Targeted improvements after the 1st marathon
My 1st marathon in April fell apart after 18 miles, I breath and feel great however my left calf started cramping repeatedly. My Goal A was 3:30 and I finished 3:50. Posting the full Coros screenshot looking for advice to enhance my 2nd marathon blocks which starts in a month.
My 1st block (Ben Parkes L3) is a 15w plan with 5 20+ long runs and peak at around 48 miles, total around 500-550 miles. Also posting an all-out 5k from last Sunday as reference of current threshold speed and max HR.
My own post-mortem of the 1st block, mainly around the quality of the long runs:
- Struggled to figure out the goal & MP early on
- Shifted several easy runs from before to after the long run day, resulting in not enough accumulation of fatigue
- Had to tapered aggressively due to a cold/flu
- Trained in cold weather and raced on a much warmer day, not enough cushion built in
- Not enough strength training
I would like to set Goal A at 3:30 again. Just ordered the Pfitzinger book and plan to use it to enhance my original plan or maybe adopt 18/55. Any diagnosis on the main issue (speed/quantity/MP long runs) is much appreciated. Thank you!