I’m back from my third marathon! Those 3 hours and 15 minutes on the race course were an expression of months of training and time invested so it’s special when it all comes together for a great day. You may know me as a runner, but I don’t actually race marathons often! Each of them is still a cool/special milestone in my life. My first marathon was in 2018, my second was in 2021, and I ran one this year. Complete the pattern and that means I’ll see you back here in 2027.
Note: Just looking for my experience using the V.O2 app and the VDOT system? Check out the training section below.
Why this particular marathon?
The idea for Toronto started with the running club I meet up with 1–2 times each week. Atomic Habits fans will recall how identity (“I’m a runner”) and a group (“my friends are runners”) influence the actions we take. I’ve met some amazing people there who I’m blessed to call friends-friends now (i.e. not my “running” friends) and this year we thought it would be fun to travel as a group for a race with some sightseeing to follow. The Toronto Waterfront Marathon in the fall is one of Canada’s largest and most well-organized races, and that made it a good pick. Bonus for me: Toronto is an amazing city by worldwide standards and, despite having seen a lot Canada already, I hadn’t visited yet.
About that broken arm…
Some of you know that I broke my arm badly in March 2023 while exercising (I knew it was bad when the X-ray technician gasped at the first glimpse of the scan). It required surgery to repair and that experience dramatically changed my approach to fitness. I learned the hard way that I’m not invincible. This also meant adjusting my approach to be less about pushing limits and more about living to exercise another day. Setbacks are significant and I still don’t have even close to the strength that my arm once did. I might never have it all back! I’ve come to terms with that.
So for running, this new approach meant not going into the training block with a particular time goal in mind, or even a desire to get personal record (PR). Instead, I would train hard yet conservatively, with the intent to run my absolute best on race day.
Training
I started building up my cardio fitness in April at around 35 kilometres per week, but training started in earnest once I got back from Korea in June. I had my eyes on the Edmonton Half Marathon as a midpoint race in August. So it’s fair to say my running “season” lasted about six months this year.
The following is not a formula for success, but is a record of what I did. It’s brass tacks and a good candidate for skipping/skimming unless this kind of stuff excites you (yes, all eight of you).
- Over the training block I increased my mileage by 10% on the weeks I felt recovered and strong. That peaked at 90 km (55 miles) per week in the end.
- I started by running four days per week, then increasing to five and eventually six. I increased the number of running days per week when individual easy runs were taking too long to complete.
- My long runs never exceeded three hours which I think was the right call.
- The biggest difference in this training block is that I had three “quality” days per week instead of two. Quality refers to a hard day like a long run or a speed workout. The other 2–3 runs during the week were easy. Taking them easy meant I was recovered enough to “drop the fucking hammer” on hard days. (Not sure where I pick that phrase up but it's stuck)
- I think I could’ve ramped up faster and gotten to six days of running per week sooner. But you know I took a very conservative approach this time around (see the part about the broken arm above). I didn’t get injured (yay!) but I definitely left some fitness gains behind (I’m okay with that)
The above mostly comes from the famous running coach Jack Daniels (No, not the whiskey because that’s his actual name.) I hear his approach has some flaws and has since been improved by others, but I love the simplicity and it works great for me. I’ve poured over his training book, but his company also ships an app called V.O2 that makes implementing his method drop dead simple.
Summary: I finished the training block with no injuries and very high compliance with the training plan. That’s a great feeling and confidence booster going into race day.
Race day
You know what isn’t a great feeling on race day? Getting to the start line and realizing your race bib and timing chip is still in your hotel room. This is why we have buffers people—in both time and money. So: bib acquired → back to start line → re-adopt the “let’s do this” mindset.
The race started and I felt great immediately. Toronto’s course is flat but there’s a small uphill in the first two kilometres of the race which then descends gradually over kilometres 4–8. I knew that by the time those uphill and downhill sections were done I should be locked into my guideline pace—something between 4:37/km and 4:40/km. (Note: I didn’t treat this as an aspirational “goal” pace, but instead as the realisitic guide that I should be capable of hitting based on training. Small but important mental shift.)
The middle kilometres clicked by with aid stations, gels consumed (maple syrup, natch), and some inspiring cheer sections. Then, the key moment in many marathon courses: the point where the half marathoners go home and the marathoners go further.
In my past two marathons the sense of relative ease disappeared around kilometre 28. That’s when I’ve historically started to feel the work. Imagine my surprise at how great I was doing post-28 this time.
I’m guessing my nutrition strategy helped. I stuck to 200 calories worth of gel or maple syrup per hour (yes, let the Canada jokes flow like our golden rivers of edible sap). This is more than I’ve eaten in past races. I also essentially doubled my hydration by drinking electrolytes and chasing with water at each aid station. In the past I’ve alternated between picking up electrolytes and water at aid stations.
But around kilometre 33 the ease disappeared and that was okay/expected. It has to get difficult eventually. I can’t remember where I heard it, but this quote has been insanely helpful for my pacing: “the marathon is a 32 km warm-up and a 10 km race”. Physiologically I knew I was capable of continuing because of all the training, but one by one, different parts of the body started screaming to stop. The quads feel every step, the shoulders tighten, the right achilles tendon aches.
My only two tasks for the last 45 minutes of the race:
- Taking the next step
- Mentally transforming exertion and pain into pure sensation, not judging if the feeling is good or bad
Kilometres 33 to 39 were simply hard, and kilometre 39 even ends with a small but challenging hill, but it’s all (metaphorically) downhill after that. I felt that energy going into the finish line at 42 km. In 2021’s marathon, the urge to walk at the end was strong. I remember myself saying “this hurts so much, why does it matter to go so fast, I’m already getting a PR”. This time I’m proud to report a slightly older and wiser me was on course and no bargaining even started. I ran it right into the finish line, not letting up at all. Bliss followed. I immediately fired off text messages to my family back home thanking them for their help. Then I met up with my friends and we basked in the afterglow.
Recovery ⛱️
Here’s a Nike ad with exclusive footage of me walking around the day after the race (not actually me, but you get the idea). I’d say the wobbly feeling lasted for three days. Fourth day was stable but still some soreness. I went for my first run one week after the marathon. The recovery plan said 35 minutes so I took it easy, but I could feel an unordinary amount of fatigue after only 20 minutes. I finished up the run okay, but it’s clear there’s a lot more recovery that needs to happen.
What’s next ⛷️
No running races (hah). Going full multi-sport mode this winter. Can’t wait to get in the pool for a swim, ride the bike indoors, do some more strength training again, and go cross-country skiing. Next year I am pondering a season of sprinting instead of endurance running, so we’ll see what happens. Live to exercise another day.
P.S. Yes, it was a personal record 🥇
