This blogpost was supposed to have followed when I had completed the goal of running continuously for one hour every day for an entire week, during week 5 (February 1-7), so this is a bit late. Regardless, publishing this now gives you an update on how my buildup phase is going. 

Let me give you some background. When I was 21, I ran my first marathon in 3h and 34 seconds. So close to break 3 hours. It has haunted me for forty years. I never managed to break 3 hours. Yet, I have not given up on the dream of eventually breaking that barrier. Is it at all possible after turning 60?

I had my golden age between 2014-2016 when I ran my fastest marathons, since my youth having just changed running technique to forefoot strike rather than heel strike after my May 2013 Lima Marathon in 3:58. 

Check out this progress:
New York Nov 2014 3:14
Boston April 2015 3:17
Peak to Creek, NC, US Nov 2016 3:04 (downhill race)

In late 2016 I had inguinal hernia surgery, and again in January 2017. Since I never really had any long training blocks with 18 weeks of fine-tuning and several long runs to increase endurance. My Marathon times suffered.

The best result was a mediocre 3.39 in Chicago in 2017. The half marathon split was just under 1:37, so I had decent speed but lacked the endurance. After that, I only ran two other marathons: Tokyo and Gold Coast in 2019. Both well over 4 hours and total breakdowns. I ran some half-decent half marathons in Lima in 2018 (1:33) and 2019 (1:36), but still far from sub-3h pace.

During the COVID pandemic last year, I turned 60. In 2020, I was also supposed to run Berlin Marathon, and the training plan I hoped to employ was going to take me towards the 3 hours goal.

We all know what happened with the races. All were canceled. 

After the Sydney Marathon fiasco in September 2019, I was devastated. The flight delay made me miss the race altogether. I had trained a lot for that race.

After that followed long stints of travel and guiding, with no running a far too much sitting created piriformis problems, which sidelined me for several months. I had just got started with a new training cycle when the COVID lockdown hit. 

Without any races to look forward to, my motivation went rock-bottom. There were some bouts of running on the treadmill (watching Netflix) as well as outside. But I was not motivated to do any virtual races. I need actual races to stay motivated. 

In October and November, the running came down to almost zero again, as I suddenly got some trips to guide in Central Peru when COVID numbers in Peru temporarily were low. 

Time for a new plan for 2021

Only by mid-December did I start running seriously again. I am focused on the Berlin Marathon on Sep 26, which was canceled the year before. I am betting on that it will not cancel this year as most people must have gotten the vaccine by then. Time to make a plan and make the Sub 3h marathon the #1 priority for the year.

I got my calendar out and started blocking the time for training. Here are a few targets to reach along the way.

• Run every day. Make it a habit. ✅ Done! I have run every day since Dec 14. 
• A week of 1h continuous running per day ✅ Week 5. Logged 80 km that week
• A week with 100K running. Scheduled for Week Mar 10 8-14, but failed with only 66 km logged. It didn’t help that there was a strict lockdown on Sundays during the first weeks of March. I wasn’t even allowed to go outside. Instead, I decided to make this week,  March 22-28, the 100K-week. During this training block, the previous biggest week logged 84.5 km of running, and that was during the second week of February.
• A week with 100 miles running. Scheduled for May 10-16. One hundred miles (161 km) is a lot of running. 23km/day. I will do it by running twice per day. It will boost my confidence, knowing that my body can handle a lot of mileage.
• Final 18 weeks of sharpening with weeks at around 100-120 km. Lots of Marathon Pace, speed sessions intervals, and a weekly or bi-weekly long runs of 2.5 to 3 hours

The goals I have set for myself have worked OK so far, but I am still not doing very long runs. I probably need additional motivational triggers.

For the final 18 weeks, I was planning to use the 18 week 55-70 miles plan in Pfitzingers/Douglas excellent Advanced Marathon Training book.

Many sub-3h marathoners have used this program successfully. Yet, I have been a bit worried that the program may be too challenging for my age. Would it at all be possible for a guy my age to run such a fast marathon? What is the best strategy?

One of my heroes, Tim Ferriss, has a methodology for hacking training in any field and it is referred to in the 4 Hour Chef and also in this podcast episode. He simply looks out to find the best in the area and ask them for advice. So I applied the same technique.

Which plus 60 runners, run sub-3h marathons, and have not run sub-3h marathons earlier in their younger years? How do the train? What is their secret?

Before Chicago Marathon, I first reached out to Michael Brosilow, who had broken three hours for the first time as a 59-year-old. In Michael’s case, the key to his success was keeping weight down and run less but much faster miles. He also did a fair bit of cycling.

A couple of months ago, I reached out to David Lynn, who is currently ranked number #5 in the world in the 60-64 age group. He ran a PR 2:59:56, just before turning 60 last year. His secret? 

He told me that he also does more speed training and lots of racing. But the main thing for him was to get a coach. David, did not just get any coach, but John Goldthorp, who also coaches 72-year-old Gene Dykes. Gene Dykes recently ran a 70-74 age group Marathon record of 2:54:23 and was well above 60 when he ran his first sub-3h, and he credits much of his success to his coach. This information was priceless.

Why coach?

With so many excellent books out there with detailed training programs, my ample experience, and the ability to make a great plan myself, it may seem that getting a coach would be a waste of money. After all, I will still have to do all the running myself.

But there is one thing to consider! TIME and MENTAL RESOURCES. It takes time to tweak the training plan. Also, analyzing the data and the results is taxing on the mind and will undoubtedly steal away the mental resources needed for making a living and running Kolibri Expeditions.

The best runners in the world all have coaches, despite being quite capable of just going out and running well without a coach. 

I thought a coach would be a good idea and perhaps make the difference between running 3:04 or 5 minutes faster. 

So, I reached out to coach John Goldthorp, and he accepted to be my online coach from Apr 5. Then it shall be 25 weeks to get ready for Berlin Marathon. The cost of around US$200/month hurts when there is no income, but I am hoping that the benefits in time management which should allow me to stay sharp on the business part of my day, will likely mitigate that cost. 

We agreed that there was not necessary to create a defined program quite yet. Before starting fine-tuning, I should build up my endurance. John said to throw in some strides a few times per week. I had already been thinking that same thought. Strides are faster bouts of 10-20 seconds at the end or in the middle of easy runs. I started six weeks ago with 4x20s twice a week. Now I run each of 8x20s sprints or 8x 20s hill sprints on Tuesdays and Fridays.

I still have not done any actual long runs. I need to get a 3 hour run under my belt and up the weekly distance to over 100K. Therefore, my goal for this week is 100K plus and a long run of around 27-30 km in total.

Hacks: How to get 15-20 minutes faster! 

Less weight is essential if you want to run a fast marathon. All three of the references, Michael Brosilow, David Lynn and Gene Dykes, highlighted that keeping weight down is a good idea. When I ran 3:14 in New York in November 2014, I weighed 70 kg.

I would be very slim at 65 kg, and I think this would be an ideal marathon weight for me. Each kilo lost accounts for 2 minutes faster marathon. I could technically gain 10 minutes only getting my weight down 5 kilos from that of 2014.

Right now, I have plateaued somewhat with the weight of 67.9 kg. I have half a year to lose 3 kg, so it should be possible.

I have started with intermittent fasting and what is known as the 16/8 regime to control the weight. I downloaded an excellent free app called Zero a week ago. One simply logs the first and the last meal of the day with the app, which starts/stops a counter. For the last week, I have made it a habit to complete 14-16 hours of fast per day. It should slowly but surely get me to the goal of 65 kilos. 

I have also given up alcohol for an entire month now. I don’t drink soft drinks, but I always enjoyed a beer or a glass of wine. Yet, I have to consider the side effects. I have a tendency to have repeat doses when available; additional calories are ingested with these liquids with little nutritional benefit, and alcohol means inadequate sleep quality.
Finally, an additional expense is hard to justify as necessary when there is essentially no incoming business. These are times one has to be thrifty.

The other hack everyone is talking about right now is the new shoe revolution started with Nike’s 4% shoe. They are currently third generation, and other brands are following with similar solutions. Get my feet into one of these super shoes could also shave off several minutes. The tests claim these shoes make you up to 5% faster. 5% of 3:14 would correspond to 9 minutes and 40 seconds! So, almost 20 minutes just by these hacks. The price tag for these wonders is US$260. Ugh! 

The money saved not drinking beer and wine will have to cover this expense eventually.

Although aging slows one down, years of running also improves the running form. I am now a minimalist/barefoot runner for most of the miles I put in, as I run in the glove-like Vibram 5-fingers. Barefoot running is a great way to develop good form. 

If I can get my long runs logged and make the last 18 weeks of training very marathon-specific with a coach, it should be possible to run a sub-3h marathon in Berlin on Sep 26, 2021. 

I am not going to be lulled into safety by these numbers. I trained a lot back in 2014. Some very tough training awaits ahead of me, but the numbers crunched above, I realize that I should run well for many years to come. Coach John Goldthorp says this is just the beginning. One could well have a three-year plan in mind with steady improvements.

I will occasionally make updates in my training here if anything is interesting to write about. You may still follow me on Strava, Runkeeper, or Garmin Connect for the technicalities and root for me.