Too many circles

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Steve Wagner

My approach to training for the Chicago Marathon this fall has been a little different than previous marathons, with some tweaks.

In many ways, I’m following the Greg McMillan program I used with tremendous success for Grandma’s Marathon. But with a difference type of course – those who’ve run in Duluth know there’s a lot more rolling hills – I’m trying to capitalize on the program’s flexibility.

Each Thursday, McMillan’s program allows for one of 3 options for runners, depending on areas that need improvement. For Grandma’s, I focused on hills for leg power. There are also specific workouts for strength and stamina.

Since my goal is to increase my overall speed for Chicago, my focus has been on stamina and developing long distance speed. While my injury interrupted training, today I headed out for 3,000-meter intervals. This is one workout I haven’t done before – the last time around I did a tough hill workout.

The workout today wasn’t as tough as I expected, although I did improvise. Instead of finishing the final interval on the track, I used the return trip home to pick up the pace. This allowed me to still get in the speed work without aggravating my lower abdomen strain, which I was starting to feel a bit from the faster running. Plus, I was running in too many circles and needed some freedom to run the roads. Overall, the workout was nearly 9 miles. Up next is a big 24-miler on Saturday.

About Steve Wagner

On an icy spring morning in 2006, I found myself at the start of the Fargo Marathon as a newspaper reporter. The positive vibe and contagious energy prompted a simple vow: run something, anything, the following year. A group of co-workers graciously agreed to run the 26.2-mile relay. That experience prompted me to start entering smaller local races and then a half marathon. Soon, despite my original plans, I began training for a marathon, and my journey as a runner continues today. Since 2008, I've been competing in marathons, a path that has taken me to the starting line of Grandma's Marathon (3 times), Twin Cities Marathon (2), Fargo Marathon (2), the Rock 'n Roll Arizona Marathon, the Chicago Marathon, the Surf City USA Marathon in Huntington Beach and most recently, the Minneapolis Marathon. During my journey, I've found a true passion for the path less traveled, particularly country roads, trails and the Ragnar Relay series. To this end, my running isn't about destinations, rather discovering my limits in an experiment of one.
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