Forums >Running 101>Marathon Plan
Hello! I know that there are some smart, experienced runners here, so wanted to see if any of you would be willing to share a bit of that wisdom with me.
Question: I'm training for my 2nd marathon right now. It is 10 weeks out (Cowtown 2/24/13). Started off trying the Pfitz 18/55 and started to feel so ground down by the mid-week runs that I was unable to finish 3 long runs in a row, and they weren't that long yet! Also possibly dealing with residual issues from my first trail race. Took a few days off, and switched over to this plan (http://www.runningplanet.com/training/marathon-training-beginning-competitive-runner.html) in week 8. It is similar to one that served me well for several progressively faster halfs in 2011/early 2012. I'm feeling good and well rested on it, and plan to tone down some of the more intense speedwork that is coming up to minimize injury risk. I'd like to hear your thoughts on whether it will be enough mileage to give me a decent chance of meeting my goal of 4:15~4:25, and if not, what would you recommend for the remaining 10 weeks?
Background:
46 year old female. Been running some since 2006 or so (total of 6 HM's, 8 10K's, 13 5K's, 1 Marathon). Got more into trying to actually improve rather than just complete in 2011. Also took up triathon training, did several of sprint and olympic distance in addition to running. I keep my log over on BeginnerTriathlete, but here are some (hopefully) relevant stats.
Recent mileage history:
2012 - 1,353 miles so far
2011 - 972 miles
Sept 2012 - 100 miles
Oct 2012 - 141 miles
Nov 2012 - 156 miles
Dec 2012 - 67 miles so far
Most recent road races:
Half marathon 2/26/12 -- 1:55
Marathon 4/15/12 -- 4:43 (significant issue with my insulin pump coming detached, lost about 10 minutes there, and more because I stopped caring as much after losing that much time).
10K 10/27/12 -- 57:46 (run after a 27:10 5K) -- was mostly treating these as a training day...had a free entry .
Thanks in advance for any input!