My 2024 Ottawa Marathon Training Plan
Prologue
When I missed getting into the 2024 Boston Marathon by 5 seconds, I immediately selected another spring marathon to get over the sting. I chose the Ottawa Marathon because my boyfriend and I wanted to visit Quebec, Canada, which is nearby, and a marathon in May would allow me to run the George Washington Parkway Classic on April 28th, a local favorite I’ve never done.
I finished the 2023 New York City Marathon in November, feeling slightly disappointed. Yes, completing a marathon is an achievement in and of itself, and I returned to my favorite race! But I felt as though I underperformed.
In December, I kept myself on a light running schedule. For Christmas, my boyfriend and I went on the Queen Victoria for a cruise to Spain and Portugal! I did some running onshore and on the ship’s treadmill, but not much. Back home, I tried to ramp up mileage in preparation to start training at the end of January.
Long-term Goals
I still want to qualify for the Wanda Age Group World Championships. I guess I will need a sub-3:40 (8:24 pace) to get an invitation. (The automatic time qualifier is sub-3:21.)
Self-assessment
Strengths
- Health. My fitness might not be peak, but I’m in excellent health right now.
- Support. As a condition of coming to Ottawa, I asked my boyfriend and close friend to run the race with me! Having them training at the same time should be added support.
Weaknesses
- Work. I was already finding 9 a.m. meetings popping up on my calendar, but I also took on two major work assignments in January. The added commitment makes me concerned about missing workouts this training cycle. I will probably get a new boss this spring, too.
- Endurance. I wouldn’t say I’m “detained,” but my endurance isn’t great.
The Plan
Choosing or Designing a Plan
I used Hansons’ Marathon Method for the 2023 Boston Marathon and the 2023 New York City Marathon. In both instances, I felt like I didn’t have the race that I wanted.
For this cycle, I’m returning to my favorite training plan: Advanced Marathoning by Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas (“Pfitz”). But, just a few days after settling on a schedule, I took a work assignment requiring me to start work at 9 am. So, I’ll have to change some workouts to fit my schedule better.
Setting a Start Date
The 2024 Tartan Ottawa International Marathon is on Sunday, May 26th. Eighteen weeks before that date is Monday, January 22nd.
Arranging workouts
The Pfitz plan isn’t as structured as Hansons, but each week has some typical workouts.
Long Runs. After a year of doing these on Sundays, I’m switching to Saturdays because it gives me more flexibility over the weekend in case of bad weather. For Pfitz, a few of these runs will have some miles at marathon pace.
Medium-long Runs. A signature of the Pfitz plan, I think these runs make the plan work for me. These runs, from 12 to 15 miles, really help with endurance.
Threshold or Tempo Runs. These runs will be faster than what I was running under Hansons – roughly a one-hour pace.
Speed Runs. For Pfitz, the speed work comes late in the plan, which is great because it should be spring before I worry about them.
Establishing training paces
I will use the suggested training paces from Pfitz and the McMillan Pace Calculator based on my 2023 New York City Marathon time.
| Recovery | Long | General Aerobic | Marathon | Threshold | 5K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No faster than 10:50 | 9:30-10:40 | 9:30-9:45 | 8:40-8:55 | 8:15-8:25 | 7:35-7:55 |
Contemplating a race goal
I have no idea what to expect, so I’ll postpone setting a goal time until I have a month or two of training under my belt.
Selecting tune-up races
The Hansons plan doesn’t have races in the schedule, but I intend to run these:
- 2024 Cherry Blossom 5K, Saturday, April 6th.
- 2024 Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, Sunday, April 7th.
- 2024 George Washington Parkway Classic (10 Miler), Sunday. April 28th.
Other Considerations
Supplemental Training
My local studio has a beginner’s pilates class on Sunday mornings that I may join. I do feel that I’m losing my flexibility as I age.
Winter Training
I will run indoors on my treadmill on cold (under 25 degrees) or icy days. I’ve never hated the treadmill, and now that I’ve discovered Zwift, I look forward to running inside.
Final thoughts
In this training cycle, I will try to get back to the fundamentals. It will be hard with my work schedule, but I want to get back to consistent training after taking a break from it during the holiday season.
I also want to embrace running my first international marathon!
