Train with a plan - Drey’s marathon PB

We know Dreyfus since his early 20, those were the time we went Hanian for Ironman China and the first edition of Ironman 70.3 Taiwan. He contacted me few months ago and decide to say goodbye to his hey days and resurfaced at Sonic training. I suggested him to recabilate, set a race goal, and train with a structural plan. I captured his schedule  and upcoming race plan though questionnaire, oh god he got too many races....he just like many of us before knowing what priority and periodiziation all about. Then I prescribe him a monthly plan, though constant communication, he made his first came back marathon with a big PB and injury free! I am glad that he didn’t take the plan away and modify as his own version, he fully respect my knowledge and experience. He is starting a new phase of training plan for Ironman 70.3 Vietnam 2018!

 Over the past years I have self-trained and raced in myriad endurance races (ranging from half-marathons to Ironman 70.3s). Despite the joy and satisfaction of completing these races, my results had begun to plateau very early on.  When it came to training, I relied heavily on the mentality that the harder I trained and the more sessions that I did, the better my results would be. A few months back, I reached out to Charles Hui of Team Sonic, for guidance and advice in regards to how I can go about improving my race results. With the aim of taking part in XiaoXingInternational Full Marathon (42km) on 11 November 2017, and only 2 months of training time, Charles introduced to me a systematic and structured training program and the importance of race day nutrition planning. Although the training program was not something I was accustomed to (ie incorporation of easy recovery sessions and rest days), I followed the set program religiously (albeit with some doubt as to the benefits). Last weekend, I completed the full marathon with a PB of 4:14:00 (my previous time being 5:10:00). This race was different from any I had previously done, as I was not in complete pain or fatigue as the finishers’ medal was placed around my neck. I stuck to my race pace and nutrition plan, and finished the full marathon within my estimated time. The result from this race is a testament to the importance of a structured training program, and the need for proper race day planning and preparation.