Training for first Marathon. ADVICE!!! (Read 336 times)

Hello everyone(or at least anyone who reads this),

 

I am training for my first marathon and I was hoping I could get some advice about training.I have done some independent research and have a rough plan. Here is my schedule for this week. Most of my weeks in training will follow the same template.

 

Monday: Interval workout-400,800,1200,1200,800,400 all at 6:00 min pace

 

tuesday: 5 mile run - conditioning run; supposed to be comfortable but challenging(usually between 7 and 7:30 min pace)

 

wedsday: 5 mile run-conditioning

 

thursday: hill workout- basically run up and jog down large(quarter mile or so) hill for half hour

 

friday: 3 mi-slow and easy pace

 

saturday: 10 mile long run day

 

This is basically how I will plan my weeks. With two quality workouts(interval, tempo,hill,ect.) on Monday and Thursday, a run of about half my long run tuesday and wedsday, an easy day on friday, and long on saturday. rest on sunday.

 

I will increase my long run by 1 mile every week for three weeks and on the fourth will be a rest week where I significantly reduce my training volume and run about 2/3 length of my previous long run and continue to follow this 4-week cycle.

 

I have run track for two years, cross country for one(did I mention i'm a 16 yr old junior), ran several 10K's and have been running independently for about 3 years now. I am in pretty good shape so I don't think this is too agresive but this is totally new territory for me so I don't really know.

Any advice or constructive criticism would be extremely helpful.

 

Thank you for your time and happy running

Zee:

Good for you to aim high!  Although I would personally not quite advise anybody as young as 16-years-old to try to run a marathon, it is totally doable and, if done correctly, shouldn't hurt your further development.

That said, for a young healthy and active athlete, the total distance is quite low.  In order to safely complete a marathon, you would need to consider doubling the mileage you're running right now.  First of all, I would STRONGLY suggest you try at least a couple of days a week doubling.  You'd be surprised how quickly your body would adopt to it and you'll be so much stronger.  

Looking at your weekly plan, to me, the first mistake is; intervals--too short and too fast.  I don't know what your 5k time or what your target marathon time is; but I would doubt you're shooting for 6-minute milling.  I knew of a kid who ran his first marathon at the age of 16 and he did it in 3:20 and I'd say that's quite doable.  If you did 7-minute-miling, you'll get, what, 3:10 or something???  3:05?  I think you'd be better off doing something more like 3 X 2k or 4 X 1 mile or something like that at 6:45 pace.  I don't think doing 400s or 800s at 6-minute pace would help you for a marathon too much.

Second; you have a 5-mile of somewhat "challenging" pace the day after the interval, followed by (I'm assuming) the same workout on Wednesday.  Not a smart planning.

While I'd prefer doing different energy system training in blocks; if you want to do the same kind of workouts week in and week out, at least add some accent to it.  I'd say once a week, usually in mid-week, say, Wednesday, do a medium long run of, say, 8~10 miles.  That's right.  Your "long" run of 10 is not quite enough to prepare for a marathon.  You're young and your body will take surprisingly large volume of stress--if done gradually and sensibly.  I was doing 18-miler every weekend when I was 17.  I wasn't even getting ready for a marathon.  You want to consider doing 2-hour run on weekend or at least every other weekend.  If you slow it down to, say, 8-minute pace, you should be easily able to run 15 miles.  I'd say, over the course of, whatever time you have before the marathon, gradually work your way up to 2:30 or 2:45.  It doesn't really matter if you hit 18 or 20-mile so long as you consistently do a long run of over 2-hours.  

Hills are invaluable for preparing for a marathon.  Particularly, downhill section would develop pounding-resistance quads which would help your marathoning immensely.  Instead of just jogging down the hill, run down a bit fast to work your quads and do the recovery jog on the top or/and at the bottom of the hill.  Downhill can be valuable as much as uphill.  Don't try to run up too fast so as to make it too anaerobic.  Go up slowly with good knee lift and posture to strengthen your quads and ankle snap.  If doing hills AND intervals on the same week, spread them out over 2-week period while doing medium and long runs throughout the week.  Unless you're shooting for 2:45 or something, what'll help you is not so much "speed" quality workouts but long runs and leg-strengthening workouts.  You probably set out your weekly plan as such because you wanted to take advantage of your strength--being to run fast (at least 6~7 pace).  Again, unless you're shooting for that sort of pacing, that won't really help you go the distance.  Slow down and go far.

The days of double should not cut your long runs in half.  You ADD ONTO your morning run.  Morning run is merely freshening up supplementary jog.  Think of it as a part of warm-up.  Go real easy, do some loosening exercise, etc.  Don't even worry about how far you're running or how fast.  Just enjoy the morning jog and see how you feel for the evening workout.  You'd be surprised how well you handle your main workouts by adding easy morning jog.  That would be a great discipline for your future as well.

All the best.