Would appreciate advice from the experienced marathoners here. I have been following the FIRST program like I did for Grandma's in 2007. Been adding a few "bonus runs", but time is always an issue for me. With the limited training, I find that missing a run, especially a long run is a disaster. My question, last week I was scheduled to run 20 miles. I was in Las Vegas , and it got HOT quickly. I only did 14 miles, and then went out and walked another 6 miles. I am supposed to run 16 miles this weekend, back off next week to 12, and then follow it with a 20 miler the weekend of the 30th. I am thinking of increasing my run this weekend to 20 miles. Thoughts?

Agree with Trent. Do the 20 and then the 12 the following weekend.

Long run tale. The training program called for 20 miles at 9:30 pace last week - and I only did 14. So after consulting with the fellow GM's here, I did decide to do the 20 today. Thought I would try a run - walk sequence, as I walked through water stops on my first marathon. I like to base goals on different levels (1) realistic - to make it (2) Probable - sub 10 minute pace and (3) Best case scenario - 9:30 average pace. With this in mind, I set out to do 1 mile runs with 30 seconds walk. Galloway would say this is to much running, and not enough walking, but since I usually don't walk at all, thought it was a starting point. I also wore my heart rate monitor for the first time. My plan was not to watch it at all during the run, but analyze it afterwards. Thought it would be a good indicator of my overall condition. At the end - I learned a lot from this run. THE GOOD: 1. I finished 2. Sub 10 minute pace 3. Much better feeling at the end compared to my 18 miler a few weeks ago. Most likely this was the run - walk combo, although I usually feel better on my long runs after doing intervals earlier in the week. 4. Great weather - started out in the low 50's and hit 59 F at the end. Ran along the Erie canal for 10 miles or so. Good combination of weather and scenery 5. Able to drink lots of fluid the day before. 6. Ate a Powerbar 2 hours before the run. THE BAD 1. Check the battery in the heart rate monitor before using, especially if you haven't used it recently. 2. It took me 7 to 8 miles to get used to the run walk thing. 3. Seems that my final pace was slower than I thought. My plan was to keep it around 9 minutes and no slower than 9:15, and most the time I felt I did. This probably reflects the start-up from the walk?? If I do this during GM, I will need to take that into account. 4. Garmin malfunctioned during run. It stopped intervals after only 14 miles. I had planned 16 intervals, then run in from there. 5. Salad bar was excellent at work yesterday, and wife made some great ravioli for dinner- ate too much, especially roughage. 6. Need sleep aid for daughters. One woke up at 3 AM and the other 5 AM - which is why I could eat the Powerbar 2 hours before the run. 7. No electrolyte fluid at home. So, I decided to eat one cliff shot every even mile (2,4,6, etc). Not as much for the carbs, but for the small amount of Na and K. By 12 miles, I was feeling queasy, and by 17 nauseated. Best miles as far as I am concerned: 1st just for getting going, and 17th for pushing through.