10 weeks to NYC + 7 weeks to Chicago + 5 weeks to Berlin

Hello team,

Time for a recovery week!

If you’re running Berlin, this is the down week between your two longest runs. I’m sure you’re wiped out! Give yourself all the rest and treats and belly laughs you possibly can. Forgive yourself if you’re cranky. Put yourself to bed early with a kiss on each kneecap. These are your biggest weeks of the whole season, so don’t be surprised or dismayed by your fatigue. Instead, cherish and appreciate your exhaustion—your body is working so hard at a microscopic level to repair and restock you into an even more capable human.

If you’re running New York, Chicago, Amsterdam, Columbus, Detroit Free Press, Baltimore, Great New York State, Toronto, Marine Corps, Dublin, Istanbul, Indianapolis, Athens, Richmond, Philly, Valencia, CIM, Honolulu, or Kiawah, this recovery week follows a strong block of mileage and precedes an even bigger block of mileage. Your job is to recover from the last and get ahead of the coming fatigue. Embrace rest and food and fun now, even more than feels necessary, so you have a deeper well to draw from when the miles start to add up!

For both groups:

This week you’ll take about 20% off last week’s mileage. There’s a good amount of variation built into that number, so refer to the mileage plans in the back of The noname Program manual for more specific day-by-day mileage advice. This week, your long run is shorter (with some spicy marathon-specific miles thrown in), your speed run is a C+C variation on a famous marathon-predictor workout, and every single easy run should be a shuffley little jaunt. Refer back to previous posts for recovery advice, and don’t be surprised when your lower miles have you feeling more tired this week than last. That’s a sign that your body is picking up on the cues you’re sending. It’s hard at work repairing cellular damage and restocking empty stores, rather than directing energy toward feeling good in your normal everyday output. You’ll get the recovery boost next week, when you need it!

If you’re running Wine Glass, St George, Twin Cities, Milwaukee, or Portland, you’re a little off-cycle from the rest of the group! We want everyone to run together and ride the same energetic vibe as much as possible, but in the end we’ve go to listen to physiology! This week starts your “peak” 3-week block. Prep your meals, put off the unnecessary, and get your most encouraging friends on speed dial. This block of training will be alternately exhausting and transcendent. All of the previous two sentences are hyperbole, but you’re running a Marathon, so you might as well embrace being too-much and glamorously misunderstood. Romanticize the blisters and eat your oatmeal straight from the pot—this is about to get fun.

LFG

Coach + Coffey

Fall Marathoners, this week you will run 3-6 times:

These runs may be done on any days, with two caveats: 1) Run the Speed Run earlier in the week than the Long Run, and 2) if you’re running 3-4 days a week, try not to run them all back-to-back-to-back. Your efforts will be safer and more effective if separated by rest. 

Speed Run: in-and-out 800s.

Method:

1.    Run 5-20 minutes of easy warmup running.

2.    Do 5-10 optional minutes of dynamic warmups + strides.

3.    This is an adapted version of Yasso 800s, which were created by the famed coach Bart Yasso as a “marathon predictor” workout. Here’s how it works:

First, figure out your pace for the fast 800s—you will run each 800 in minutes:seconds that correspond to the hours:minutes of your marathon goal time. That’s a little bit of a tricky instruction, so let’s pause there:

If your goal is a 4 hour marathon, you’ll run a 4:00 800—8:00 pace. If your goal is a 6:30 marathon, you’ll run a 6:30 800—13:00 pace.

Then, you’ll move directly into a run/walk that matches the time of your interval:

If your goal is 7 hours you’ll run/walk 7:00 easy. If your goal is a 3:00 marathon, you’ll run 3:00 easy. The recovery should be on the slower end of your aerobic pace—it’s important to keep the momentum moving forward, even as you recover. This is a continuous workout.

Got that? All your times should match each other. X:XX marathon, X:XX 800, X:XX rest interval.

Repeat the hard/easy in-and-out for the time below:

1 hour of in-and-out 800s — Berlin, Wine Glass, St George, Twin Cities, Milwaukee, Portland.

48 minutes of in-and-out 800s — New York, Chicago, Amsterdam, Columbus, Detroit Free Press, Baltimore, Great New York State, Toronto., Marine Corps, Dublin, Indianapolis, Athens, Richmond, Philly.

36 minutes of in-and-out 800s — Valencia, CIM, Honolulu, Kiawah.

4.    5-20 minutes easy cooldown running + dynamic cooldown, just like at the start.

Aerobic Runs: 1-4 easy runs for aerobic development 

Find your aerobic pace on page 19 in the noname manual. This wide pace range is determined by your prospective Marathon pace, and is the pace at which your system is fueled almost exclusively by aerobic metabolism. That means at this pace your energy comes an oxygen-based system; any faster and it start to rely on chemical reactions within your muscles, which produce byproducts like lactate. The majority of your training miles should be run in this pace window in order to develop your body's reliance on oxygen-based metabolism and limit the production of leg-burning muscular byproduct.

Put a different way, at this pace your body can both recover from your hard runs and develop your endurance at the same time. Some people refer to these days as recovery runs or easy runs. We like to use the technical term: aerobic—adj, relating to, involving, or requiring free oxygen, to remind ourselves that even though these miles are easy, they are just as purposeful and scientifically-informed as any speed day.

Long Run: find your Marathon Below

1:30-2:00 @ Aerobic “base pace” with the last 6 miles @ Goal Marathon Pace — Berlin.

Start in your Aerobic Pace window, which you can find in The noname Program manual. For the last 6 miles shift into Goal Marathon Pace. Hold that pace as smoothly and gracefully as possible. Your goal here is not to run as fast as you can, but to really feel marathon pace. Get it into your muscles, into your movement patterns, and into your sense memory. Don’t expect it to feel easy—you’re untapered and have yet to run your longest runs. This pace will feel both very different and entirely like home on race day.

Expect this to be hard. Last week you ran 18 miles, and the depletion from that run is still lingering in your legs. You might want these miles to feel like your first 6 miles will on Marathon Morning—smooth and weightless. But, that’s not what today is for! Today is for recreating the feel of your last 6 miles, both the heavy legs and the self-doubt. If you can’t quite hit the pace today, get close. Do your best. Keep your cool. Hone the self-talk, the mantras, and the visuals you’ll use on race day. If your 6 miles go off smoothly, amazing. If they don’t, that can be just as valuable.

Decide between 1:30 and 2:00 based on energy levels. There’s no wrong answer here.

18 miles @ Aerobic Pace — Wine Glass, St George, Twin Cities, Milwaukee, PortlandAs much as possible, use this as a dress rehearsal for the marathon:

Hydrate and fuel well all week. Do something fun and relaxing the night before. Pack your bag and lay out your clothes before you go to bed. Get a good night’s sleep. Wake up with plenty of extra time. Test out your pre-race breakfast. Be diligent with your gels.

This will be an adventure. It’s going to be hard and you’re ready for it. You’re nervous. That’s good. Feel what you’re feeling. It’s evidence that you care, and it’s excellent practice for feeling and handling nerves on race day. From now until the Marathon (and forever), everything you do is practice, and an experiment: the music you wake up to, the clothes on your back, what you eat and drink, and the things you tell yourself.

Take full advantage of this opportunity: mimic every element you can in terms of food, water, music, mantras, feelings, timing, etc, etc, etc. and take notes on what works and what isn’t. Then, recognize that there will be elements you can’t control, both this week and in the race—that’s when you’ll practice gracefully letting them roll off your back. You’re prepared.

1:30-2:00 @ Aerobic Pace — Chicago.

Unlike last week’s time-based Long Run with Marathon Goal Pace, this one is aerobic all the way. This is a true recovery long run before we enter your “peak week” block. Embrace the ease, bring along friends, and yip-yap the whole way.

Decide between 1:30 and 2:00 based on energy levels. There’s no wrong answer here.

1:30-2:00 @ Aerobic Pace — New York, Amsterdam, Columbus, Detroit Free Press, Baltimore, Great New York State, Toronto, Marine Corps, Dublin, Istanbul, Indianapolis, Athens, Richmond, Philly, Valencia, CIM, Honolulu, Kiawah

Recovery week mileage with a Marathon Goal Pace TWIST!

5 weeks ago, you ran 5 miles at Goal Marathon Pace. This week, you’ll run 4 miles at the same pace, only on tired legs within a longer run. It’s not a big jump, but your first time doing anything new often feels hard both physically and emotionally. Be prepared for that. Be prepared for this to feel too fast, and do it anyway! The next time we run Goal Marathon Pace on tired legs it won’t be new, and it won’t come as a shock. This time, be prepared to feel a little wobbly. That's a-ok.

Start in your Aerobic Pace window, which you can find in The noname Program manual. Then, for the last 4 miles shift into Goal Marathon Pace. Hold that pace as smoothly and gracefully as possible. Your goal here is not to run as fast as you can, but to really feel marathon pace. Get it into your muscles, into your movement patterns, and into your sense memory. This pace will feel both very different and entirely like home on race day.

Decide between 1:30 and 2:00 based on energy levels. There’s no wrong answer here, and you don’t have to make the choice before you start running.

One last reminder—the mileage assigned here assumes that we all want to run together, either remotely or in person. If you’re running a marathon later in the year than NYC, don’t assume your mileage needs to be this high yet. If you’d prefer to stick to our standard 16-week build, check out The noname Program manual. You’re can also use a combination of the program in the manual, the cooperation spreadsheet, and this Substack to create your own fusion plan. It’s running! Don’t overthink it.