Question:Should I be incorporating the amount of speedwork that RW suggests,
given that my target time is only 7 seconds/mile faster than my
average half marathon mile split?
Do you think the Intermediate II program (or even my goal time) is too
ambitious? If so, do you think the Intermediate I training schedule
will allow me to achieve my goal?
Answer:
I've been running for about 8 months, and have managed to elevate my
fitness level quite reasonably. My first distance event was the
Windsor Half Marathon at the end of September where I achieved
slightly better than my goal, running just over 1:36.
My next goal is the London Marathon and I'd really like to run it in
3:10 (I'd love to run a good for age time). I don't feel this is
unrealistic given my half marathon time (the Windsor Half is fairly
hilly). In preparation for the London Marathon, I'm trying to pick a
training program that suits both the small amount of experience I have
as a runner and the time I'd like to achieve.
I've looked at the two intermediate programs on Hal Higdon's website:
http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/Mar00intermediate.htm
According to Hal the Intermediate I training schedule is more suited
to my level experience, however my feeling is I might have a better
chance of achieving my goal by following Intermediate II. I'm
currently running 25-30 miles per week, 10 mile long slow runs aren't
a problem at all.
To confuse things further, the Runner's World article:
http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/news/article.asp?UAN=118
says that aiming for sub-3:30 requires their advanced schedule, which
is very different to either of Hal's intermediate schedules. The RW
schedule has lots of hill, interval, tempo and fartlek (I've done
almost none of this type of training in my past) whereas Hal's
intermediate schedules don't incorporate this.
I'm from the old school where I suggest you run the
first for the experience and the second for speed if
that is your goal. A 1:36 half is a good time and
sounds like you have come a long way on 25-30
miles a week. Thank mom and dad. :)
To get to a 3:10 you will need to add hills, speed
and more miles per week to hold a 7:10 pace. I really
don't think Hal's will get you there. I'm just one
opinion so let's see what others have to say. When I ran
road marathons I was in the 3:06-3:12 range so I can
relate a little but you may have a lot more natural
talent and not need to pay as much dues. Then again...:)
Only 7 seconds but remember you are doubling the distance.
You will get a better idea when you start to do
some 20 mile runs and you experience glycogen depletion.
I partly agree that the first should not be run with a solid time goal, as
you must first experience the distance (unless you train 90-120 mpw, then you
can run a 2:10 premiere ;) ). That being said, you do need a goal to keep
you on pace.
Try the plan available on the Boston Marathon website. By modifying that
plan slightly (mileage, interval distances/paces), I've gone from 2:52 to
2:29 while keeping the nuts and bolts of the program the same.
The best preparation for a marathon is to have run one before.
This sounds like circular logic, but you really dont know what your
body will do in final 10 km until you've run in race conditions.
A 40km long run is still an approximation.
So just follow the average advice for a first marathon
and save the fine tuning for subsequent ones.
Nice job! My first half-marathon was the same, 1:36:40 in Philadelphia
in 1982.
As others have said, I think you'll find a marathon quite a different
beast from a half marathon. I was running about 25-30 miles per week,
too, when I ran 1:36 but that's just not enough to do even a 3:20
marathon, in my opinion. Unless you are truly just finding your legs, I
suspect you'll slow down for the longer distance and I don't think you
should be disappointed by that.
Just to clarify, I'm currently running only 25-30 miles per week as
I'm taking a slightly off season before my training in earnest for the
London Marathon. I was working hard, peaking at 40 miles per week in
preparation for the half with not quite as much natural talent as I'd
like. And those extra long Sunday runs will bump the miles up further
in preparation up for the marathon.
Cheers for the pointer to the Boston Marathon schedule. I've seen many
schedules but hadn't found that particular one.
I ran 3:26 at the Gold Coast marathon in July (my second marathon), and 1:34
at the World Masters Games half marathon in October (also my second). I've
been running since early last year and my training has mostly been two 15km
tempo runs per week and an average of 8 hours of cross training/aerobics per
week. I ran my first marathon in 3:59 and my first half marathon in 1:50. My
predicted marathon time is 3:10, however I'm still not confident that I can
run at that pace without injury given the low volume of weekly miles that I
run. I ran the first two 10km stretches of the GC marathon in 45 minutes
each, feeling fresh, but then the leg pain began to set in and I ran the
next 10km in 50 min and the final 10km in 55 min. I was not really tired
after the run, but my legs/butt were sore enough to keep me from running for
3 weeks. I think you could achieve the 3:10 if your legs are strong enough
to withstand the stress, it sounds like you already have sufficient aerobic
fitness. How did your legs feel after the half marathon? Any injuries?
Just keep doing what you are doing and maybe step up your training to 35-40
miles
a week. Try and get in two runs of 2 to 2and a half hours duration say six and
three weeks before the race, do a couple of half marathons any you should be
fine.
Remember consistency is the key to training ,do to much and injuries and
illness will follow and also remember the key to a good marathon is your pace
do NOT PANIC if you seem to be running to slow,i know i've been there,
I was tired after the run but not as tired as I expected. The next day
my energy was very low but that might have been more to do with a few
too many celebratory pints of Guinness the night before. Two days
after I felt fine, I could have jogged my regular five miles, but
forgoed for a week. Suprisingly I never got the muscle soreness I
expected.
About 4 months back I strained the Piriformus but have avoided it
since by properly stretching them and the adductors. I have felt some
very slight pains under the ball of my right foot but that seems to
have disappeared as well.
It sounds like many of you are suggesting me to lower my expectations
a little and not to base my first marathon on any shorter distance. I
admit that the last mile or so of the Half were a quite tough -
something I had put down to training on flat routes and running a half
with rolling hills. I'd also not done enough training runs over 8
miles - I'll learn from that this time with a more considered training
schedule.
I'm still going to keep a 7:10 (with a flexible 'thereabout' attitude)
pace in mind to provide focus.
