My legs are ready for the Mighty Marathon

Posted on April 15, 2023•By John Kraijenbrink•Column

My legs are ready for the Mighty Marathon

Next week around this time I’ll be running the Mighty Marathon at the MUT Festival. My legs are ready for it. At least, that’s how they feel today.

A lot can happen in a week, but I think I’ve trained pretty good. Okay, last week I had hoped to do 3 times 15 kilometers and that didn’t work out, but still I feel ready.

Making kilometers

For my first ultra run in Sussex I had 2 weeks of 60 and 2 weeks of 70 kilometers. This time I’ve done one week of 60, followed by 2 weeks of 50 kilometers. That’s definitely not as much as much as I trained for the ultra, but this time I’ll be running 45 kilometers instead of 53 kilometers and climbing only 1.300 instead of 1.600 meters.

On top of that, the Sussex ultra was a month ago, so I had to get that one out of my legs and out of my system as well. That’s why I trained less.

Feeling and data

So how do I know I’m ready? First of all, my legs feel good, my legs feel ready. I feel good. I think that’s the most important parameter. I mean, I like data, but I do base a lot on how I feel. At the same time; the data is good. At this moment I can keep my heart rate below 150 beats per minute, while running 6 minutes per kilometer. For me that’s a good sign.

But that’s not all. Today I’m doing a 22 kilometer run, with every 5 kilometers a set of 20 squads and 20 walking lunges. They feel relatively easy, which means my legs have power.

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Amerongse Berg Trail

Okay, this isn’t a guarantee that it will go easy next Saturday. I also don’t expect that it will go easy, but I’m happy I feel good. Hopefully I still feel like that after tomorrow, after the Amerongse Berg Trail which I’m running with Sara. That is going to be my last serious run. The rest of the week I’ll do some easy runs, lots of yoga to regain some flexibility, and that’s it. That’s all I can do to prepare.

John Kraijenbrink

I run for fun. I run to be in the mountains, in the forest. I run, because running fascinates me. That’s why I study all the science about running. What I discover, I share with you. To help you to be a better runner, but above all to help you having fun running.