Meet Ryan Meissen: one of Wisconsin's top marathon runners over the past 10 years

Photo by Bill Flaws – Running in the USA

Check out ThunderDome Running's interview with 2x United States Olympic Trials Marathon qualifier and 2:18 marathoner Ryan Meissen from Mukwonago, WI. Ryan has been running for 22 years and has a half marathon personal best of 1:04:19!  Ryan just raced to the Lakefront Marathon title for the 2nd time racing to a 2:28:23.

We caught up with Ryan to see how he trains for his key marathons and how he fits everything in with family, work, and training.

How was your training similar or different from prior marathon training cycles leading up to the 2013 Lakefront Marathon win this year? 
I ran about 50-60 percent of the volume I ran 5 years ago. I still run 20 mile or longer long runs but not as many. I also mixed in a little speed before my marathon segment this time.

When you qualified for the USA Olympic Marathon Trials (2x qualifier) what was a typical training week for you like during a heavy volume of training period? 
I ran between 120 and 150 miles per week with 2 workouts and a 20 mile or longer long run on Sun.

How do you fit marathon training & running into your busy life/family schedule? 
I have reduced the marathon training to about 80 miles per week. I run many runs before work starting around 4:30 am. I try and get one quality workout a week and a long run near 20 miles ever other week. I also push my son Croix in the BOB jogger for easy runs. Planning a run is much more important than it used to be.

What is your favorite half marathon/marathon training workout? 
I enjoy the steady long run with a few marathon pace miles at the end.

Any pre-race superstitions?  
I always wake up 3 hours before any race. The rest of my ritual is top secret. Setting a plan and replicating it before all races is a great approach.