My training block for the 2026 Jersey City Marathon is starting soon, and I just finished reading the relevant chapters of Pete Pfitzinger’s Advanced Marathoning to get ready. I think I will be following the 18/70 plan. If everything had gone perfectly this year, I would have loved to push for the 18/85, but I had too many setbacks to make that realistic.
As it stands, I am not even certain the 18/70 is realistic. After trying a “medium long run” this week, I’m starting to worry about the intensity of Pfitzinger’s training plans. I was able to handle a MLR on Thursday, but the recovery from it was hard; I ended up taking Saturday off this week and still came apart on my long run the next day. Marathon training was already going to be a balancing act as a new dad. Choosing the wrong plan could make it even harder.
I have to be certain that Pfitz, well, fits.
I’m fortunate to have a sort of built-in “trial period” owing to the plan’s 18-week duration. I usually schedule a 16-week block, for no reason other than that’s how long I trained for my first marathon, so I can always pivot to something I’m more comfortable with if Pfitz absolutely destroys me over the first two weeks. I’ll commit to following the plan as written to start, and reassess then.
I want to be able to follow the 18/70 plan to the end because the ideas behind it make a lot of sense: your long run and medium long run are the most important days of the week, with tempo days next in importance and hills and intervals as gravy. It’s easy to recover from a tempo run, so the MLR is done the very next day to stack important work and leave more time to freshen up for the long run.
The long runs are hard as hell, though, building up to 14 miles at goal marathon pace within a 20-mile run. It’s tough to get three quality days done in a week, but what happens when one of your quality days is that? My goodness.
In theory, if done properly, the plan will have me ready just in time for each big workout as it comes. In practice, a lot of runners can attest that this is true. But in my experience, I have no experience with this plan whatsoever. More than ever before, we will have to see what happens.
Sunday: 4 easy with my “long run” group. Didn’t have much more in the legs after my race the day before. Nice to get out there and be social before getting back to the workweek.
Monday: 4 very easy, plus 30 minutes on the bike at lunch.
Tuesday: 7 easy. Found a “Your Speed” sign that was sensitive enough to report my running speed. This is the dream.
Wednesday: 7 easy. Sleep was a problem this week and I started to feel it here. I sprinted past that speed sign today, but a car was going by at the same time just like in that scene from The Office. Bike at lunch.
Thursday: 10, in an attempt at a Pfitzinger-style “medium long run.” I ran the last 6 at sub-7-minute pace and felt pretty good. Was tired afterward, though.
Friday: 5 very easy. Realized today I wasn’t sleeping enough to recover from the half plus Thursday’s uptempo effort.
Saturday: Realized today I just didn’t want to run, so I didn’t. That’s when I know I’m too tired.
This Week: 37 miles. I need to be doing more than this, even considering my recovery needs after the half. I just didn’t sleep enough to give this my best shot. I will be thinking about this headed into next week, and soon into the start of my training block.
Baby: My son was home sick today after a brief fever on Sunday. His mom gamely stayed home to watch him so I could go to work and stay on top of some deadlines coming up. He hates naps, so this was not a super fun assignment, but they made the most of it. They both were in good spirits when I got home with a rotisserie chicken for dinner.
We brought him along to pick out our Christmas tree this weekend, and now it is fully (and beautifully) decorated. It hasn’t quite taken over his imagination yet, but we know it will; the puppy gates should be here tomorrow.
theDNF 
Leave a comment