Then on June 1st, Addison and her Daddy ran another 1 mile fun run and thanks to some unseasonably cool weather, she dominated the mile and I brought my 5K PR down again(!) to 24:44. I never ever in my life imagined I would run under 25 minutes for a 5K. I hope this proves that persistence is key to running.
I've probably been averaging 20-25 miles a week most weeks and am slowly acclimating to the heat. And by acclimating, I really just mean sweating profusely like a piggy. Oh well. I've also been VERY busy on the "rest of my life" front and that is why I have been absentee here. Do forgive me, I haven't forgotten you. Right now I am mentally gearing up for my first marathon training cycle and below I have copied and pasted (because I don't have any computer skills above that) what my current thinking is for a plan. It is from the very respected Hal Higdon website, and I have made some minor modifications, mostly to the first half of the plan. I bumped up the first several weeks runs from 3, 5, 3 to 4, 6, 4 because that more closely mirrors my current runs and I like even numbers. :) (I also added a total column to see how many miles are scheduled for that particular week and a date column so you can see when I am beginning and where I should be as the months roll past.)
The only long run I modified was the second scheduled 20 miler and I bumped that up to 22 miles. I realize there is much debate about running more than 20 miles in training. I don't know which camp I sit in just yet, but I think I will put down to run 22 and form a real opinion after I actually become a marathoner.
As for a little reasoning as to why I chose this plan, and not one of his novice plans, mainly has to do with what I realistically think I can accomplish while also serving as a challenge throughout. There are more actual running days in this program, and the mileage is a bit higher than the novice plans, but still nowhere near the more advanced plans. There is no prescribed speed work or tempo runs, with the exception of occasional runs that should be run at "goal marathon pace" and are indicated with "pace" after the mileage number.
I have never run 5 days a week (consistently) before, but I run 4 fairly easily and I would like to see how my body responds and recovers. I also took out the cross training day and am just calling it a rest day. Of course, this may all change and I drop a day of running a week (as my body requires) or tweak the mileage here and there, but I think it is pretty sound even with my own changes factored in. I like the idea of having 5 days scheduled knowing that life happens and if I miss one of the week day runs I have plenty others scheduled to keep me progressing forward to my goal on November 18.
On the day where the schedule calls for a half marathon race, I am still trying to sort that out and it may require some slight juggling of weeks. I am hoping to run a half in Winslow, AR, sometime in September with my run buddy N. We shall see, and if not, I will simulate race conditions as best I can.
Without any further ado:
Hal Higdon’s
(Modified) Marathon Training Schedule: Intermediate 1
|
Date
|
WEEK
|
SUN
|
MON
|
TUES
|
WED
|
THU
|
FRI
|
SAT
|
TOTAL
|
|
15
July
|
1
|
Rest
|
4 m run
|
6 m run
|
4 m run
|
Rest
|
5 m pace
|
8 m
run
|
27
|
|
22
July
|
2
|
Rest
|
4 m run
|
6 m run
|
4 m run
|
Rest
|
5 m run
|
9 m
run
|
28
|
|
29
July
|
3
|
Rest
|
4 m run
|
6 m run
|
4 m run
|
Rest
|
5 m pace
|
6 m
run
|
25
|
|
5
Aug
|
4
|
Rest
|
4 m run
|
7 m run
|
4 m run
|
Rest
|
6 m pace
|
11 m
run
|
32
|
|
12
Aug
|
5
|
Rest
|
4 m run
|
7 m run
|
4 m run
|
Rest
|
6 m run
|
12 m
run
|
33
|
|
19
Aug
|
6
|
Rest
|
4 m run
|
6 m run
|
4 m run
|
Rest
|
6 m pace
|
9 m
run
|
29
|
|
26
Aug
|
7
|
Rest
|
4 m run
|
7 m run
|
4 m run
|
Rest
|
7 m pace
|
14 m
run
|
36
|
|
2
Sept
|
8
|
Rest
|
4 m run
|
7 m run
|
4 m run
|
Rest
|
7 m run
|
15 m
run
|
37
|
|
9
Sept
|
9
|
Rest
|
4 m run
|
5 m run
|
4 m run
|
Rest
|
Rest
|
Half Marathon
|
26.1
|
|
16
Sept
|
10
|
Rest
|
4 m run
|
8 m run
|
4 m run
|
Rest
|
8 m pace
|
17 m
run
|
41
|
|
Date
|
WEEK
|
SUN
|
MON
|
TUES
|
WED
|
THU
|
FRI
|
SAT
|
TOTAL
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
23
Sept
|
11
|
Rest
|
5 m run
|
8 m run
|
5 m run
|
Rest
|
8 m run
|
18 m
run
|
44
|
|
30
Sept
|
12
|
Rest
|
5 m run
|
5 m run
|
5 m run
|
Rest
|
8 m pace
|
13 m
run
|
36
|
|
7
Oct
|
13
|
Rest
|
5 m run
|
8 m run
|
5 m run
|
Rest
|
5 m pace
|
20 m
run
|
43
|
|
14
Oct
|
14
|
Rest
|
5 m run
|
5 m run
|
5 m run
|
Rest
|
8 m run
|
12 m
run
|
35
|
|
21
Oct
|
15
|
Rest
|
5 m run
|
8 m run
|
5 m run
|
Rest
|
5 m pace
|
22 m
run
|
45
|
|
28
Oct
|
16
|
Rest
|
5 m run
|
6 m run
|
5 m run
|
Rest
|
4 m pace
|
12 m
run
|
32
|
|
4
Nov
|
17
|
Rest
|
4 m run
|
5 m run
|
4 m run
|
Rest
|
3 m run
|
8 m
run
|
24
|
|
11
Nov
|
18
|
Rest
|
3 m run
|
4 m run
|
Rest
|
3 m run
|
Rest
|
2 m
run
|
12
|
|
18
Nov
|
|
Race
Day!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
26.2
|