The Three Week Marathon Training Program

It's just 21 days away. Three short weeks. My training has not gone well. First I was set back by an ankle issue. Two months back.

Then, being an older, heavier runner the ramp up of mileage has been slow.

So, today I googled "Three Week Marathon Training Plan". Nothing from Hal Higdon, nothing from Jeff Galloway. Nothing from Runner's World.

Not even an, "Do a long run of 10 miles the first week, followed by a long run of 20 miles the second week and then taper."

Or, "Do a long run of 20 miles the first week. Then, after you've recovered from your injuries pick a new marathon that is 20 weeks out."

So, I then googled, "Miracle" to see what it says. The first result was about the 1980 US Gold Medal Olympic Hockey team. The Miracle on Ice team. Nice motivation, but I need more.

Then the second result said, "For Pat's Eye's Only"*.

I was intrigued and click on it.

Pat, after your injury healed you trained hard and even got in 97 miles last month. You've made a good amount of progress and you could run a slow half marathon today. Get in one final long run of 13.1 miles. Keep the pace under 13:44. That's the pace of the sweeper bus at the TC marathon. The cool Minnesota air and the adrenaline of running a marathon will help you on race day. Have a short taper for 3 days prior to the race. Eat carbs, but don't over do it the week before the race. During the race make sure you have these three things:

1. Gu's for every three miles.
2. Lots of Bodyglide and your race socks.
3. A light rail pass.

If you can only have one of these things, don't forget the light rail pass because at mile 15 there is a station.

So, enjoy the Twin Cities marathon and stop at the 15 mile mark. Chalk it up as a training run and start preparing for the Tucson Marathon on December 13th.

Finally, Pat this isn't the miracle you wanted but it is a good marathon training plan for you.

*Some parts of this post have been made up. But, you've probably figured that out.