RA Coaching Forum

Bonkin's Marathon Training (Read 1078 times)

    Hey everyone! So on a whim, I entered a half marathon last weekend and did better than I expected. I'm very pleased with my progress and am now planning to run a marathon this fall. For some background on my running, I just quit a 28 year smoking habit this January and started the Couch to 5k plan in February. So my real running didn't start until mid-March. I've been averaging about 30 miles/week for the past six weeks. I've been feeling great and except for a little soreness after the long runs, I've had no other issues except for a little tightness/soreness in my left hamstring - which, btw, is getting better as I do a little strength work and strides. At the advice of several people around here, I've read Higdon, Daniels, and Pfitzinger. Of these guys, I think I like the Pfitz plans better for some reason, but his lowest mileage plan is 55 mpw, which I think is a bit much for me right now. So I'm currently thinking of taking his 55 mpw plan and scaling it down to about 45 mpw. I'm thinking of doing this one in October. It has a long descent in the 2nd half. So I guess I would appreciate any advice of how to add/change my training to get me more ready for the long downhill. I don't have much in the way of hills to train on nearby, btw. Will extra strength training on my quads work for this? Any advice or commentary on how best to scale down the Pfitz 55 plan? MTA: My primary goal is to finish and not need a ride in an ambulance afterwards with a stretch goal of doing it under 4:00 - also without an ambulance. Clowning around

    When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

    jEfFgObLuE


    I've got a fever...

      Mike, can you post a link to the plan you're referring to so we can check it out? BTW, my advice to to tuck and roll at the 14 mile mark.

      On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

        Sure, Jeff. Derek has a nice thing on his site that lets you generate a variety of Pfitz plans. I have 21 weeks (I think), so I will want something in between the 24 week plan and the 18 week plan That's a great idea to tuck and roll, maybe even a skateboard would work.

        When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

          I thought I would add that my current thinking to reduce the mileage would be to trim a little off of the longer runs in the middle of the week as that would be best for fitting things in with the rest of life.

          When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

          derek


            I'm doing the 24 wk/55mi plan for my marathon on Oct 7. I'm currently in the 5th week. I would think that if you're going to scale back some of the mileage, it would be best to do it on the recovery runs and rest those days instead. These are Pfitz' runs in the 4-6 mile range.

            Derek

              I'm doing the 24 wk/55mi plan for my marathon on Oct 7. I'm currently in the 5th week. I would think that if you're going to scale back some of the mileage, it would be best to do it on the recovery runs and rest those days instead. These are Pfitz' runs in the 4-6 mile range.
              Thanks, Derek. I was thinking of trimming back some of the mid-week medium-long runs a bit too for time constraint reasons. But after reading your comments and re-reading sections of Pfitz' book last night, I agree that your idea is probably my best route to cutting the miles down a little. As for bastardizing the 18 week and 24 week plans to come up with a 21 week version, I've decided to just go with the 18 week one, and do the first 3 weeks of it before I start off on the 18 week plan. A little more base/endurance training can't hurt.

              When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

              derek


                BTW, you are probably the closest RA user to me :-). I live in Grand Prairie, but I'm actually in Grand Peninsula on Joe Pool Lake so I'm right next to Mansfield. My daughter is just finsihing Kindergarten this week and she's in the Mansfield ISD.

                Derek

                  BTW, you are probably the closest RA user to me :-). I live in Grand Prairie, but I'm actually in Grand Peninsula on Joe Pool Lake so I'm right next to Mansfield. My daughter is just finsihing Kindergarten this week and she's in the Mansfield ISD.
                  Wow, you are close. I'm near Country Club and Matlock, but I drive past your neighborhood on the way home from work everyday. We will definitely have to have a meetup of the DFW area RA folks at a race sometime soon! There ar e at least 8 or 9 of us that I can think of off the top of my head.

                  When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

                    So after looking at the grade on the chart above, I've sorted out that the downgrade is only about 1% so I'm not too worried about it anymore. I've just finished (sort of) the first three weeks of Pfitz's 18 week / 55 mpw plan. I missed the long runs the first two weeks due to camping trips and rain, but I did everything in the plan last week and ended up with just shy of 42 miles on a 40 mile plan. It felt great and was also my first week over 40 miles. MTA: I was just doing this to fill in the extra 3 weeks before this week (18 weeks out). So now begins the first week of official marathon training. It's funny, I remember when I first got to RA a few months ago, I was fearful of whether I could or should run a marathon. Now my fitness and confidence have improved to the point where I'm thinking that that the novice Higdon plans (that I was originally looking at) aren't for me. So I'm shooting to do the 18/55 plan to the best of my ability and only back off if/when my body thinks I need to. I've also modified my goal for my first marathon: 4 hours or bust is now the main goal and as I get closer I'll look at setting a new stretch goal (3:45?). Mmmm...and today's a rest day. Nice, it's much needed after yesterday's 14 miler.

                    When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

                      Training Week 1 has left the building. I was scheduled to do the following: TUE: 7mi w/10x100m Strides - Check THU: 9mi Easy - Check SAT: 4mi Easy - Ran a 10k instead - so Check SUN: 12mi Medium Long - Check Great runs this week. Almost didn't get the long run in today due to it raining almost all day, but it finally let up, so I skipped dinner and went out. Travelling to Toronto tomorrow so I wasn't able to reschedule the run until tomorrow either. In total for the week, I got in 35.8 miles instead of the planned 32.

                      When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

                      derek


                        Almost didn't get the long run in today due to it raining almost all day, but it finally let up, so I skipped dinner and went out.
                        I do my long runs in the morning. I got up at 5 am and it was clear for the first hour, but I ran the last 2 hours in the rain. I haven't had to make that decision as yet, but I've always wondered if I would head out running if it's raining from the beginning.

                        Derek

                          I do my long runs in the morning. I got up at 5 am and it was clear for the first hour, but I ran the last 2 hours in the rain. I haven't had to make that decision as yet, but I've always wondered if I would head out running if it's raining from the beginning.
                          Nice job on the 18 miler, Derek. I don't mind the light rain, but that stuff that was coming down in the mid-late morning was too much for me.

                          When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

                            Training Week 2 Summary I was scheduled to do the following: TUE: 8mi w/10x100m Strides - Check THU: 10mi Easy - Check SAT: 5mi Easy - Check SUN: 13mi Medium Long - Check Most runs were good to great this week. General stuff had me do the Saturday 5 miler late in the evening, so my legs were a little tight starting out on this morning's 13 miler. After a few miles, I had loosened up and felt back to normal again. While I normally bring the camelbak on the longer runs, I left it at home today and instead I tucked a zip lock baggie of cash into my waistband. I ran a couple miles through the linear park from McKnight Park through Rose Park and ending up at Town Park.This worked out fine as I was able to hit the water fountains at the parks when I needed to and then hit a convenience store at mile 10. In total for the week, I got in 36.6 miles versus the planned 36.

                            When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

                              Training Week 3 Summary I was scheduled to do the following: TUE: 8mi w/4mi @ Tempo - Check WED: 4mi Recovery - Check THU: 10mi Easy - Check SAT: 4mi Recovery - Check SUN: 14mi Medium Long - Check Tuesday through Thursday's runs were wet - from torrential downpour on Tuesday to light sprinkle and deep puddles on Thursday. Even with the rain they were all great runs. Saturday's short run left me feeling tight in the quads and hamstrings for the rest of the day and into the first few miles of today's 14 miler. Not sure why - nothing weird happened. Next week begins 3 weeks of races, starting with a 5k next weekend, a 25k the week end after that, and finally a 15k. I plan to run the 5k pretty hard - even though it's supposed to be a recovery day I'll deal with the extra soreness during the long run on Sunday (15 miles) and that should work out the kinks. The 25k happens on the same weekend that I'm supposed to do my first really long run (17 miles). The race is 5 loops on a 5k course, so I will just run the race at training pace and attempt to finish 6 loops to make it 30k/18.6 miles. The 15k happens on a recovery week - my long run is only 12 miles that week - so I will see how I feel before I decide whether to actually race - or just run it at training pace. In total for the week, I got in 40.9 miles versus the planned 40. Much better, as I'm now trying to run the scheduled amount instead of trying to use it as a number to "beat".

                              When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

                                So I ran my first 5k today in 25:02. McMillan scores again - based on my most recent mile time trial, MM predicted a 5k time of 24:53 - he's was pretty close once again. Overall, I think I went out a little too fast (7:40) and paid for it in the last mile (8:20).

                                When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?