First marathon training plan/book recommendations? (Read 749 times)

I suggest a combo of formal plan and roll your own...I would definitely say a program like Higdon which focuses on mileage with very limited faster running is a better base plan. I use that as my skeleton and then tweak a few thing to fit in my other goals and my personal base. I wont usually start at week 1 of a plan if my mileage is already up, but I give the full time, so I might repeat weeks 4-8 twice. In my ideal world I add more weeks and repeat the 12-16 mile long run weeks a couple times Later this year I will be mixing some aspects of multiple plans...like 5 days a week, but with a bit more speedwork, but not as much as the 6 day a week plan...etc.

I suggest a combo of formal plan and roll your own...I would definitely say a program like Higdon which focuses on mileage with very limited faster running is a better base plan. I use that as my skeleton and then tweak a few thing to fit in my other goals and my personal base. I wont usually start at week 1 of a plan if my mileage is already up, but I give the full time, so I might repeat weeks 4-8 twice. In my ideal world I add more weeks and repeat the 12-16 mile long run weeks a couple times Later this year I will be mixing some aspects of multiple plans...like 5 days a week, but with a bit more speedwork, but not as much as the 6 day a week plan...etc.

Ahhh...that sounds about right. My mileage is already about the same as week 4 of Higdon's intermediate 1 plan. By the time I would actually start training I'm guessing I'd be closer to week 7 or 8.

It has been said, but I'll say it again: exercise caution (is restraint a better word?) when drawing a line in the sand re: time goals for your first marathon. I foolishly ignorned this advice and it somewhat ruined the experience for me. I told everyone that asked (and some that didn't) my goal was to finish. Really, I wanted to go sub-4:00. At the expo I picked up a 3:50 pace band. At the start I lined up just behind the 3:40 group, but ahead of the 3:50 group. I went out too fast - get a sense yet of where this is going? I imploded around Mile 17/18 - in a glorious ball of flames. It was nothing short of spectacularly, crushingly embarassing. Don't believe me? Have a look through my log. The mile splits are laughable. At the end, instead of savouring the joy of completing my first marathon, I was disappointed, almost sulkingly so. It still pisses me off. I think about it each and everyday. As for training, I am loosely following Pfitzinger's 18 week/55 mile plan. I came into the start of it with a pretty decent base. I don't get too fussed if I miss a day. I try to make it up, but don't always. Mostly, I've made a determined effort to run hard on my hard days, and much easier on my easy days. I incorporate hills (lots) into all my long runs. For speed, I favour strides (e.g., 10x100m thrown into an 8 Mi route, for instance) or a few miles at something around race pace (e.g., 2 Mi warm-up, 5 Mi at between HM/MP, 1 Mi cool-down). I am ambitious, but I have a life too. We'll see if it all comes together on May 11 or not. Regardless, my approach will be different. Let us know what you settle on, and don't be afraid to tinker with your plan or ask for help. Wish I had.

I'm training for my first marathon - Frederick on May 4 - and I'm using Higdon's novice plan. I just started reading his Marathon book as well. I've been running consistently for about 3 years now. Before starting the plan, my base was running 3 times a week 3-5 miles at a time....weekly totals of 10-15 weeks. When I trained for 1/2 marathons (I have run three so far) I increased my long run on the weekend and weekly totals were around 20 miles, but pretty much stayed with 3 runs per week. My biggest concern with starting this plan was how my body would react to running 4 times a week. I'm happy to report that 6.5 weeks into the plan I'm feeling great! One thing that the novice plan and book have said NOT to do is speedwork. The reason is that for first-time marathoners the focus should be on finishing - not on time. However, I have already added some speedwork into the schedule - using the mid-week long(er) run as a speedwork session. I feel that doing speedwork will help raise my VO2max and thus make me a more efficient runner...it can't hurt, right? At least I know that just because I'm running Yasso 800s at a 4:24 clip, I shouldn't expect my marathon to be 4:24...at least not my first one! My marathon goals are: 1 - Finish 2 - Finish sub 5 hours (but I'm not going to push myself to try and hit a sub-5 hour time...if it happens, great!) I believe these will be realistic goals which will keep me happy (and motivated to run a fall marathon as well??)

I think time goals are very motivating.

Me too. For your second marathon. And beyond. When you have some vague idea what it feels like to run that far and that hard, and what you might actually be capable of.

I don't know that we disagree necessarily, Lank. Mine was a cautionary tale. One of a plan poorly conceived and executed. More of a 'what not to do' if you will. I agree time goals can be motivating, if they are realistic and achieveable.

Dude. I rarely log peek but after your comment above, I had to check out your marathon. Wow. You really ran head first into a big ol' concrete wall, didn't you? Looks like about mile 16 your wheels came right off. I empathize. I had almost the exact same thing happen to me in my second marathon of this running life (third total). About the same place, too. Right around 15/16. If anything, my splits would have even looked worse. Much worse. But I was smart enough NOT to write them down. By the way, since its pertinent to the discussion - that also happened to be the very first time I tried to run a time goal. It ain't coincidence. I was shooting for sub-4:00 and barely (I mean barely) finished sub-5:00. The first half was 1:55. You can do the math and see how badly I collapsed. Kirsten, you'd learn a lot checking out TufAinEnough/Dave's marathon splits. That tells the story better than anything else could. Don't do what he and I did and you'll be fine.

Yeah, I know. Believe me, I know. The sun came out, it got warm for Oct and I starting cramping badly. My legs seized. First the right hamstring, then the left. Then my calves. Otherwise, I felt good. Just couldn't shake the cramps. I hydrated well (or so I thought). Perhaps I didn't take enough gels (2). I am not a small guy, so hydration and electorlyte replacement is a challenge. It became a run, walk, limp disaster. The frustrating part was that I felt I could have run better. I knew it. As for writing it down, it has allowed me to reflect on this day and learn from it. Any time I find myself getting particularly overconfident I'll re-read those splits and put myself back in place.