The Berlin Marathon Build Begins
The Berlin Marathon Build Begins
The 50th running of the Berlin Marathon is just 12 weeks away, and my official training block starts on Monday 8th July. Building up a steady training base since March, my weekly running volume has topped at around 90 kilometres. The last couple of weeks has been a reset as I gear up for the start of the build proper, with a 12km hit-out race scheduled on Sunday 7th July at Bibra Lake Runningworks Festival.
Training Approach and Commitment
I am disciplined and dedicated to my training schedule, very rarely skipping, adjusting, or moving workouts. However, I need to work on my strength and conditioning, which tends to be something I forego when fatigued or time-poor. I know strength work is not something I should compromise on. The improvements in stamina, strength, and endurance from strong muscles are critical to running a marathon well. I have committed to a minimum of two sessions a week, ideally three, and have these written up on my daily organiser board on my fridge. Locking in my training schedule, either on my calendar, fridge, or coaching app, means regardless of inclement weather, the work gets done.
How Others Help to Focus My Training
I cannot reiterate enough the positive influence of having training buddies on our enjoyment and commitment to workouts. I am also helping to coach a friend who will be running his second marathon at the upcoming Nike Melbourne Marathon in October. Chatting to him about his plan highlighted the need for me to practice what I preach. I can extol to others the virtues of running hills, adhering to an adequate nutrition plan, and prioritising sleep. I recognise that I don’t always follow my good advice and I know I should.
So I have increased my snacking frequency at the insistence of my sports dietitian and habitually drink a post-run protein shake after every workout. Eating more vegetables, protein, and quality carbohydrates will also ensure I get myself in the best physical shape I can heading to Berlin.
My coach Kat and her family are moving overseas for work for the next two years or so. This means coaching will be done remotely for a while. While our entire Runners Connected crew will miss her beaming smile on our social runs, training will otherwise be seamless. Kat supports her athletes in any way she can and technology allows real-time contact wherever time zones permit. Kat’s approach to coaching has made a wonderful, positive difference in how I think about my training and events. She also has helped reduce the psychological pressure I felt previously, with so much focus on times and pace zones. Â
Other Non-Marathon Events
Having a big A-race goal each year is an excellent way to stay focused and committed to my running and training. Being able to turn these events into a holiday is an extra special opportunity when overseas travel is involved. There is almost as much, if not more, excitement about running the marathon as there is in trip planning and organisation.
Because of the debilitating nature of the injury I sustained last year, I had not committed to running any races other than the Berlin Marathon, which was always my goal A-Race. Participating in the Margaret River Ultra Marathon relay was wonderful because although our team registered with the idea of it being a fun girl’s weekend, winning it with a course record for female teams of 4-5 was completely unexpected.
My coach has encouraged me to register for a couple of local running events in the lead-up to Berlin Marathon. The Perth Half Marathon on 4th August is always a fabulous local event. It will give my coach and me a great idea of where I am with training one month into the build for Berlin Marathon. Training alongside other athletes in our coaching crew helps me feed off their enthusiasm and success. One of my great running buddies Charlotte has been riding high this year with a string of achievements. She has run brilliantly with consecutive PB’s in the half-marathon.
Plans For Post Berlin Marathon
Travelling overseas for a marathon event means enjoying a holiday afterwards. I will spend the first few weeks post-Berlin Marathon recuperating and recovering. I have a few events lined up afterwards that I am incredibly excited about. Mostly because they are a big move away from road-races and onto trails. I love running trails, but I am not very confident running them. I injured my ankles too many times while I was in the army so I am always hesitant on tricky and technical terrain. Overcoming my uncertainty though is made much easier when we have so many fabulous trail-running events on offer.
In mid-November, I will participate in a 3-day Bibbulman Track stage race in Denmark in southern Western Australia. I will run the long course, which will be between 33 and 39 kilometres a day, with full support.
Running the Bibbulman Track stage race will be something of a practice run for me as my next goal, and A-Race for 2025 has been locked in, with more details to come very soon. For now, I’ll leave it at mentioning that I will travel to the UK, participating in an epic multi-day ultra called Run Britannia. I was inspired to register for this event by author and ultra-runner-extraordinaire, Allie Bailey who co-piloted the event in 2022, and my good friend, Kevin (Big Kev) who will also return in 2025 for unfinished business after his 2023 attempt was thwarted thanks to COVID.
In the meantime, I have a World Major Marathon in Berlin to train for! Happy running 😊