I registered for a handful of marathons and 50k ultras over the last few years.

I haven't finished any of them.

Though to be fair, I haven't actually started any of them, either.

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If you enjoy running and see knocking out at least one marathon distance race as a noteworthy lifetime achievement, then you're in good company.

After a handful of half-baked training plans and botched race attempts, I'm creating a 12-week marathon training blog project to share my experience training. This marks my third attempt to run this race, and I'm hopeful it will be the first marathon that I actually start. Ideally, I'd like to cross the finish line too.

I'm self-coaching through the training, and adapting the plan as I go. I'm using the marathon training blog as a tool to recount the experience and help keep me accountable as I go. Putting something in writing makes it real.

The Race

I'm targeting the Wildwood Trail Marathon, a course touting ~1,700 feet of elevation gain through some of Missouri's finest single-track trail running.

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Marathon Blog

I'll update the list in this marathon blog each week for anyone who digs up this internet artifact when the project wraps up.

Week 1

Post: 8 Years, 7 False Starts, & 1 Sprint Triathlon: How I Finally Finished a Race

The first post in the series (and the inspiration for Gatebreak!) introduces my motivations behind the "marathon blog" project. They're fueled by an embarrassing UltraSignup.com race history. I'm working to change that!

Training Grade: “A+”

The first few weeks of a training plan always feel like the easiest. You’re excited and eager. The ambitions palpable, it’s still possible to fuel a training session on motivation alone.

My training aligned perfectly with the intended loosely defined 12-week marathon training plan. At this point, I'm still understanding how my body will respond to the increase in running volume. I'm also focused on avoiding injury, so I don't want to ramp up my mileage too quickly.

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Week 2

Post: Ignore the Bro Psych - Proclaim Your Goals

This week's installment challenges the internet's Bro Psych wisdom that sharing your goals with other people makes you less likely to achieve them.

Personal anecdotal evidence: I fail to achieve my goals for far more complex reasons. I assure you that publicly sharing my ambitions on the internet is far from the top of my list.

Training Grade: “B”

Life tries creeping in at the seams. In my case, the lifestyle creep successfully seeped — my training for the second week fell 20% short.

I blame the training shortage primarily on a work trip and Hurricane Helene-induced travel delays. But I also know that had I woke up earlier on Monday morning, I could have squeezed another run in before heading to the airport.

On a positive note - I didn't catch a cold while traveling, and the tail-end of the week finished out strong. All things considered, the week turned out okay.

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Week 3

Post: Overthinking, under-doing: How Marathon Training Plans Fail

This week's post shares two simple steps for marathon training success. I also share where my past marathon training efforts fell short.

Training Grade: “A+”

This week's training was awesome.

I ran my plan and added a near-perfect week to the marathon blog's training logs. I started incorporating more targeted trail running into the plan. I felt my confidence building, and it seemed like I might actually be able to pull off the full training cycle. Spoiler: I was wrong.

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Week 4

Substack: Did The Pros Closet Lose My Bike?

This update revolves more around gatebreak.com/Substack/life-meta than providing an actual marathon training update. I'm still working out the update cadence. In the time since I've started expanding directly on my training in greater detail in this consolidated "Marathon Training Blog" post.

Training Grade: “D”

This is the week everything fell apart.

I pushed through a nagging Achilles during a midweek training run. It sidelined my running for the rest of the week.

My original training plan called for 5 hours of running, and I only managed to hit half of that.

I chronicled the experience of running through a nagging Achilles in this article. The moral of the story: if it hurts, stop running. It's always better to take the day off than curtail your training for several.

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Week 5

Substack: - 12 Week Marathon Training Blog: Week 5

This week's Substack installment recaps the first four training weeks. I also took some time to log my return to running after my Achilles injury. You can check out how I eased back into running in the 1-Week Post-Injury Update.

Training Grade: “A”

I scaled up my total mileage this week, bouncing back after the Achilles injury.

Monday and Wednesday's trail runs accounted for nearly 18 miles logged over 3 hours. The miles were not fast, but still good for gradually building trail endurance. It can be tough to fit that much running into a post-work run. The feat grows more challenging as daylight dwindles.

I managed to hit two strength & mobility sessions during the week, which is one fewer session than I would prefer. During the sessions I am making sure to incorporate exercises to strengthen my calves to help prevent future Achilles soreness. So far so good.

Overall, I'm happy with how the week turned out. I managed the delicate balance of continuing to build volume while returning to running post-injury. I'm a bit nervous to continue adding too much volume. Maintaining a few weeks within the 35-45 miles per week range seems like a good one to build running endurance without significantly increasing the risk of injury.

The focus for the coming week:

• Include a successful hill repeat training session
• Log 1-2 hours running on trails
• Knock out another weekend long-run

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Week 6 - Half Way!

Substack: - Does someone have to die for us to get a bench around here?

It sounds a lot more dire than it is. This week discusses the depressing dearth of "destination benches." It also celebrates a new one in my hometown.

It's dedicated to a cat (or trail kitty, if you will).

Training Grade: “A”

Another consistent week on the books!

A lot is going well.

Designing each week's training using the results of the previous week is the way to go. Training isn't a cut-and-dry process - our bodies are not machines.

I'm tailoring each week's stimulus based on how my body responds to the prior sessions, and the results are paying off. The approach makes adherence easier, and consistency is key! The high volume of low-intensity Z2 running is improving my pace, and it feels great to be running faster and longer after only 6 weeks of dedicated training.

I'm giving this week a solid "A" grade. Not perfect, but pretty close! Here's a recap on past week's training goals -

Goal: Include a hill repeat session

Hot take: I love hill repeats. I looked forward to this training session for several days.

You may be a bit off if you get excited about running in circles for an hour straight.

Being normal is overrated anyway!

I managed to irk out 1,352 feet of elevation gain during the run.

Sure, I had to run up and down the same hill 17 times for an hour straight. But that kind of elevation is hard to come by in southern Illinois - not too shabby for a hill next to a cornfield.

Goal: Log 1-2 hours running on trails

I logged a single trail run this week, 7.5 miles in ~75 minutes.

They were far from my fastest miles, but they satisfied the original goal.

Goal: Knock out another weekend long-run

I picked up the New Balance 1080v13 specifically to provide extra cushion for my long-runs.

That didn't work out as intended.

My gait includes a medial heel whip, as evidenced by the dirt marks that often appear on the inner calves where. The shoe's mid-sole materials exacerbate the problem - the extra cushion makes the foot work harder to initiate the medial heel whip. This creates additional friction on the ball of the foot. 20,000 steps later, this leads to a painful hot spot, risking the formation of a friction blister.

Last week, this hot spot on the ball of my foot slowed my roll. I didn't want to go through it again this week.

I went to the local running store, and they recommended a shoe with moderate stability, the "Adidas Supernova Solution M."

Against my better judgement, I broke in the brand new pair of shoes on this week's long-run.

It went better than expected!

Next Week's Goals:

I have two main considerations going into week 7 -

• I officially registered for the Wildwood Trail Marathon (just in the time to beat the next registration price hike)
• This week's long run left me fatigued and sore on Monday morning

Avoiding injury and making it to the race's starting line is my number one priority!

I'm going to replace my recovery runs with indoor & outdoor bike rides to reduce some load, stimulate blood flow to the legs, and fit in some light conditioning.

I feel like I'm getting a ton of value out of my dedicated trail, hill, and long-run sessions. I'll keep these on the calendar and sprinkle in some strength sessions to help keep the tendons happy.

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Week 7

Training Grade: “B-”

A "C" might be a more honest letter grade for the week.

But, these grades are assigned off the cuff. There isn't a rubric.

I review each week to assess what went well and what didn't. In this case, it feels like I "made" rather than "missed" the mark.

We'll call it a win!

What went well:

Week 7 is a "deload" week, so the goal is to scale back the running volume. This gives the body time to adapt to the previous weeks' training.

I'm following a "2 weeks on, 1 week off" approach for this marathon training project. So, after running 2 miles of higher volume, I scale back the volume with a deload week. This helps ensure I remain injury-free while still building my capacity for the upcoming trail marathon.

Highlights:

• ✅ mid-week hill work
• ✅ mid-week "long" run
• ✅ weekend long run

I try to incorporate at least one dedicated trail running session into each week, on a weekday when feasible.

This week my schedule got out of wack, and I didn't have time to fit the trail run in after work. Trail running in the dark terrifies me, so I avoid that when possible.

Instead of baking some trail time into my mid-week "long" run, I opted to log all of my weekend running on trails.

This turned out to be a good call. Running a self-supported half marathon on trails over the weekend allowed me to help dial in my race-day nutrition.

It also highlighted that my Hoka Speedgoats are going to inflict some pain as the miles build throughout the actual race. I think they're too small.

With only a few weeks out, I don't have extra time to experiment with a new pair of trail shoes. I may try another pair of trail shoes, to see if I can find something that fits better before the race. I might just tough it out. We'll see.

What could have gone better:

• 👎 Post "long-run" aches
  • Slight headache after the weekend's long run
  • Minor Achilles soreness after the weekend's long run
• 👎 Missed recovery cycling sessions
• 👎 Only included 1 strength training session
• 🧁 Was over-served birthday cake (IMO a pro or con depending on perspective)

I logged 13.2 miles on trails on Saturday. I felt like I could have easily ran another 7 miles right after finishing the run. I ended the run in a good spot, feeling strong and ready for more.

A few hours later? That was a different story.

By the late afternoon, my legs felt tired and I had an extremely mild headache. The headache indicates that I didn't hit the right electrolyte balance before/during/after the run.

The next day?

I woke up to some quiet Achilles nagging and general fatigue. It would have been nice to quickly shake off the half-marathon distance trail run. I want to wake up the next day ready for another session. I love to feel the progress.

Sometimes progress comes slower than we'd like, and sometimes we need more time to recover from hard training.

I listened to my body. I skipped a couple of the planned "recovery" cycling sessions to take dedicated rest days.

This deviates from the prescribed plan at the expense of being in better condition for the coming week of increasing volume. That's the week's training purpose - to take it easy. My sessions were all targeted, focused, and beneficial. I'm trusting that the extra recovery time will be, too.

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Week 8

Training Grade: “A-”

Distance: 45.8 miles

Running Time: 7 hours 06 minutes

Total Training Time: 8 hours 22 minutes

Departing from daylight savings time marks a challenging time of the year's running calendar. That's even more true if you're actively training for a end-of-the-year race.

Unless you're lucky enough to squeeze a solid run into your afternoon during daylight hours, setting the clock back brings cold mornings or post-work runs in the dark.

I didn't make it out of bed every morning last week, but I did hit manage one early morning run. I also managed to maintain my planned post-work runs, donning my rechargeable headlamp and heading out into the night.

I swapped my usual hill repeat route for one closer to other humans. Instead of running up and down a secluded gravel service road, I charged up and down the sidewalk alongside the steepest runnable portion of road that I could find in my town.

I prefer running on the secluded gravel road.

It's an offshoot of a lightly-trafficked highway. I don't think most people even know it exists. It's peaceful, and I've never seen another person - on foot, bike, or car - while chasing myself up the hill.

This week's hill repeat lacked the usual solitude. That's okay. I exchanged it for git, and that felt good.

Tuesday's hill repeats marked my first post-work run after setting the clock back to "standard time." It was cold and wet, drizzling while I ran. I still managed to log over 1,000 feet of elevation over 7.3 miles.

It's a bit less than I would have logged on my secret gravel road. But it was a good run, and 1k of elevation was the goal - so let's call it a win.

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Week 9

Training Grade: “C-”

Distance: 32.2 miles

Running Time: 5 hours 19 minutes

Total Training Time: 6 hours 39 minutes

This week didn't go as planned.

I pushed the pace on Tuesday's run, knocking out 9.5 miles at a pace that made me feel good. I enjoyed this particular run, after dark exploring trails and less-traveled streets by headlamp. I love when an after-work outing feels like an adventure.

I ended the run strong.. And then the week fell apart.

I woke up Wednesday morning feeling a bit run-down, not quite under-the-weather but also far off from feeling "good."

I swapped Wednesday's run for a Peloton ride, an easy 60-minute session followed by a quick strength routine.

I woke up the next day feeling fatigued, way more than usual. Maybe too much volume over the past week? Maybe a cold? I couldn't tell for sure. But, I decided to take an impromptu rest-day to recover. I shuffled around the planned workouts for the week to accommodate the change.

I cut Friday's hill repeats short after hitting my minimum goal of 1,000 feet of elevation. I didn't bounce back Saturday either, and had took another rest-day with hopes that my body would catch up in time for the week's long run.

I started feeling stronger Sunday, and I decided to head out for the long run.

November's time change has made it harder to fit trail-runs into my schedule, and with this week's long run being the longest in my training plan, it felt psychologically necessary to make this run happen.

The run started off on rocky footing. Quickly soaking my shirt in sweat, I couldn't pin the root cause on a physical sickness from the unseasonably high humidity. I continued, eventually started to feel better with a few miles behind me.

I mixed up my nutrition this week, and made it through the run without any GI issues. I'm planning to apply the same fueling strategy during the marathon - a package of Skratch Labs gummies + 2 servings of Tailwind per hour. It comes up to ~90g of carbs.

All-in-all, the run ended on a rough note. I finished sore, wondering how I would run another 9 miles to complete the actual race. But, I also wasn't feeling that hot, and the conditions weren't great.

I'm looking forward to next week's runs.

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Week 10 - Caught a Bug!

Training Grade: “F”

Distance: 5.53 miles

Running Time: 50 minutes

Total Training Time: 3 hours 26 minutes

Worst week of this training cycle to date.

I ended last week's long run with a nagging Achilles. By Thursday, I could feel a cold taking hold. I couldn't stave it off, and it took me down for a few days.

I didn't fight it. I gave my body plenty of time to rest and recovery. My recovery bled into the following week. It ended up with the longest break of this training cycle - 4 days.

The downtime, and the indoor cycling earlier in the week, helped give my Achilles time to heal. I'm feeling optimistic that this will pay off in the coming weeks.

While I wish I stayed healthy, I'm glad I listened to my body. I'm feeling better and ready to kick of my two-week taper with a focus on active recovery and plenty of sleep.

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Week 11 - Taper Week 1

Training Grade: “C+”

Distance: 21.2 miles

Running Time: 3 hours 17 minutes

Total Training Time: 5 hours 48 minutes

Last week's cold lingered, and the first two session of the week didn't feel great. Thursday's long run turned it all around - I logged 9 miles on trails. It felt great, and gave me confidence that I'll be ready for the marathon.

After Thursday (Thanksgiving), it got cold. And icy. And rainy. And then icy.

I took the weather, and my Achilles recovery, into account. I scaled back the running volume and swapped it out with strong efforts on the Peloton. 60 minute Power Zone classes are my jam.

I didn't hit all of the desired strength sessions, but I did get one. Skipping the second ended up being intentional - my main focus this week is to build in active recovery without pushing it too hard. Sometimes that calls for opting for a lighter day.

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Week 12 - Taper Week 2

Training Grade: “B+”

Distance: 5.55 miles

Running Time: 50 minutes

Total Training Time: 2 hours 40 minutes

It has been almost three weeks since my last long run.

Week 9 included the last long run of my training plan. With that run three weeks in the past, and my Achilles completely pain-free, I am feeling almost ready to race. I'd be 100% there if it weren't for some lingering cold symptoms.

The symptoms are mild, mainly some morning congestion. Given I've remained pretty active over the last couple of weeks, I feel like I'm in a good spot to go ahead with the race. My performances this week have been strong, which suggests last week's taper and recovery have been effective.

With only two days until the race, I'm focused on taking it easy. Today called for rest. Tomorrow, a short shakeout run, some time spinning out the legs, and then some light mobility work.

The race kicks off at 7:00 AM. I'll need to be up by 4:00 AM to get ready and make the drive over. I've been making sure to hit the sheets early each night this week to help prepare for Saturday's early start.

Stress levels are low. The work is done. All that is left is to show up and see how it goes!

See you at the finish line!