40 by 26.2

No half marathon to rebuild toward this fall, so this is purely your standard HTC recovery protocol, run in full, with nowhere to rush to. Days 1–3 no running, days 4–7 light walking, days 8–10 first easy runs if Whoop recovery is green, days 11–14 resume normal easy running. Off-season base picks up directly from here.

This got longer and more purposeful once the fall half dropped off the calendar — one continuous 15-week build instead of two separate cycles, and it needs to carry real intent now that Shamrock is a 1:45 goal, not a checkpoint. Higher volume ceiling than a typical off-season (up to ~33mi/wk), variety stays in (hills, fartlek, trail runs) so the dark months stay enjoyable, and a cutback every 3–4 weeks. Monday cross-training is optional early, becomes a real easy run by the back half as volume climbs.

This is now a real goal-race build, not a checkpoint block. Paces are recalibrated around 1:45:00 (8:01/mi) — tempo work targets ~8:10–8:25/mi threshold, track reps target 5K/10K effort at those faster paces, and the Jan 23 10K sits in Week 4 as the mid-block fitness read. Volume runs higher than a typical half build (up to 40mi/wk) because sub-1:45 needs a bigger aerobic base under the speed, not just faster workouts. Watch the Achilles and knee items closely through this stretch — this is the steepest intensity ramp in the whole plan.

Purpose: build the aerobic engine a marathon runs on, starting from whatever fitness Shamrock actually confirms. New wrinkle this revision: Reno-Tahoe Odyssey (Jun 4–5, 2027, 178mi relay) lands almost exactly at the end of this phase — close to ideal placement, since Base's natural build-up doubles as RTO lead-in fitness rather than competing with it. The last 2–3 weeks of this phase taper into RTO the way HTC's bridge block did, just shorter.

• EasyThe bulk of the volume — most days, most miles. Starting paces set from Shamrock's actual result, not the pre-race guess.
• Long RunWeekly anchor, building steadily toward RTO-ready durability.
• HillsContinues — strength and economy work, low speed-injury risk.
• 🏔 RTO Taper (last ~2wk)Short taper into the relay, mirroring HTC's protocol at smaller scale.

Starts about a week later than the previous version of this plan — pushed from Jun 7 to Jun 14 to give RTO (Jun 4–5) a clean recovery window first, the same logic as any hard relay effort needing a few easy days before real intensity resumes. Purpose: convert the base into marathon-day capability — goal pace under fatigue, long runs simulating the back half of the race, highest volume of the whole plan. Highest-stakes phase to protect from disruption.

• MP SegmentsMarathon-pace miles inside long runs — the most race-specific session type in the plan. Paces set from Shamrock/RTO-informed fitness.
• TempoThreshold work, holds through the build.
• Track 800s/1600sLonger reps than the half build — VO2max and mental toughness for miles 18–24.
• B2B Weekend (occasional)Fatigue-simulation double — same principle as HTC's back-to-back Sundays.

Purpose: arrive rested, not fitter — fitness is already banked. Your 40th birthday (Sep 13) lands mid-taper, a nice symbolic marker without being raceday itself. One open question worth flagging now: with Shamrock and RTO both feeding real data into this cycle, the sub-4:00 marathon goal may end up conservative by the time this phase starts — worth revisiting the goal-pace numbers here once Marathon-Specific Build's results are in, not locking sub-4:00 in as final today.

• EasyMost of the volume that remains — resist testing fitness again.
• StridesShort touches of speed to stay sharp without fatigue.
• Goal-Pace TouchesBrief marathon-pace segments, just enough to keep legs calibrated to whatever the final goal pace turns out to be.