This is a real audit of a real marathon block, with the runner's name taken out. Every audit gets a note like this from me at the top, picking out what I would talk to you about first.
Up and down
You ran 320 miles across 12 weeks, averaging 4.2 runs a week. Your biggest week was 56 miles, in the week of 5 Oct. Three weeks fell to less than half your usual mileage. Your last four weeks added up to 2.8 times the mileage of the four before.
Miles run each week, Monday to Sunday. The last bar is this week so far.
A fair balance
68% of your running time was easy or steady, 15% moderate, and 17% at threshold or harder. Your easy runs averaged 9:00 /mi at a heart rate of 141.
Share of all your running time in each heart rate band, based on a max heart rate of 194 (estimated from your data).
Your long runs
Four runs of 90 minutes or more, the longest 20 miles. One included a faster section.
| Date | Miles | Time | Avg pace | Avg HR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 30 Aug | 10.9 | 1:31:18 | 8:23 | 159 | |
| Sun 27 Sep | 13 | 2:00:00 | 9:16 | 146 | |
| Sun 4 Oct | 18 | 2:26:01 | 8:06 | 154 | Faster section |
| Sun 11 Oct | 20 | 2:41:34 | 8:04 | 153 |
Your hard sessions
I found 18 runs with faster work in 12 weeks: four with short reps and 14 with longer reps or tempo running. In 11 of 13 interval sessions your reps held their pace to the end.
Average pace of the fast parts of each session, from your watch laps, with warm ups, recoveries and cool downs taken out. Taller is faster. The number above each bar is your average heart rate on those reps.
| Date | Reps | Rep pace | Rep HR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 28 Jul | 5 × 6 min | 6:45 | 172 | |
| Thu 30 Jul | 10 × 68 sec | 6:06 | 164 | |
| Tue 18 Aug | 5 × 3 min | 6:09 | 175 | |
| Thu 20 Aug | 14 × 78 sec | 6:04 | 172 | |
| Sat 22 Aug | One block of 8:07 | 6:32 | 170 | |
| Wed 26 Aug | 10 × 2 min | 6:26 | 170 | Faded |
| Tue 1 Sep | 7 × 2 min | 6:40 | 168 | |
| Fri 18 Sep | 5 × 4 min | 6:32 | 176 | |
| Sun 20 Sep | 8 × 2 min | 5:52 | 173 | |
| Tue 22 Sep | 10 × 4 min | 6:41 | 175 | |
| Thu 24 Sep | 12 × 60 sec | 5:47 | 163 | |
| Tue 29 Sep | 5 × 8 min | 6:49 | 175 | Faded |
| Thu 1 Oct | 5 × 7 min | 6:33 | 166 | |
| Sun 4 Oct | One block of 40:38 | 6:46 | 172 | |
| Tue 6 Oct | 2 × 13 min | 6:43 | 167 | |
| Thu 8 Oct | One block of 40:00 | 6:44 | 171 | |
| Tue 13 Oct | 2 × 20 min | 6:42 | 171 | |
| Thu 15 Oct | 10 × 60 sec | 5:46 | 166 |
Your quickest running
Your quickest times over each distance in this period, taken from inside your runs. Unless they came from a race, they are training efforts, not your limit. Your race result has been used to estimate your current shape for your goal race.
What a marathon needs
You have seven weeks until your marathon. That is enough time to close the gaps below. I placed every lap of your training against the paces your marathon needs, worked out from your goal time and your recent racing.
Time at marathon pace
On trackWhat you did. 255 minutes across eight runs, the longest block 41 minutes. The last was on 13 Oct.
What the race needs. Your marathon pace is 6:43 /mi, so anything from 6:33 to 6:57 /mi counts. By race day I want you to have banked 60 to 90 minutes of it a fortnight, including a continuous block of 40 minutes or more.
Efforts inside your long runs
Some, needs moreWhat you did. One of your four long runs had 10 minutes or more at marathon pace in it.
What the race needs. The marathon is decided in the last 10km, on tired legs. Long runs with marathon pace in the second half are what prepare you for that.
How I would fix it. Alternate your long runs: one steady all the way, the next with marathon pace in the second half. Finish those feeling strong, not empty.
Threshold
On trackWhat you did. 119 minutes across eight sessions, the longest block 20 minutes. The last was on 13 Oct.
What the race needs. Threshold for you right now is about 6:05 to 6:42 /mi. A session most weeks raises the ceiling, so marathon pace sits further below it and feels more comfortable.
VO2 max work
On trackWhat you did. Three sessions, 14 reps in total. The last was on 1 Oct.
What the race needs. Marathon runners still need a little top end. Every two to three weeks is enough.
Strengths, gaps and what to improve
Strengths
- Quicker for the same effortYour steady long runs got quicker without costing more: 8:23 /mi at a heart rate of 159 early in the period, 8:04 /mi at 153 later on.
- Easy means easyOnly 4 of your 29 easy runs averaged a heart rate above 155, and 68% of all your running time was at an easy effort. That control is what lets you train hard on the days that matter.
- Time at marathon pace255 minutes across eight runs, the longest block 41 minutes. The last was on 13 Oct.
- A steady buildYour mileage rose for five weeks in a row, up to a peak of 56 miles in the week of 5 Oct.
- Proper long runsYou ran four long runs in this period, the longest 20 miles. That is the right kind of distance for a marathon.
Areas to improve
- Goal pace close to your thresholdYour goal marathon pace is 6:43 /mi, and your threshold reps in training, the ones quicker than marathon pace, have averaged . Those two should have a clear gap between them. Right now your goal asks you to hold close to your threshold for the whole marathon.
- Gaps in your runningThree weeks ran at less than half your usual mileage: the weeks starting 10 Aug, 31 Aug and 7 Sep. Your typical week is 22 miles. Whatever caused them, gaps like these cost more fitness than any single session can build.
- Big jumps in mileageIn the week of 24 Aug you ran 33 miles, up from an average of 14.4 miles over the weeks before. Jumps of more than about a third are where niggles start.
- Efforts inside your long runsOne of your four long runs had 10 minutes or more at marathon pace in it. The marathon is decided in the last 10km, on tired legs. Long runs with marathon pace in the second half are what prepare you for that.
- Reps that fadeIn two of your sessions the last reps were clearly slower than the first. The biggest drop was on Wed 26 Aug, where your reps slowed by 6%.
Missing from your training
- Nothing obvious is missing.
Where your next improvements come from
Consistency
Next to buildYou averaged 4.2 runs a week across 11 full weeks, with three weeks well below your usual.
Keep something in every week, even if it is short.
Easy running
Strength68% of your running time was easy. 4 of 29 easy runs went above 155 beats per minute.
Just keep doing it.
Endurance
StrengthFour long runs, the longest 20 miles.
Hold it with a long run most weeks.
Threshold
Next to build14 sessions with reps of two minutes or longer, with your longer reps around 6:43 /mi.
A threshold session most weeks: tempo runs or longer reps at a pace you could hold for about an hour.
Speed
StrengthFour sessions of short, fast reps, the last on 15 Oct. Your quickest 1km was 3:45.
Strides after two easy runs a week, and short hill reps every couple of weeks.
Strength and durability
Next to buildSix strength sessions logged.
Two short strength sessions a week, logged, so you can keep building safely.
Your three priorities
Goal pace close to your threshold
Build threshold first: a session every week with longer reps or a tempo run. Then reassess race pace off a half marathon or a 10 mile race.
Gaps in your running
Protect your weekly rhythm. On a busy or low week, keep the short easy runs rather than dropping running altogether.
Big jumps in mileage
Build by no more than about 10 to 15 percent a week, and drop back every third or fourth week.
Want one of these for your training?
Upload your Strava, Garmin or TrainingPeaks export and I will go through your last 8 to 16 weeks the same way, against the goal you are training for.
Get my training audit