Challenge Accepted!

Week 14. Labeled in my training plan as „Peak Marathon Prep.“ Sounds serious. Sounds sharp. And surprisingly… I actually kind of nailed it?

Let’s break it down: I logged just over 10 hours of training, which puts me well into the „serious endurance human“ territory. The week featured five commute rides (no heroic long ride, but a solid weekday base), three runs (including a long trail run with 900+ meters of climbing), and two swim sessions totaling nearly 5 km. I even squeezed in a tiny core session. Barely.

According to the numbers, my estimated TSS came in lower than the original target (800 vs. ~600), but that doesn’t tell the full story. Because if you measure training quality by sweat, trail dust, and mild sensor confusion, this week delivered.

The plan called for a 5-hour hilly ride on the weekend. I gave it a long trail run instead. A bold substitution, yes. But with more vertical gain, and arguably more relevant to SWISSMAN’s alpine suffering, I’d say it holds up in court.

And while I didn’t stack my core sessions like a mobility god, I’m counting my one Tuesday session (23 minutes!) as both a gesture of compliance and a promise to do better.

So, are we peaking?

The fitness metrics say: kind of. My CTL is rising, ATL is manageable, and Form (TSB) sits comfortably in the „slightly overloaded but functional“ range. The graph is trending up, even if I missed a bike ride and had to negotiate with my calves during that last trail descent.

But here’s the important part: I still look at the training plan numbers and sessions as guidelines, not commandments. I have plenty of family time, work, and life happening around the edges. I don’t succumb to the numbers, but I try to train along those lines — with a decent mix of structure and flexibility. The plan is a tool, not a taskmaster.

What now?

Now it’s race week. Zurich Marathon is knocking, and I’m planning to go in aggressive. Goal: 3:15. That’s 4:37/km, sustained, with good vibes, bad decisions, and maybe a little caffeine gel magic.

If it works out? Amazing. If I blow up? Also great. It’s basically a live simulation of SWISSMAN’s energy management problem. Training through failure is part of the plan.

This week wasn’t textbook-perfect. But it was real, intentional, and just chaotic enough to keep things interesting.

Let’s call it a success.

One good week down. One marathon to go.

Onward.