In less than two weeks, I’ll be tackling the 3-Country-Marathon on October 13th!
Starting in the historical island town of Lindau, Germany, we’ll run over a causeway to the mainland, zip along the shores of Lake Constance, and pass through Austria and Switzerland before finally finishing in a stadium in Bregenz, Austria. Sounds scenic, right? It’s also flat and an official AIMS qualifier. My goal is to beat my Berlin time from last year of 3h 19m.
Since June, I’ve been diligently ticking all the boxes in my training program. I’ve done the speed work, the long runs and the strength work. I’m also injury-free, which I’m very grateful for. Everything is going according to plan.
Well, almost everything.
Here’s the catch—Coach Sean’s training plan feels light. Most days, it’s a 10K, which includes speed workouts twice a week. However, the intervals were never longer than 400 meters and the longest tempo was just 6 kilometres.
In the past, Coach Sean gave me mid-week long runs, but this time, I only got that treat once. My Saturday long runs were mostly around 2 h 15 mins, with just one 3-hour run. I runfess that I went rogue and secretly extended several of those long runs to 3 hours behind Coach’s back. I need those 3-hour long runs for my confidence at the starting line.
My Garmin seems to agree. For over a week now, it’s been flashing “Maintaining” at me instead of “Productive”, which I guess is Garmin speak for “Is that all you got?”. At least it’s predicting I can match my Berlin time, even saying I’ll finish 14 seconds faster. Thanks for the confidence boost, Garmin!
I keep reminding myself: trust the process. Coach Sean knows what he’s doing. My job is to keep my head in the game and not let those nagging thoughts mess with me on race day.
Last week, I got a nice change of scenery. We visited Kai’s mum in Mölln, Germany, and took my parents along for a family trip. Mölln is a runner’s paradise—open fields, forests, rivers, lakes, you name it! I got in some beautiful runs.
Oh, and while in Mölln, I got some amazing news: I snagged a spot in the 2025 Boston Marathon! This has always been my dream race. The journey continues!
- Do you trust your race time predictions?
- Have you ever felt underprepared for a race?
I’m joining Runs with Pugs and The Running Teacher’s link-up, Tuesday Topics. I’m also joining Runner’s Roundup with Mile By Mile, Coach Debbie Runs, Confessions of a Mother Runner and Runs with Pugs.
So excited for your marathon! You are so fast!!!! Were you always that fast?
And what app/watch is that? i have garmin but don’t have this statistics! Share please.
At my first marathon 20 years ago, I barely finished in the cut-off time of 5 hours. It was an awful experience!
Thanks to better training and more experience, I can pace myself better now. But it took a few years to get there.
I have the Garmin 265S. It’s an amazing watch – the data is incredibly useful. As a result of it, I have changed my habits (go to bed earlier, rarely drink alcohol, etc.)
Guten Morgen, liebe Catrina, ich wusste, heute kommen wieder neue, gute Nachrichten aus deiner Laufszene : Ganz schön viel Arbeit, ganz schön anstrengend, aber wenn man sein Ziel erreichen möchte, dazu noch tolle Unterstützung hat, dann muss man zeigen, was so alles in einem drin steckt !! Und du tust es !! Bravissimo !! Ich bewundere deinen Ehrgeiz, deinen Biss, wenn du etwas erreichen möchtest ! Und ich bin sicher, du wirst !!
Dann auch noch Boston – was will Catrina mehr ?
Hast du keine Probleme mit der Luftveränderung von Zürich nach Mölln ? Wenn ich in mich in Richtung Süden begebe und dann wieder zurück, habe ich meist die ersten Tage Probleme !! Umso besser, wenn du sie nicht hast !!
Also, noch zwei Wochen – und dann !! Toller Marathon, bestimmt ein Riesenerlebnis ! Die Daumen sind die alle gedrückt – versprochen !!
Viele Grüße von ganz oben, es schüttet gerade !
Schön, dass ihr eure Eltern mitgenommen habt !
Das Training macht ja schon Spass, aber nach drei Monaten sehne ich mich doch wieder danach, einfach mal wieder nach Lust und Laune zu laufen anstatt nach Plan.
Ich bin sehr gespannt, wie dieser Trainingszyklus sich auf den Marathon auswirken wird. Ich hoffe, dass der Plan von meinem Coach aufgeht.
Boston hat mir noch richtig Schub gegeben. Ich habe mich mit der Zeit vom Berlin Marathon 2023 bewerben können. Ich freue mich sehr auf Boston!
Die Zeit in Mölln war sehr schön, meinen Eltern hat es sehr gefallen. An die unterschiedliche Luft von Norden nach Süden habe ich noch gar nie gedacht. Ich merke überhaupt nichts, auch Kai nicht. Eher merke ich es, wenn ich in die Berge gehe und da laufen gehe.
Danke für’s Daumendrücken, liebe Margitta!
Liebe Grüsse aus dem regnerischen Zürich!
Liebe Catrina,
das wird richtig gut am Bodensee! 🙂
Ich verstehe deine Bedenken, aber wie du schreibst – der Coach weiß schon, was er tut, bzw. was er dich tun lässt!
Wie schön, dass deine Eltern mit in den hohen Norden gekommen sind.
Und dann noch einen Startplatz für Boston – wow! Das Glück ist auf deiner Seite! 😀
Liebe Doris
Nicht zuletzt dank einer famosen Unterkunft!! 😃
Ich freue mich jetzt richtig auf die Strecke. Es ist zwar noch etwas früh, aber das Wetter könnte etwas durchzogen werden… da werde ich einen Kehrrichtssack für den Start mitnehmen.
Meinen Eltern hat es total gefallen – ich flog mit ihnen und Kai fuhr mit dem Auto. Und im Haus hatte sie einen getrennten Teil für sich, so hatte jeder seine Privatsphäre. Ideal!
Ich freue mich sehr auf Boston!! 😍
Oh wow! That marathon sounds amazing! I may just have to put it onto my list! All the best for it!
And Boston!!! That is wonderful! What a treat!
I have no idea what took me so long to sign up for this race! They have a record number of participants this year, it seems like it’s becoming more and more popular, too.
I’m looking forward to Boston, Birdie!
THere’s so much good news in this post! First of all, congrats on getting into Boston! I am not surprised, with your qualifying time! And how exciting about your upcoming half. That sounds like a really beautiful race. Your trip to Germany looks beautiful–and dare I say the landscape reminds me of Wisconsin?
When I ran my PR marathon, I did an unconventional training plan wirtten by my CrossFit coach. I only ran 3 days per week and did 2 days of crosstraining, including strength and CF. I also had one day of cycling. My longest run was 18 miles. I lined up for that race with fresh legs and lots of confidence. Who’s to say what is the right way to train for a marathon?
What is AIMS?
I’m so happy that I got a spot in Boston!! It’s been my dream for a very long time but the time was never right for it. Now everything has finally worked out.
Your photos from Wisconsin remind me very much of this area in Germany too! If anything, I think your area is more vast – there seems to be a lot more space in the US compared to Europe.
That’s interesting about your training plan! So glad it worked out in a PR – it gives me hope!! Fresh legs and lots of confidence are key.
AIMS stands for “Association of International Marathons and Distance Races” (an association of 300 marathon organisations). AIMS certified courses are measured professionally.
First off, congratulations on getting into Boston! You will love the experience, the crowds, the excitement, everything about it will have you smiling from start to finish. My race strategy was to simply enjoy the experience. I’d worked hard to qualify and just wanted to enjoy the day. Will you be in the USA for an extended visit? If so, you and Kai must come to the DC area and ride some Loudoun County gravel with us!
Your upcoming marathon sounds amazing – three countries in one race. I’ll be looking forward to your pictures. Fingers crossed coach knows exactly what he’s doing and you’ll crush it!
Sounds like a fun time with your parents and Kai’s mom.
Thank you, Debbie! That’s exactly what I’m aiming for in Boston… just to enjoy the experience and savour every minute on the course. I don’t want to hit any PRs (I guess it’s a hard course to PR on), but want to take home ALL the memories. What year did you run it?
I’d love to do a gravel ride with you both! It would be awesome. We’re still in planning mode. Until now, I only booked the hotel near the starting line for two nights.
I’m looking forward to this marathon – it seems to be well organised. And it looks like the weather will be cool as well – I hope no rain!
The Sparkasse Marathon sounds amazing especially with alpine scenery all around. I hope you’ll have good, clear weather to enjoy the views. Covering three countries in one go definitely adds to the excitement factor. It sounds like you’re continuing the trend of multiple country traversal after TMB.
Mölln does look spectacular. Well done on all the training Catrina. I think using coaching is a give and take deal. It’s difficult to follow an exact plan, there has to be a bit of wiggle room in my opinion. You know your body best and how its feeling, so if you can squeeze in a bit more distance on a long run, then why not? Especially if it is going to give you a boost in confidence on the start line.
My garmin predictions are usually quite accurate for 5k and HM times. I haven’t really tried any 10k benchmarking lately. I have recently been at some time start lines feeling underprepared, as you know!
I’m sure you’ll be getting closer to taper now. All the best with the week’s plan!
Ha, yes, exactly like the TMB, only with different countries!
I never thought about the Alpine views but you are right of course. The weather forecast isn’t looking too good – I’m just hoping we won’t have rain. Today I was reading the race info and they said that we can take a boat to the starting line. Well, that would be a first!
Mölln was such a great place to prepare for a flat marathon! It’s not your kind of terrain of course, but I think you would have enjoyed the rural countryside.
Yes! I’m glad I did this “longer long runs” – they do give me the boost I will need when things get tough. Our bodies can do so much more than we think, as long as we feel confident and get the right encouragement (thinking of your friends cheering you on in your ultra).
Ha, yes! And despite feeling underprepared, you succeeded in that horrendous 100-miler! I’m always glad to hear stories like that – it shows it can be done!
Thank you, Sean! Can’t wait to get it done!
That sounds like a beautiful course and a fun half. I am excited for you. You have worked hard after your injury and you totally got this! Congrats on getting into Boston. Fun times ahead!
Thank you, Deborah! I’m so looking forward to Boston!! I want to make sure that I stay un-injured for that race.
That stress fracture earlier this year really messed up my planning with London in April. I’m glad that everything healed up so nicely. The body is amazing!
Traue lieber Coach Seans Plan als der ollen Garmin Uhr. Diese ganzen Race Vorhersagen sind ja nur grob über den Daumen, was weiß die Uhr denn schon … Und warst nicht du das mit dem Hinweis “skip the long runs!”? Ich halte mich da ja dran 😉
Aktuell bist du durchgehend gesund, wirklich topfit und super vorbereitet, am Marathontag wirst du die 3:19 locker unterbieten, da bin ich mir absolut sicher (ich hab eine Zielzeit für dich im Hinterkopf, mal schauen ob die dann passt).
Jetzt nur nicht noch auf den letzte Metern verletzen, auch wenn die Boston-Vorfreude bestimmt nochmal pusht (großartige Neuigkeiten!). Ich drücke jedenfalls jetzt schon die Daumen 🙂
Habe ich das mal gesagt?! 🤣
Du bist eh’ ein Naturtalent, der ohne jegliches Training (geschweige denn TrainingsPLAN) total krasse Sachen abzieht. Ohne sich mal zu verletzen – das muss mal jemand nachmachen! Ich finde es wirklich cool, wie du machst – mir wäre deine Renegade-Lauferei auch viel lieber als strikt nach Plan zu laufen. Ich kann es kaum erwarten, wenn ich wieder “frei” bin.
Ich hoffe, dass ich deine Zielzeit erreichen kann. Ich fühle mich im Moment recht gut und die 10k Läufchen gehen flüssig. Ich gebe auf alle Fälle mein Bestes in Bregenz (habe zwar kein Volker mit magischer Pasta aber eine Doris mit einer kuscheligen Bleibe!).
Danke für’s Daumendrücken!
“Renegade-Lauferei” 🤩 DAS gefällt mir 😁
Rainbows, and sunrise, and donkeys, and BOSTON????!!! Amazing! I’m so happy for you!
You are going to do great. You hired a coach for a reason – trust the process!
You’re going to have a great time!
Oh, what a lovely summary, Jenny! I am so excited about Boston, it’s been a dream for so long!
Exactly – I need to trust Coach Sean. He helped me to succeed in Berlin and I hope he will help me with this one!
I ran Boston in 1998 and 2010. I qualified many other years, but didn’t want to run it alone again (my husband missed qualifying by 8 seconds one year). A few friends qualified in 2009 so we went up together for the 2010 race. I’m so glad I did because I had to quit running the marathon distance shortly after that.
Oh, you did it twice! What a shame about your husband though!
I’m glad you got to do it before you had to quit running. Boston is so iconic – the Queen of all Marathons!
Sunrises and donkeys and BOSTON???? You are amazing!
This race (and Boston) is going to be wonderful! You are trained and you are ready. Yes, trust the process. That’s what your coach is for!
If the “worst” thing that has happened this training cycle is that you’ve made a few long runs a little longer, I think that’s pretty good. Yay for race day.
And yay for Boston 2025!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!
I like your perspective, Birchie! It could be a lot worse. I’m curious to see if everything will work out on race day – it feels experimental 😂.
So excited for Boston!! I can’t wait!
Congrats on getting into Boston! It’s so great that you are injury free leading into your race! I never trust my watch with certain things, and since you have a personal coach I would trust him more! I think its better to go into a race after doing less but having no injuries than being hurt or burned out. You got this!
Thank you, Lisa! I’m very excited for Boston!
Coming from a coach, I value your advice – it’s better to be underprepared than exhausted or even injured. I can’t wait to see how it will work out on race day!