Running journal for Bunbury Marathon 2025

Context

I'm running my 3rd marathon in April at Bunbury 3 Waters Running Festival . My first marathon was April 2024 where I ran 3.10.06, 6 agonising seconds off my goal. After that I set the goal of running a sub-3 hour marathon at my second marathon - Perth Running Festival. I ran 3.28.56 off ~5 weeks of training after multiple injury setbacks in the build up.

In November 2024 I ran 1.28.44 in the Freo Running Festival HM - a ~3.30 PB off about a month of HM specific training.

The next main race is Bunbury 3 Waters Running Festival 2025. I want to keep a public diary here of how the training is going. The main reason I'm pushing here is that I'm lucky enough to have a lot of paternity

Goals

  • A goal: TBC
  • B goal: Sub 3-hours

Plan

Here is the full google sheet of my plan I'm making this up based off a few things:

  • Stealing workouts from my friends and books I've read recently.
  • The volume I think I can manage as father of 7month old and 4 year old.
  • The workouts I think will confidence to go sub-3.
  • Workouts that I think will bring me joy

Journal

Phase 1 - Power, base building, weight loss

The main focus here is weight loss. Thats always the focus, but I never am able to really deliver on that despite all the different things I try. I reckon I can get sub-3 at 93kgs, but man would it be easier if I was 5-8kgs lighter.

Secondary focus is to carefully build the volume back up to a point where I can transition into the higher volume straight away in January.

The final focus which is really the focus of the workouts is nudge power up a little bit. I can't remember which book I saw this in, but I thought it made sense as a pre-marathon training phase. Having an increased focus in this phase on strength work and power (aka hill intervals) will help with the weight loss and have the body strong for kms to come.

Week 1 - 25/11 - 1/12

I need to backfill these. Check the google sheet if you really wanna know

Week 2 - 2/12 - 8/12

I need to backfill these. Check the google sheet if you really wanna know

Week 3 - 9/12 - 15/12

Goal Volume: 78kms

Monday

  • Morning. 8km Easy with Gilbo in the pram around hyde park when it was 35 degrees.
  • Evening: little lunge and core workout
  • Thoughts: Man its hot why do this.

Tuesday

  • Morning: Supposed to be 6x800s @ 3.35min/km with 60s rest. Executed reps well at 3.34,3.34, 3.32, 3.35, 3.34, but knew about half way that I was pushing myself pretty hard.
  • Thoughts: How to listen to the body without being fragile. Balancing getting in good workouts without sacrificing consistency.

Wednesday

  • Morning: 10km Easy at 9am
  • Thoughts: Bloody hot.

Thursday

  • Ran with Lenni to maylands hills at 9am and did 20 hill sprints. They are supposed to be longer, but you gotta take whatever hills near playgrounds you can get.

Friday

  • Morning: 50 minutes gym at 5.30am with both boys hanging out on the balcony listening to tunes. Overhead press and front squat as main focus - some other stuff.
  • Arvo: 8km at 1pm with Gilbo in pram around hyde park to make up my kms from shorter workouts on Tues/Thurs and make up his nap.
  • Thoughts: Listened to David Roche interview with Rich Roll and found it all very inspiring. Both just his general - lead with love - approach to life and his approach to training.

Saturday

  • Morning: 27km with 5km at MP. Originally this was supposed to be all easy, but I wore my old New Balance SC elites in case I wanted to push the pace in the Claisebrook park run I was finishing the run at. Ended up being a joy of a run . I did 19km at ~5.00min/km and HR only nudged into the 140s when I was pushing the pace in the last 3km thinking I was going to be late to park run. I ended up running the park run at ~4.11min/km, but was harder work than MP for sure.

Sunday

  • Morning: 5km Shuffle at 6.20min/km. Wasn't sore, but trying to focus on slowing right down on those recovery runs.

Week 4 - 16/12 - 22/12

Goal Volume: 86kms

Monday

  • Morning: 9km easy avg pace of ~5.00min/km in the heavy $45 Pumas.
  • Thoughts: Avg HR here was 132, but I felt I had to work the legs a little hard to get the HR up into what I think is the zone 2 range. Is working the legs too hard in zone 2 a thing? Or have I miscalculated what zone 2 actually is?

Tuesday

  • Morning: 7.30am - 10x400s at 3.15min/km - 3.20min/km with 60 second rest. That pace is probably too quick in that heat for that amount of rest. Did 5 reps with the 60s rest, but then took between 60seconds and 3 minutes (before the last rep) rest to try and hit the speed.
  • Evening: 36mins weight training - deadlifts and overhead press as main focus of the workout.
  • Thoughts: Decided to add more rest rather than drop the speed as the focus is on power. If anything I could treat these more like a gym session and always have more rest between reps.

Wednesday

Thursday

  • Morning: 29km Easy. Bloody hard work running south along the freeway to Mount Henry bridge. Not sure if I was tired from workout/gym or if it was just the 20km/h headwind on the first 13km, but it was hard going today. Tried to keep heart rate at 130 and not worry about the pace. Avg pace of 5.21min/km, but last 10km with the tailwind still had a few 4.40s and 4.50s.
  • Thoughts: Won't be doing that route again anytime soon. I reckon I got through close to 200gs of carbs in the first two hours, but I could have mis-measured my home made gels. I had 60g in the water bottle and full gel pouch.

Friday

  • Was feeling a bit run down so took the full day off. Marathon training is ... a marathon so trying to properly listen to my body and not get sick.

Saturday

  • Morning: 10km, with 5km at threshold ( 19.43) at Claremont park run. Pretty warm day so there weren't many in attendence and managed first park run win by 90seconds or so.
  • Arvo: 5km make up kms with Gilbo in the pram around hyde park in the hot hot hot heat.

Sunday

  • Morning: 11.65kms ( to get to 85km for the week)
  • Arvo: Weight training. Front squat and chest press on the foam roller as main focus. Some other misc thrown in there. Chest press on the foam roller is decent little exercise that I picked up somewhere. I like it because a) I don't have a bench and b) it gets a good stablising balance in the core.

Week 5 - 23/12 - 29/12 - Recovery week

Volume - 60km Actual - 41km

Goal: Plan is drop volume by 25% with 3 days with no running. Two of those will have an hour on the bike as easy workout. Rationale is that I fall easily into the trap of not giving myself enough rest. At the start of this week I feel like I definitely could do more, but want to feel fresh for first week of marathon build.

Monday

  • 70 minutes on the bike at 9am. It was probably already 30+ degress at this time, but it was enjoyable being back on the bike. Hadn't been on a bike since my last one was stolen. Average heart rate only 109bpm, but I always find it hard to get that up on the bike unless going up hills.

Tuesday

  • morning: 18km at 5.04min/km. Real enjoyable easy run just trying to hover at 130bpm.
  • Thoughts I actually quite enjoy the runs next to the boring busy roads as I just completely zone out and tick over the kms. I can't stop thinking about Vlad Ixel hill running videos every time I run up or down hills. I'm not sure I'm actually doing the technique right, but it feels kinda right?

Wednesday

  • Christmas! I took all my running clothes, but forgot my shoes so had to bail on Christmas morning run.

Thursday

  • Morning: ~5km total. WAMC parlouf relay with Matt Smerrilli. Taking turns doing 1km loops on very grassy/sandy loop. I went out way too hot on the first one ~3.20min/km and then lost 5-10s per km each lap to end with a 3.41. I did not warm up enough to go that fast.

Friday

  • 60 minutes easy - 12km. Nice easy run to the new bridge over at the narrows.

Saturday

  • Was sick and decided took the full day off

Sunday

  • Gym, 30 minutes on the bike and 6km pretty slow jog. Probably too much after being sick, but had the energy to do it. Ended up being a pretty dramatic drop in volume down to 41 for the week.

Phase 2 - Build

Main focus is to get the volume up over 100km per week with some decent 30km+ long runs. I ended up simplifying the plan I originally had and am just going to do the same Tuesday workout each week. For this block thats going to be 8x800s so ~ 25 minutes of work. If I'm doing MP in the long run then I'll only do 2 workouts and if I have an easy long run I'll do some longer faster work on the Thursday.

I'm trying to pull myself back from overthinking it and overdoing it. I need to focus on consistency over everything else. The only thing that'll really stop me from achieving the lower goals is getting injured or sick from pushing myself hard.

Week 6 - 30/12 - 5/1

Volume - 94m Actual - 95km

Monday

  • Had planned to do a longer run in Donnybrook, but was feeling crook. Felt better after the drive back and did 25 minutes on the bike from dropping car off into 45 minute easy run. Legs felt great from all that rest!

Tuesday

  • 16.7km run along the highway in Ballajura. Tried protien in home made gel... not a good idea.
  • Evening: 30 minutes Gym

Wednesday

  • Truly stupid behaviour. Went to the beach with family and ran home at 10.30 on a ~36 degree day. Tried to go to fastest route - which took me through the worst part of Perth to run. Ran out of water and ended up stopping for Calipso and a 1L of coconut water at a servo. It's a deliciate balance between being accomdating and forcing myself to run in stupid situations.

Thursday

  • Morning - 8x800s with 3 minute active recovery. Didn't know exactly what pace to hit these at so ended up somewhere around what I reckon 10km pace is (3.48min/km - 3.56min/km). That amount of rest makes it pretty cruisy workout over all, but its still ~25 minutes of work at 20-30s faster than marathon pace. I feel like I've worked, but not thrashed myself after doing that.
  • Arvo - 35minutes in the gym

Friday

  • Morning (AKA night) 3.44am 5km recovery run. Ended up tripping over a curb and scraping my knee and getting covered in dirt... but at least I got home before baby woke up the house.

Saturday

  • Morning - 30km with 9km at MP. 10km WU then 3km at 4.20, 3km Easy, 4km at 4.15, 4km EZ, 2km at 4.10, 4km home. Second rep was done at UWA park run which was fun. It felt like I had a strong headwind for 80% of this run, including the final MP effort which I bailed out of the 3km at that pace. Last 2km were at 4.05min/km and 4.09min/km so good effort under the belt, but long way from feeling like that is an achievable pace for 42km. I need to buy extra flasks for the home made gels as I didn't have enough volume to get through the full workout.

Sunday

  • Evening - 4.6km shuffle after Lenni's birthday party to hit 95km for the week.

Week 7 - 6/1 - 12/1

Goal Volume - 100km Actual Volume- 100km

  • Morning - 12.25km, but hard going as I had just eaten a big breakfast when Milly said she was taking the kids out - giving me a chance to get this run in. Gut training?

Tuesday

  • Morning - 8x800s with 3min active recovery. Did this on the grass at Kingway footy club. Felt a lot harder on the grass and I ended up with less total distance so I must have taken more pure rest than last week. However, pace was pretty similar to the week before with the last 3 reps being strong
  • Arvo - 50 minutes in the gym with squats/bench focus + hip/core routine.

Wednesday

  • Morning - 15km run to North Cott to meet family for beach time. Shark alarm was blaring so ended moving along further south.

Thursday

  • Morning: 13km total with 2x2km at ~3.45min/km in there. I'm not sure exactly what this workout gets me or what pace this is really, but the idea here was just to hold some longer efforts than the Tuesday workout. Felt pretty strong throughout.
  • Arvo: 45 minutes - Deadlift, press, nordics + hip routine. Deadlifts aren't anything to write home about, more just trying to keep strength nudging upwards.

Friday

  • Morning: 4.65 recovery

Saturday

  • Morning: 30km. First hour was with the pram around monger. I dropped baby off and then ate way too much energy bar and drank too much. Next 45 minutes were a slog as I made my way to Yokine Park run. This was supposed to be all easy, but I had gotten bored 2 hours and decided to do Yokine Park run as a steady... which ended up being only 10s slower than MP with a finish of 3.55min/km. Pretty dumb, but it ended up being over 3 hours of running/faffing about so I was keen to get home.

Sunday

  • Arvo - 55 minutes on the bike with the boys.
  • Evening - 9.4kms to get me to 100km for the week. Achilles was feeling a little tender from this week and I should have just taken the rest, but ego in sticking to the plan and hitting 100km for the week meant I went out there. Warms up after a couple of kms, but definitely not a good idea to do.

Week 8 - 13/1 - 19/1

Goal Volume - 100km Actual Volume- 100km

Lowered the volume by 5kms from original plan so that I could take a full days rest on the Monday.

Monday

  • Took a full days rest to give the achilles a chance to settle down. I remember feeling something similar at the start of the build last year as the legs adjusted to the volume. It ended up going away rather than getting worse so hoping for something similar. I find it pretty hard to adjust the plan downwards, even though I've completely made up the plan, but knowing the main goal is consistency makes that a little easier. I was still pretty miserable about doing no exercise all day, but defo the right thing to do.

Tuesday

  • Morning - 17.3km with final set of 8x800s. Really tried make sure the active recoveries were active the entire time and tried to hit most of the reps in the 4.45-4.50 range rather than the 4.50+. Achilles awareness was there only for first few hundred metres of the warm up, but then felt pretty solid through the runs. So over the three weeks of doing the same workout speed, heart rate and vibe all improved which is what I wanted to see.
  • Arvo - 45 minutes gym. Front Squats, some back exercises, hip and core routine. Random stuff with weights as I played with the kids.
End

Was this helpful? Let me know. It was enjoyable to think about and write.