 sets of Deadlift per week log," as it contains two weeks of pre-marathon training. <--

Did you practice hydrating / eating / drinking during your marathon pace run (day 3 am)? I did. I drove out to a quiet area of road where I knew I could run a 2-mile loop, and which also contains a hill. I brought a hydration drink and some cups with me, set them up, and as I passed my car each 2 miles I just grabbed a cup and practiced drinking. I haven't done this kind of thing in 25 years, and I only did it once before, so it was a bit of a learning curve. I'll be practicing a lot more in the next three months.

Did you do the same thing for your long run (day 7)? I tried "the other" technique: put a couple of 16-oz bottles on your car, and every two miles actually stop for a few seconds, drink, and then start running again. My stopping time was consistently 5 or 6 seconds, which during a long run is not a big deal.

You spent nearly two hours on a treadmill (day 5)? It's not as bad as you think. Daniels gives many examples in his book of far worse ways to do a workout, and the weather that day was totally uncooperative, so I had little choice.

When's the last time you accumulated 90 miles in a week? Never. This week is a PR.

You're peaking at 90 mpw, I'm assuming? That's the plan. I'll do either 72 (80%) or 81 (90%) this coming week. I'm sensing fatigue. You'll never know it's coming / the numbing. (Great song, that one.)

What's with the single set of 5 reps on the leg machine? Many years ago I found that doing a single, heavier set of 5 reps or fewer on a leg machine once a week or so seemed to "reset" my legs for a while: small pains and soreness would resolve, and I'd feel stronger. One of these days I'll try to transition it to a barbell squat. But that's not the kind of experiment I plan on doing while working on a high mileage marathon buildup.

So...marathon goals? Four.
First, to qualify for Boston. I'll be in my very early 50s for the next race, so MG1 is 3:25 (7:49 pace).
Second, to qualify for Boston and be accepted. To be on the absolute safest side, you need a cushion of 10 minutes. MG2 is 3:15 (7:26 pace).
Third, to run an equivalent marathon time based on my recent races. MG3 is 3:05 (7:04 pace).
Fourth, to run a sub-3 marathon. MG4 is 2:59 (6:50 pace).

Marathon Training
Week 2
Body weight: 163 lbs
TM = treadmill, TRK = track workout, TE = total elevation

Day 1 am: Easy, 6.2 mil 49:30
Day 1 pm: Easy, 6.2 mil 49:00
Day 2 am: Hilly w/ 10 x 12-sec pickups, 1200 ft. TE, 10.1 mil 1:21:30
Day 2 pm: Recovery TM 4.0 mil 34:30
Day 3: Med-Long, 15.1 mil 1:56:45
Day 4 am: Easy, 6.2 mil 50:00
Day 4 pm: Recovery TM 5.0 mil 43:00
Day 5: Med-Long, 630 ft. TE, 13.0 mil 1:39
Day 6: Recovery TM 7.1 mil 1:01
Day 7: Long, 400 ft. TE, 20.0 mil 2:27, final mile in 6:55

Some pullups, pushups, and squats here and there, plus 1x5x280 on a Horizontal Leg Press Machine (after day 4 pm)

Mileage for the week: ~93

Why didn't you drop your mileage a bit this week? My schedule changed: I'm planning on doing one of these "Four on the Fourth" or "Firecracker 10K" races this coming weekend, so I opted to get in another week at peak mileage. I'll do a mini-taper before the race next weekend (mini-taper = three days of very easy running, with maybe a few strides two days before the race).

A lot of hills this week. Yes, that was the focus. The day 2 am workout was particularly fun because it was like a long fartlek: I decided, whenever I felt like it, to thrown in those pickups, and sometimes it was uphill, sometimes downhill, etc. I did keep to one pickup per mile to space them out.

Where are the heart rate numbers like you used to post on your other log? I'm still using a heart rate monitor, and it's a huge help for monitoring against overtraining / under-resting. I may post some of the more significant heart rate stats if they help explain my training.

Otherwise, how's the training going? Well, I think. A couple times this week I sat down to do something, closed my eyes for a second, and the next thing you know it's 45 minutes later; my body hit the "instant power nap" button. But my resting heart rate and other indicators are all right. We'll see how the race goes and adjust as necessary from there.

Marathon Training
Week 3 (Recovery Week)
Body weight: 163 lbs
TM = treadmill, TRK = track workout, TE = total elevation

Day 1 am: Easy 6.2 mil 48:45
Day 1 pm: Recovery TM 6.2 mil 53:30
Day 2 am: TRK 3 x 1-mile w/ 2-min rests (6:16, 6:10, 6:19); 8.2 mil total
Day 3: Easy 6.1 mil 49:30
Day 4: Easy 6.2 mil 51:00 + 5 strides
Day 5: Recovery TM 4.0 mil 34:30
Day 6: 10K race, warm, very humid, 300 ft. TE, 38:39 (**Masters PR**); 9.3 mil total
Day 7: Long 16.1 mil 2:01

Some pullups, pushups, and squats here and there

Mileage for the week: ~62

What's a "Masters PR"? A personal record or personal best set after the age of 40. Some races have separate overall awards for Masters runners (i.e., in addition to age group awards), so keeping track of Masters PRs can help you see where you stand as you age--and keep you motivated, too, especially if you were particularly fast when you were younger (which is not really my case).

Back to higher mileage next week? Definitely. This program is working for me, so I'll keep hammering away at it.

Marathon Training
Week 4
Body weight: 162 lbs
TM = treadmill, TRK = track workout, TE = total elevation

Day 1 am: Easy 6.1 mil 48:30
Day 1 pm: Recovery TM 6.0 mil 51:00
Day 2: Medium-Long, 370 ft. TE, 15.1 mil 1:55
Day 3 am: Easy, 420 ft. TE, 6.1 mil 49:30
Day 3 pm: Recovery TM 6.0 mil 51:00
Day 4: Medium-Long / Marathon Pace, 15.1 mil in 1:48, final 10 miles averaging 6:58 pace
Day 5 am: Easy 6.2 mil 51:00
Day 5 pm: Recovery TM 6.0 mil 51:00
Day 6: Easy, 470 ft. TE, 8.1 mil 1:04
Day 7: Long / Marathon Pace, 16.2 mil in 1:52; final 14 miles averaging 6:48 pace

Some push-ups, DB rows, and squats thrown in here and there

Mileage for the week: ~91

Looks like you got some hills in this week. Some easy hills, yes--nothing crazy, as I was still recovering from last week's 10K race (which is also why I didn't do my usual low-volume leg press).

Two marathon pace workouts in one week? Daniels includes such weeks regularly in many, if not most, of his marathon plans. In Pfitzinger / Douglas you're not doing marathon pace runs nearly as often, but you're doing a lot more "medium long" runs (12-15 miles). And in the Hansons plans you're doing marathon pace work or what they call "strength" runs (which is marathon pace minus 10 seconds) just about every week.
As all of these coaches do acknowledge in one way or another, I think you just have to experiment with these plans and see how your body responds. I'm following Pfitzinger / Douglas for the most part but am modifying a few things here and there according to Daniels.

Last year, and even the years before that, you were running 40 - 50 miles per week max. Now you're doing 90. How does that happen, especially--and no offense--at your age? It's a fair question, and the answer is pretty predictable.
As followers of my other log recall, I had sinus surgery last summer. That procedure has effectively eliminated the chronic sinus infections I used to get every year. What I've been able to do since the surgery, in other words, is train consistently, something I've never really been able to do otherwise. And when you're able to train consistently--as KB mentions so often and so forcefully in the TB books--you will see results.
Of course, you have to make sure not to overtrain / under-rest, but that's a different topic.