My 2020 Boston Marathon Training Plan

Prologue

I finished the 2019 New York City Marathon last month in a very disappointing 4:07:46 (9:28 pace).  After the marathon, I planned to run the 2019 Brazos Bend 50 Miler but instead spent the next month visiting doctors and taking care of my general health.  In the end, I was treated for high blood pressure and a Vitamin D deficiency.  Feeling better, I started preparing my 2020 Boston Marathon training plan!

Self Assessment

Looking back on the training cycle, my mileage was a bit inconsistent.  I strung together a few good weeks early (Week 4, Week 5, and Week 6) but then got sick after the 2019 Ragnar Sunset Washington DC.  I got back in a rhythm in early October (Week 10 and Week 11) but by then, it was already time to start tapering.

Also, I didn’t run much speed work this summer, including marathon-pace work-outs.  Because my end goal was running an ultra-marathon, I didn’t push myself outside of my comfort zone during interval training.

If there’s anything positive to take from the past few months, it’s that my endurance is strong.

The Plan

Choosing or Designing a Plan.  My favorite marathon training program is Advanced Marathoning by Pete Pfitzinger but having just run myself into the ground during my last training cycle, I wanted something easier.  Skimming Run Faster by Brad Hudson, I thought it was also more rigid than I wanted right now.  I also considered Daniels Running Formula but I’ve never used it for marathon training and didn’t want to learn something new.

Ultimately, I settled on Hansons Marathon Method.   The workouts aren’t terribly difficult and the schedule isn’t complicated.  And, I used it recently for the 2019 Boston Marathon.

Creating a Training Schedule.  Two weeks ago, I received an email that offered a discount for joining the LHR Virtual Boston Training Group and I signed up!  I thought group training might provide some additional motivation and accountability.

Setting a Start Date.  The 2020 Boston Marathon is on Monday, April 20th.  The schedule is 18 weeks, which makes my start date Monday, December 16th!

Arranging Workouts.  The training program operates through Final Surge.  However, I also created a training plan in my preferred training log, RunningAhead.  The workouts are laid out as follows:

Long Run.  The plan has the longest weekly run on Sunday.  In winter, this can make scheduling complicated if the weather is bad on that day.  This plan caps the long run at 16 miles, however, I may add some mileage.

Speed.  Tuesdays are for speed-work.  For this plan, it starts with interval and hill workouts during the speed phase and then graduates to slightly faster than goal marathon pace during the strength phase.

Strength.  On Thursdays, I’ll run marathon-paced workouts.  Initially, these are done as intervals but during the speed phase, they become steady distance starting with 4 miles.  During the strength phase, they become as long as 10 miles.

Contemplating a Race Goal.  For the first time in a long while, I don’t have a qualifying time for the 2021 Boston Marathon, which for me is 3:50 (8:47 pace) qualifying time.  At minimum, I would like to meet that standard.

I also don’t have a qualifying time for the 2021 New York City Marathon, which is 3:38 (8:20 pace).  However, during recent training runs, this is the time that feels like “marathon effort”.

But I felt like setting a more aggressive goal.  At the 2019 Boston Marathon, I ran 3:34:41 (8:12 pace).  Next year, I’d like to best that time and re-affirm that I’m healthy again.

Selecting Tune-up Races: My running has been a bit purposeless right now.  I challenged myself to come up with “SMART” running goals (and added them to my About page). In the short term (next 6 months), I want to race enough to appear in the Potomac River Running’s Regional Runner Rankings.

The Hansons Marathon Method plans do not have races.  In the book, the authors explain how to incorporate them:

[dropshadowbox align=”center” effect=”raised” width=”800px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”4″ border_color=”#0d29a0″ rounded_corners=”false” outside_shadow=”false” ]”In sum, that race should fit into the overall plan, supplementing your training rather than taking away from your ultimate goal, which is your best possible performance on marathon day.”[/dropshadowbox]

So, I’ll probably run these races:

Tuesday, December 31st – 2019 Fairfax Four Miler.
Saturday, January 18th – 2020 DCRRC JFK 20K. Goal is 1:36:32 (7:46 pace).
Sunday, March 8th – 2020 Reston 10 Miler. Goal is 1:16:40 (7:40 pace).  This is very optional.
Saturday, March 28th – 2020 Rock ‘n’ Roll DC Half Marathon. Goal is 1:42:10 (7:47 pace).

(My Complete Racing Schedule)

Other Considerations

The Boston Marathon will be my training goal for next spring but, I’m also registered for the 2020 London Marathon as part of the 2020 Wanda Age Group World Championships!

This is the inaugural year of that event, so I plan to write about my experience participating in it.

(My Guide to the Boston Marathon.)