My name is Stephen Sykes. I am an alumnus of Dorman High School and currently a freshman at N.C. State University. This is a recounting of my training for the Myrtle Beach Marathon.
I had been interested in running a marathon for the past few years. I have always been better at longer distances, my dad has run six (marathons), and it had always just seemed like it would be an enjoyable and satisfying thing to do. Also, my friend and fellow Dorman alumnus Ben Sloan had done one. I set my sights on the Myrtle Beach Marathon, as I completed the half-marathon in 2005, and it seemed like a good course. It was also an ideal time now that I was out of high school and no longer had a track season to worry about. My goal was to complete the marathon in around 2:50:00 (6:30 pace).
I had been sick most of winter break, so I began my serious marathon training after Paris Mountain. I decided to follow an interesting training program presented in the January 2006 issue of Runner's World. Each week contains two primary workouts, with the other runs being recovery (about 6:50 pace). It allows a lot of flexibility and can be adapted for any mileage level. Anyway, I had to adapt it slightly due to the fact that I was starting my training a mere five weeks before the marathon. I had a strong base from the fall, so I figured it wouldn't be a problem.
January 16, 2006
During the week, I ran at 6:30 in the morning, because it's just easier to get it out of the way early, and it fit best with my class schedule. This week's first workout (on Wednesday) was 5x2 miles at marathon pace, with a half-mile jog after each. I went out to N.C. State's Centennial Campus to run my repeats because it has some nice bike paths and easily adjustable routes. Except for my first repeat, they were all a bit too fast, (12:54 avg) but not bad. They also ended up being much tougher than I had anticipated due to a 25-35 mph wind! On Saturday, I went over to Chapel Hill to watch some of the current Dorman guys run an indoor meet. I ran 10.5 miles there a bit faster than I had wanted. Sunday was a long run of 16 miles at about 7:05 pace. I did most of my long runs at Umstead State Park, just outside of Raleigh. I wore my Camelbak and had a PowerGel about halfway through. I felt a little rough from going too fast the day before. All in all, it was a successful week. I had put in 80.5 miles, in singles (one run per day).
January 23, 2006
This was a shorter week on the whole, but also included my longest training run. The first workout (Wed.) was 3x3 miles at marathon pace, with a half-mile jog after each. Again, I ran these repeats a bit fast, averaging 19:20. I felt much stronger than the 5x2 mile workout—mostly due to much less wind. The next two days were short, easy runs. This was because Saturday was a 22-miler. I ran from my dorm to Umstead by way of back roads (6.5 miles), ran through Umstead for 9 miles, then back the same way (6.5 miles). It was actually a massive out-and-back run (11 mi. each way). I wore the CamelBak again and took two PowerGels during the run. It was a great run. I felt really strong and averaged 6:59 per mile (2:33:41 total). That was a big confidence booster. That put this week's total at a modest 62.3 miles.
January 30, 2006
This was another long week. In fact, every run this week was over an hour (with one run over two hours). My first workout (Tues.) was 2x4 miles at marathon pace, with a half-mile jog after between them. This was another rough workout, partly because my arch-enemy—the wind—was back again at 20-30 mph. I hit my pace, though, averaging 26:00. Saturday was another long run at Umstead. This time it was 18 miles. I ran a similar course to that of my 16-miler two weeks before (adding two more miles, of course). I felt much stronger on this run than I had before. I hit a time of 2:06:52. A 10-miler the next day wrapped up another 80.5 mile week (in singles again).
February 6, 2006
The good news now was that it was basically all-downhill from here. This was my last week of serious training. I ran my long run on Wednesday this week. It was a 15-miler with the last 8 miles at marathon pace. This was a tough run because of how long I had to hold my marathon pace. I still ended up averaging a few seconds fast, though. Saturday's workout was oriented a bit more toward speed this time. It was 2x3 miles at tempo pace (6:00 per mile), with a half-mile jog between them. It was raining, which was uncomfortable, but I felt pretty strong. I actually ran them a bit fast (again), with an average of 17:53. Another 10-miler on Sunday finished out the 64 mile week.
Now my serious training was over. Next week was a time to recover before the marathon.
I had been interested in running a marathon for the past few years. I have always been better at longer distances, my dad has run six (marathons), and it had always just seemed like it would be an enjoyable and satisfying thing to do. Also, my friend and fellow Dorman alumnus Ben Sloan had done one. I set my sights on the Myrtle Beach Marathon, as I completed the half-marathon in 2005, and it seemed like a good course. It was also an ideal time now that I was out of high school and no longer had a track season to worry about. My goal was to complete the marathon in around 2:50:00 (6:30 pace).
I had been sick most of winter break, so I began my serious marathon training after Paris Mountain. I decided to follow an interesting training program presented in the January 2006 issue of Runner's World. Each week contains two primary workouts, with the other runs being recovery (about 6:50 pace). It allows a lot of flexibility and can be adapted for any mileage level. Anyway, I had to adapt it slightly due to the fact that I was starting my training a mere five weeks before the marathon. I had a strong base from the fall, so I figured it wouldn't be a problem.
January 16, 2006
During the week, I ran at 6:30 in the morning, because it's just easier to get it out of the way early, and it fit best with my class schedule. This week's first workout (on Wednesday) was 5x2 miles at marathon pace, with a half-mile jog after each. I went out to N.C. State's Centennial Campus to run my repeats because it has some nice bike paths and easily adjustable routes. Except for my first repeat, they were all a bit too fast, (12:54 avg) but not bad. They also ended up being much tougher than I had anticipated due to a 25-35 mph wind! On Saturday, I went over to Chapel Hill to watch some of the current Dorman guys run an indoor meet. I ran 10.5 miles there a bit faster than I had wanted. Sunday was a long run of 16 miles at about 7:05 pace. I did most of my long runs at Umstead State Park, just outside of Raleigh. I wore my Camelbak and had a PowerGel about halfway through. I felt a little rough from going too fast the day before. All in all, it was a successful week. I had put in 80.5 miles, in singles (one run per day).
January 23, 2006
This was a shorter week on the whole, but also included my longest training run. The first workout (Wed.) was 3x3 miles at marathon pace, with a half-mile jog after each. Again, I ran these repeats a bit fast, averaging 19:20. I felt much stronger than the 5x2 mile workout—mostly due to much less wind. The next two days were short, easy runs. This was because Saturday was a 22-miler. I ran from my dorm to Umstead by way of back roads (6.5 miles), ran through Umstead for 9 miles, then back the same way (6.5 miles). It was actually a massive out-and-back run (11 mi. each way). I wore the CamelBak again and took two PowerGels during the run. It was a great run. I felt really strong and averaged 6:59 per mile (2:33:41 total). That was a big confidence booster. That put this week's total at a modest 62.3 miles.
January 30, 2006
This was another long week. In fact, every run this week was over an hour (with one run over two hours). My first workout (Tues.) was 2x4 miles at marathon pace, with a half-mile jog after between them. This was another rough workout, partly because my arch-enemy—the wind—was back again at 20-30 mph. I hit my pace, though, averaging 26:00. Saturday was another long run at Umstead. This time it was 18 miles. I ran a similar course to that of my 16-miler two weeks before (adding two more miles, of course). I felt much stronger on this run than I had before. I hit a time of 2:06:52. A 10-miler the next day wrapped up another 80.5 mile week (in singles again).
February 6, 2006
The good news now was that it was basically all-downhill from here. This was my last week of serious training. I ran my long run on Wednesday this week. It was a 15-miler with the last 8 miles at marathon pace. This was a tough run because of how long I had to hold my marathon pace. I still ended up averaging a few seconds fast, though. Saturday's workout was oriented a bit more toward speed this time. It was 2x3 miles at tempo pace (6:00 per mile), with a half-mile jog between them. It was raining, which was uncomfortable, but I felt pretty strong. I actually ran them a bit fast (again), with an average of 17:53. Another 10-miler on Sunday finished out the 64 mile week.
Now my serious training was over. Next week was a time to recover before the marathon.