6/4
Hit an “easy” 6 miler. I only say easy because once you start doing 15, 20, 24 miles a 6 miler is like a warmup! But it’s essential to back off the long runs and do short speed training.
I also did this at 5:45am and was home by 6:40.
Later in the afternoon I did a decent upper body strength session. The one notable move was I broke a PR for dips and hit 26 in a row. Almost time for weighted!
6/5
New air squat PR today: 665 in a row OUCHHHHH haha! I included this in a 3 mile hike. Leading up to this I did 5 sets of 10 easy, 1 set of 25, got about 1 mile in, walked a few hills and then did it.
I want to note that going back 5-6-7 years now when I began the air squat thing, I did an absolute max of 250 in any given workout and it KILLED me. I would divide the sets into 10-25 rep blocks. I did this for a very long time until one day I tried 50, 100 etc.
I did the PR set using a stick on my back like this:
Later in the PM I did a short and powerful upper body strength session where I worked up to flat dumbbells 90lbs x 10 strict reps. Going back 4 or 5 years, I could do this 2x max.
Protein continues to be high and from varied mostly animal sources. Chicken bone broth, cod, beef, yogurt today. Carbs and fat hanging around 100g each, calories around 2000-2100.
6/6
Just kept it light today and hit a 70 minute Bikram style class in 110 degree heat. Did a very minor upper body strength session in the PM to loosen up, get some blood flowing.
Protein way up around 250 grams on the day. Calories around 2400. Protein from varied sources: Eggs, bone broth, ground beef, Swordfish, chicken, beef jerky. Carbs and fat lower around 70-80g. Carbs on the day were all from fruit, no grains today. Fat is just what evr occurs naturally in my protein sources.
6/7
Easy 6 miler today holding a “slow” pace - 8:40 min miles. I deliberately took it easier with the runs this week building up to a big bomb run very soon. I did a bit of stretching in the sun after and hit a short powerful back workout in the early afternoon.
I went up to 225lbs shrugs for 17, ouch and did a good deal of pulldowns, chinups and isometric pullup holds. I also did 2 30-40 rep sets of 50lb flat dumbbells just as a tease for my Saturday lifting session, which traditionally is intense. Tomorrow I plan to go heavy incline barbell and will destroy arms.
6/8
Decent strength session, stretch and just a natural movement day. Trying to avoid any hardcore moves on lower body.
I hit incline barbell presses 185 x 8, 205 x 2, 185 x 6, 135 to failure. Flat 75lb dumbbells x 14, 1 set dips 27 (new pr), biceps pyramid as seen here:
(I linked inside the video to a specific time)
And a decent tripeps pushdown sequence til failure.
CARB LOADING IS GROSS
One thing about marathon training I can really do without is this carb loading operation. I get it’s need but it just doesn’t make me feel good. With that said I took in 200 grams or so carbs from varied sources last couple days. Clean organic grains, granola, plain organic 365 “cheerios”, fruit, honey. In addition, kept protein elevated around 200 grams as well.
I am now taking NUUN hydration tabs in the am:
And today on the run I will pack a banana, some honey and these energy chews:
They give out bananas along the way at the NYC marathon so I’m trying to make sure my training revolves around things that will be possible the day of
6/9
Today I faced adversity. I hit a 22 mile run this am. Mile 1-8 dry. 9-13 downpoured. 14-22 miles soaked head to toe with totally soaked heavy feet and clothes.
But the way I looked at it was oh well, it will be over in 90 minutes, who cares.
I didn’t break any time records on the books but I did conquer a real-time problem where most would have just quit. I never ran that far totally soaked. BTW it sucked.
Ahead of my run I had honey, 1/4 cup granola and a NUUN electrolyte tab. In run I consumed 3 pure honey chews, 1 pack of Skratch labs energy chews, 1 banana, 1 starburst and a NUUN electrolyte.
6/10
Short powerful upper body strength session this am. Somehow I managed to pull off a PR! 90lb flat dumbbells for 11 clean reps. I followed this with 135 flat til failure. I hit a few very deep sets of pulldowns, 2 iso holds and a set of 80lb pullovers on the floor like this:
Then a 60 minute Bikram style class in 110 degrees to stretch out that 22 miler from yesterday. All in all, I could have run that marathon yesterday if it weren’t for the heavy water logged feet. Now I’m working on trimming time. I want to hit a 3 hour 30 min marathon time, so I still have a lot of work to do to trim off that time.
I hit a lower calorie day because I’m “detoxing” from all the carbs. Very high, lean protein today with 4 cups bone broth, a new york strip steak, greek yogurt, good culture cottage cheese and some paleovalley beef sticks. 200 grams or so. Carbs were a banana, a peach, a mandarin orange and a sweet potato. 90-100g or so 1800 or so calories.
6/11
4 mile hike in the woods at actual sunrise today - 5:50am-7:30am or so. Mostly “Zone 2” walking and hit some light sprints, mostly uphill. 2 good downhill jogs too. The goal was to loosen up a bit more, recover a bit more before my next run. My next 2 or 3 runs will be “short” 6-8 miles. Starting slower and ramping up to all out high speed.
Trying to close in on a 3:30 marathon time.
Followed this with a light weight / long set strength session. Prepping for a full power session tomorrow. Want to be mindful of lower back, hamstrings. Make sure I’m fully recovered from my 22 miler before going HAM on heavy weight.
Protein 200+ grams, carbs low, fat low. Protein sources: Bone broth, ground beef, greek yogurt, pea protein, eggs. Carbs from fruit only today. Will start to weave in grains as a long run looms again.
Electrolytes
I’ve been taking one of these every am now and will continue through run day:
In addition to this I have been consuming 2-4 cups organic bone broth daily which is a chore but I swear by it’s recovery abilities and natural electrolytes.
6/12
I hammered a short power session specifically for barbell squats: 90° Barbell Squats
225 lbs x 20 reps (PR). I also was able to get in a nice incline dumbbell sequence and got up 85’s for 10!
Here’s the video from this PR set:
Powerful, felt amazing.
The rest of my day was just natural movement and a bit of yoga stretching/core work in the sun.
6/13
7 mile training run today with a 8:17 pace. No records, just staying in motion. I really can’t say enough about the early am runs and what it does for my whole day. Not one other form of exercise makes me feel as good as a good run. To clarify, a 22 mile run is not a good run lol, it’s awful. The 6-8 miler is my favorite.
I swapped out sneakers today too and it’s amazing when you get into the new ones that are perfectly broken in. If you missed it, this video explains my whole sneaker operation and how I cycle in and out of sneakers seamlessly:
I followed this with a light yoga sequence in the sun quite similar to this:
My legs are absolutely smashed today from the squats yesterday. Just insane.
I’m eating to recover. Clean protein, lots of it. Lower on the fat, moderate on the carbs.
6/14
Hit an awesome upper body strength session:
Barbell bench worked up to 225x4 - which is new again to me. I had to let barbell bench go for a long time going heavy with just dumbbells. My shoulders just didn’t like or allow it. Over time, I’ve repaired them and I’m back on the bench. I know 225 x4 is no big deal in the lifting world, but for me having not done this is 30+ years, it’ feels great.
I’m hoping to get back up to my young fat powerlifting PR of 315 for reps 
I followed this with the Chest and Biceps finisher workout:
Following this, I did a short core and yoga sequence out in the heat/sun. Very little movement outside of this, spent too much time on PC.
In this video, I explore the powerful benefits of incorporating heavy weighted squats into your marathon training regimen. I use 90-degree barbell squats to enhance lower body strength, increase stability, balance, and core strength, all crucial for achieving your marathon goals. I also discuss the importance of maintaining joint health, essential for long-distance runners.
I am 49 years old and have flat feet, and I provide insight into why 90-degree barbell squats are safer and more effective for me compared to parallel or ATG (Ass to Grass) squats. 90-degree squats can be powerful as they engage the major muscles in the legs while reducing the strain on the knees and hips, making them less dangerous than deeper squats. Learn how I balance strength training with my marathon preparation and optimize my training plan to achieve a 3:30 marathon time. Join me as I unlock the secrets of combining strength and endurance training for peak marathon performance!
6/15
5 mile hike with some light hill sprints, using this as a general guide:
There is something magical about hiking in the cool morning air in Spring. Something that just doesn’t happen to me on the road.
6/16
Hit a nice 7 mile pacer/trainer run keeping an 8:15/min mile pace. This is now considered light work for what lies ahead which is crazy. It’s great to be here. I then spent the rest of the day in Rhode Island on the beach, even went into the 63 degree water for a few swims. Got sun, moved around with my busy 6 year old and had some awesome raw bar.
So my ultimate goal is a 3 hour and 30 min marathon time.
A 3:30-hour marathon is approximately 8:00 per mile So the focus of my training has shifted to this entirely. Not just completing but holding this pace.
THis is some info generated by AI about that:
A common rule of thumb is that you should be able to run a half marathon in under 1:37 and a 10K in under 43 minutes before attempting a 3:30 marathon.
Tips for pacing a sub-3:30 marathon:
Conserve energy for the last half of the race, especially the final 10 kilometers.
Include a mix of steady state long runs at a 6 minute mile pace for 10–15 miles, and recovery long runs at an 8–9 minute mile pace.
Run workouts at around 8 minutes per mile.
Run workouts ranging from 15K to half marathon pace, or 7:30–7:40 minutes per mile.
Training plans typically include easy runs, long runs, tempo runs, speed runs, core sessions, rest days, and optional cross-training.
6/17
Did a powerful upper body session today including a 1 rep max of 225 lbs on the incline barbell bench. I did it by myself so I was nervous to get pinned. I actually think I could have gotten 2. I’m really happy to be getting my barbell weights back up. Shoulders feeling great.
I followed this with dips, pretty heavy shrugs with the deadlift hex bar (2 sets 250lbs x 7-10 reps) and dumbbell pullovers:
I followed this with a sunny yoga/stretch/core sequence similar to this:
Calories low, around 1800-1900 with 200ish grams protein, low carbs, lowish fat. Will start my personal hell of carb loading for a 20+ miler this weekend.
7 mile pacer run nice and early, still cool(ish) out. I’m really trying to hold 8 minute miles for the duration of the marathon so I’ll be doing some speed training after my next long stamina run. Did a good core/stretch following it.
Took in 250 grams protein with just under 2000 calories.
6/19
I’m going to back off weights for a couple days and let things heal. Feeling very good though, just a couple things telling me to chill for a minute. That’s part of being intuitive and smart about training. Be careful with little tweaks and pains because they can turn into long problems. Best is back off for a few days and ease back in to the problem area.
6/20
70 minute 110 degrees Bikram yoga session and some light movement. 3000-4000 steps. Need a repair day.
Took in 210 grams of protein, low carbs, low fat 1800 total. I’ll add some extra carbs in tomorrow and Saturday preparing for a long Sunday run.
6/21
Great 5 mile hike with around 15 sprints. Hot and sweaty one it was 80 in the shade, pretty humid it felt great minus those stupid bugs that fly and hover right at your eyes. Also I have to put on like mega bug spray because I’m the bug magnet. But with that said, it’s still great to get out there, get dirty and get fresh air. I know at this point, not for everyone. The heat and bugs make it a pretty gross event lol.
Followed with a very short yoga sequence in the heat with one significant move which is this:
I have been working on balance and core strength for 15 years! When I started yoga, I was a disaster. Perpetual shoulder injuries from over-use because all I did was lift weights, 40 pounds overweight, zero flexibility, no core strength. Literally. So this is a nice tribute to putting in the work.
6/22
Killer upper body strength session targeting incline barbell presses. Worked up to 185lbs for 8, 185 for 6, 185 for 5. Dips 26 reps and killer tricep dropset. I have a weird left bicep forearm thing. Also did a lot of natural movement with my 6 year old. Later that afternoon I did a 30 minute stretch session in the sun, really trying to get ready for a long run.
Began to take in extra carbs, can’t express how little I enjoy that. I just feel like I’m binge eating nonsense.
