Using Half as springboard to full marathon

funr runr

posted: 1/10/2007 at 12:08 AM

Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on a training plan...for some background, I have run two half marathons (with a 3rd coming up in a few weeks) and 2 full marathons, all very successfully and with really no problems. Right now I'm about 5 weeks from a half, and I'd like to just continue training from that to a full, which I've never tried before. My question is, how much more time should I keep training to be prepared for a full, and would I need to do a second set of hill training (I'm almost done one now) or just keep up with speedwork and building long runs? Any suggestions or training plans would be most welcome! Thanks, Carol

1000 mile club. "Pain is just the weakness leaking out."

Scout7

CPT Curmudgeon

posted: 1/10/2007 at 8:20 AM

I'd say it depends on when the next marathon is. You could take a marathon plan, and just jump in where you think appropriate. When I was training for Baltimore, I did 2 halves as "training" races. The second one was about a month before the marathon (give or take). I'd say that you could easily just continue to build distance from the half. Might also depend on your goals for each race to some extent, as well.

mikeymike

posted: 1/10/2007 at 8:54 AM

Sure, lots of people run half marathons while training for marathons. Whether it's a good idea for you right now depends on a lot of things. How does marathon training differ from half marathon training for you? For a lot of people they are not much different. So it would be a matter of doing a few extra long runs with some chunks of marathon paced running and maybe slightly higher overall weekly mileage. That's about it.

Runners run.

funr runr

posted: 1/11/2007 at 12:36 AM

Thanks for the input. My marathon training usually includes, as you mentioned, slightly higher weekly mileage. I'm thinking about 8 more weeks from the half to the full in order to get enough long runs in.

1000 mile club. "Pain is just the weakness leaking out."

trishierunner

esq.

posted: 1/14/2007 at 4:31 PM

Hey Carol, A lot of people use halves to train for fulls. After the half, I would slowly up your long run mileage and keep up with your speedwork (not sure about the second set of hill training -- depends on how you feel). What is your long run distance now? You want to get up to 20-22 miles a couple of times, and make sure you "cycle through" your long runs. For example: 10 miles on Saturday 12-14 miles the next 10 miles 16 miles 12 miles 18 miles 12 miles 20 miles etc.... Be careful not to do two very long runs in a row -- giving your body enough time to recover from a "long" long run is important. Keep training for the full if that's your goal! Trish

2009: BQ?

Using Half as springboard to full marathon (Read 467 times)