TTP:
I think you could be approaching it in a better way. If all you do is volume, as in 40 mow, you are not maximizing the fitness benefit. You should do some research on the following topics:
- periodization and planning. You should divide your training year into three or four distinctly different periods, each with a separate focus. For example, months 1-3 focus on building the base and doing some strength training. Then months 4-6 build your speed with plyometrics in the gym and a lot of speed work, including track workouts, tempo runs, hard hill runs, fartleks, etc. Then months 6-9 you take that speed and stretch it out into speed endurance with a consistent long runs punctuated with shorter, high-tempo stuff. Then months 9-12 you train up your race-specific skills such as your 20-24 milers on courses similar to what you will see at Bay State. By breaking your training year up, you can plan more effectively and address specific limiters, as well as alleviate some of the tedium of simply going on long runs. It is also a good way to avoid injury - I do it this way and have managed to avoid serious injury, a major accomplishment for me.
- sports-specific nutrition. I am really amazed by the degree to which a sports-specific nutrition plan can impact the quality of your training. An eating plan specifically tailored to help you recover better, store and use glycogen more efficiently, and become more metabolically efficient is pretty simple to implement and you'll find that your fitness will improve better.
- mental skills training. At some point, and I think you are past this point judging by your times, you become physically able to reach your goal. I am physically capable of running a 3:30 marathon if properly fueled and rested. But that physical skill can be undermined if your mind isn't ready for the extreme physical discomfort that accompanies running really, really hard for 26 miles. Specific mental exercises to help you overcome the urge to slow down or stop and capitulate to the discomfort are what get you through the last miles of a really hard marathon run.
Another thing that's important to remember when you're going for a really ambitious goal, especially at these distances, is that you have to buy into your training plan. You have to believe that it is going to train you sufficiently well to get your result. I sense from your posts that you don't fully buy into that yet. That's dangerous because the most common result of not having a lot of faith in your training plan is simply to train harder, which usually results in overtraining and/or injury. Make your plan, buy into it, and execute it.
