Higdon Intermediate & Speed (Read 420 times)

The self-devised plan that I cobbled together in preparation for a marathon this spring is not very complicated. I track my cumulative mileage against my goals for overall mileage. I do this with the belief that total mileage is the most important element for this (and probably most) type of training. I fit in Long Runs and some tempo work as life and my legs permit. But I keep my eyes more closely to overall mileage. I happened upon Hal Higdon’s Intermediate programs and noticed that my overall mileage is very similar to his Intermediate plan. I also noticed that he does not have any speed work in his Intermediate plan. Instead, it looks like he has a Marathon Pace run scheduled on the day before many of the Long Runs. I try to run faster once each week. It usually takes the form of a progressive tempo run of about an hour reaching 10k pace (7:45 for me), or a straight tempo run of 3-5 miles at 10K +20 or 30 seconds. For these modest mileage plans that top off at about 45-50 miles/week, do you have any thoughts on the comparative value of his Marathon Pace workouts vs. the weekly tempo runs that I have been doing? Thanks

Its been a while since I've read Hal Higdon, but I definately remember his saying that you dont need speed work,you only need distance work until after the first and maybe even the second marathon.....Ill have to pull my Hal book out this evening and look it up........as I remember he says no speed work until after the second marathon........(but I'm 56 so you cant count on my memory too much any more).....