Road to the Philly Marathon

I spent a good portion of my life absolutely hating running. Not so much the sport or idea of running, but I hated running myself. Growing up in Florida with asthma, running meant I was going to be hot, sweaty, and out of breath almost immediately. So naturally I gravitated toward becoming a hockey goalie, where I could be on the ice in an anaerobic position. I played competitively all the way through college, and I still play "beer league" hockey today.

But after my competitive hockey days were numbered and I settled in the Northeast, I found myself looking for a physical outlet to stay in shape and challenge myself, I gave running another shot along with my normal workout routines. First a mile each day to warm myself up, then occasionally two or three miles at a time. In my head I thought 8-minute miles were the standard, so I ran pretty much 8-minute miles or faster every workout. For about a decade I fluctuated between running 10-20 miles per week as a component of my overall fitness. In 2021 a couple of friends suggested running a marathon and we all decided to sign up for the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC.

Before training for my first marathon I had never run more than 7 continuous miles. I slowly built my long runs up to double-digits before peaking at 20 miles. It felt empowering to run that far, and I enjoyed pushing myself to the challenge. When the race organizers decided to cancel the 2021 Marine Corps Marathon, we opted to do the virtual marathon since at the time I didn't know if I'd ever want to train for another one. Sure enough I was able to snag a spot for the 2022 Walt Disney World Marathon a few months later and decided to make that my "goal" marathon with a sub-4:00 time. It did not go as planned, and I finished in 4:01. Looking back, missing my goal is what pushed me to learn more about distance running, fueling, hydration, and training so I could reach my goal next time.

Fast forward to the present, and I now have 8 marathons under my belt (including the virtual Marine Corps Marathon) and counting. I am the furthest thing from an expert in distance running, and I am certainly nowhere near the fastest either. I set my personal best of 3:34 in the 2022 Wineglass Marathon in Corning, NY, and my subsequent "goal" marathons have ranged from 3:39 to 3:43. In between I've completed a couple Dopey Challenges which were tough but incredibly fun. I have no idea how many more marathons I have in me or if my fastest days are behind me, but I certainly want to continue competing in runDisney weekends for as long as I can keep moving forward.

I first ran the Philadelphia Marathon in 2023 on the heels of the Atlantic City Marathon four weeks earlier. I had planned on taking Philly easy as I trained to make Atlantic City my "goal" race for the year, but I ended up running four minutes faster at a more consistent pace. As I have with all my marathons to this point, I used a Hal Higdon plan which topped out at 50 miles per week with three non-consecutive 20-mile long runs. It was a solid plan that focused on mileage-by-any-means (i.e., no prescribed speed days), and it even worked well for Dopey training as it stressed back-to-back long runs. But as I enter my second foray into the Philly Marathon, I decided to switch up my training to try for a new personal best before I turn 40.

The Pfitz 18/55 is the "beginner" training plan developed by Pete Pfitzinger, but it is hardly for beginner runners. It ramps up much quicker than the Hal Higdon plans, and it incorporates weekly speed days and the occasional marathon-pace long run. As of this writing, I'm starting my fourth week of the plan and I can already tell it is a noticeable step up in intensity. So far I've managed to keep up in my lactate threshold and speed runs, but I know it will get tougher as I get closer to marathon day. I plan on checking in on this site and through X/Instagram to update progress. Maybe it will help me finally get under the 3:30 mark, or maybe the hills will take me out. Either way, I should at least get a good proof of time for my next Dopey Challenge!