My Marathon Training Program
 

I think that I am going to go with this marathon training program in trying to get through my first marathon in November.

http://www.marathon-training-program...am-finish.html

A couple of things that I like about it:

- 3 days a week. Not only do I enjoy cycling enough to not want to give it up, I also feel like I need at least 1 day in between runs to recover. I've tried back to back runs and I usually don't feel well at all on those days.

- Variety - I like the concept of having one speed day, one tempo day and one long, slow day per week. The speed day is different each week, which will go a long way for me to avoid getting bored.

I am now at about 15 weeks to go. This mornings speed workout was painful but good. 8-400 meter intervals at about 6:45 pace with 90 secs recovery.

Any thoughts on this program? My wife is going with the Hal Higdon program. Its a proven method, but it does three consecutive days during the week with long saturday runs. No speed work.

I'm trying this for my half-marathon, which for some reason is two weeks longer than the marathon training program. :confused:

I like the program too so far. I'm running faster than my typical runs and I'm not so sick of running. It also allows me to get in my mtn biking. It seems a perfect fit for triathletes--I think the guy who designed it was a runner-turned-triathlete.

The FIRST method has been proven successful. I read their book a few months back, it delves a little more into the science behind their program. I think you'll have success with it. I think the biggest hurdle they have to overcome in order for their program to become more trusted is the mentality amongst us weekend warriors that more running=better running. Numerous studies are showing that's not necessarily the case.

I'm sure you've already seen their web site, but if not, the address is http://www.furman.edu/first/index.htm Some of their other programs are outlined on the web site. I would recommend you read the book, too. It's called "Run Less, Run Faster". The biggest thing to remember is that with their program, proper pacing is crucial.

I think I posted a while back that a friend of mine qualified for Boston using the FIRST method, and running only on a treadmill. It has worked well for a lot of people.

As I looked through the website you linked, I realized my program's a little different. Same 3 runs, same people who designed it but my program's 18 weeks (for the half..it's 12 on yours). I think I pulled it off of Runner's World. I wonder why they made the changes.

Do you have a link to your program? 18 weeks sounds like a long time to get ready for a half.

Yeah, that's what I thought about it. I noticed they've changed their Runners World link--which is where I think I got my program I'm using.

I found the link: http://www.furman.edu/first/Half%20M...%20Program.pdf

So far, this is a great program. I've gotten much faster and have had ZERO knee issues so far (rare for me). I've only done the first five weeks, but I've never felt this good.

This program is great for me. The intervals are brutal but I need them. The first run for this week was 5 1K intervals with 400m rest in between. Doesn't look too tough on paper but you're asked to run them 45 seconds faster than your 10k race pace. I can see that if nothing else this program will make you faster.

So whats the philosophy behind your using this program? I assume its not only to finish a half, but to finish fast, considering you do several runs longer that 13 miles during your training.

As someone who has never run a marathon before, my goal is to finish and feel fairly well at the end. I've also got a goal for time, but I understand that could be a little ambitious for a first timer.

I have never personally understood programs like Galloways where he has you running up to 32 miles to get ready for a marathon. It seems like a waste of time to me. Thats why I like the Furman full marathon training program. The longest run is 20 miles getting ready for it.

My philosophy is that this was a program that lets me run only three times a week while promising to improve my speed. If I had come across your version first, I probably would have done it instead, but I was already into mine. I do think 18 weeks is a little excessive for a half-marathon, but I had that much time until the one I was running so it didn't matter much.

I don't think it's overly ambitious to have a time goal for a first half-marathon. A half is a lot less than half of a marathon's impact on your body, so I don't think you have to proceed quite as carefully. Just my opinion.

EDIT: Also, no, I don't get Galloway's philosophy either. My wife followed that program last year for St George, running the Logan marathon as her last "long run" before St George. I think that long of a run hurt her in the end, despite the fact that she tried to run Logan really slowly. In a half-marathon, I think it does make sense to go longer than 13 in your training because you're not beating down your body nearly as hard.

That's interesting, I'm trying the FIRST method too this time, and I will probably do most of the running on the treadmill. The intervals are a bit of a pain to do on a treadmill.

The book mentioned doing rowing as one of the cross-training workouts. I think I will try alternating that with the cycling, and kickboxing.

My problem is that I got psyched to get started with the program, and I find out that the only half marathons for the rest of the year are on Sundays. The next long distance event on a Saturday is a marathon in February. So, I guess I will try doing a 15k in September, and maybe go for the marathon in February. Any ideas of what kind of workout to do in the meantime? The marathon schedule is 16 weeks long, and the actual race is 28 weeks away.

what percent of the fitness addicts here workout on Sundays? It's not a trivial percentage.

My recommendation to fill the 12 weeks before starting full training would be to follow a half marathon training plan. You may not end it with a race, but it'll give you an outline, and the long runs at the end of the half plan roughly correspond to the long runs at the start of the full plan. You'll be ready to dive right in. If you only want to run three days a week, just drop 1 or 2 of the workouts and do something else.

Hal Higdon's got a good half plan that's exactly 12 weeks. http://www.halhigdon.com/halfmarathon/inter.htm
For the last six weeks of it, I'd probably drop 3-4 miles from each of the weekend long runs, so you're not burned out when it's time to start the full plan. Maybe even drop a mile or two from the shorter runs, as well.

I don't workout on Sunday, but I don't see anything wrong with it. My friend says that she treasures her Sunday runs because it's her chance to contemplate life. I would agree that I do some of my best thinking on runs. Running on Sunday also probably keeps you out of some of the crappy callings.

I definitely wouldn't not do a race just because it's on a Sunday. That's just how it happens (outside of utah). I have a several fairly mullah-ish friends who have done races on Sunday.

Do the 5K or 10K program that FIRST recommends, both of which are around 12 weeks. They actually recommend that for a year-round schedule you should just cycle through the four race lengths, as each has a different emphasis.