In Hal We Trust

There is no shortage of beginner, intermediate, novice, and advanced marathon training plans available to the non-elite runner. There are so many that one could get easily lost in the data and analysis of each for hours or days even.

Each plan has their advantages and disadvantages; the key is to choose one that suits your current fitness level, marathon goals, and overall comfort with the amount and intensity of speedwork and long runs during your 12 - 26 week training regime.

A great marathon training plan comparison tool I found was this wiki. The guide broke down each plan into easy-to-read charts consisting of overall suitability, characteristics, and a long run analysis. Spotlighted were variations of training programs by Jeff Galloway, Jack Daniels, and Hal Higdon. I really had no biases going into this, since this was my first marathon. Although Christine has completed 5; she admits she never trained properly nor followed a specific program. Yeah.. one of "those" people.

So the two main variables to consider were length of program and alignment with our current fitness. We had recently completed a half marathon, 10K and 5K back in April. My times were:

HM: 1:32+
10K: 42:06
5K: 19:21

Hammer's times:

HM: 2:01+
10K: 55:24
5K: 25:18

With our goals at sub 3:05 and 3:35 respectively, we were within the ballpark, but obviously had a lot of work left to do.

Another factor was that since it was already late May, our training program had to consist of exactly 14 weeks.

Based on previous conversations with friends; I concluded that I was only interested in plans that didn't exceed 20 miles for long runs (more on this in a future blog). Also - I wanted two days a week worth of speedwork, inclusive of tempos and intervals. One day of rest per week was also mandatory.

As it turned out, I had a discussion on this subject with my podiatrist during a recent office visit. He raved about the various Hal Higdon plans he had tried over the years and how he especially liked them due to the low risk of injury he had seen from patients compared to other programs.

After comparing all of the Higdon plans by level, Hal's Advanced 2 Training Program seemed like a perfect fit:

Week Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun 1 3 m run 3 x hill 3 m run 30 tempo Rest 5 m pace 10 2 3 m run 30 tempo 3 m run 3 m pace Rest 5 m run 11 3 3 m run 4 x 800 3 m run 30 tempo Rest 6 m pace 8 4 3 m run 4 x hill 3 m run 35 tempo Rest 6 m pace 13 5 3 m run 35 tempo 3 m run 3 m pace Rest 7 m run 14 6 3 m run 5 x 800 3 m run 35 tempo Rest 7 m pace 10 7 3 m run 5 x hill 4 m run 40 tempo Rest 8 m pace 16 8 3 m run 40 tempo 4 m run 3 m pace Rest 8 m run 17 9 4 m run 6 x 800 4 m run 40 tempo Rest Rest HM 10 3 m run 6 x hill 4 m run 45 tempo Rest 9 m pace 19 11 4 m run 45 tempo 5 m run 4 m pace Rest 10 m run 20 12 4 m run 7 x 800 5 m run 45 tempo Rest 6 m pace 12 13 4 m run 7 x hill 5 m run 50 tempo Rest 10 m pace 20 14 5 m run 45 tempo 5 m run 5 m pace Rest 6 m run 12 15 5 m run 8 x 800 5 m run 40 tempo Rest 10 m pace 20 16 5 m run 6 x hill 5 m run 30 tempo Rest 4 m pace 12 17 4 m run 30 tempo 4 m run 4 m pace Rest 4 m run 8 18 3 m run 4 x 400 3 m run Rest Rest 2 m run Marathon
As I mentioned previously, since we only had 14 weeks until Marquette, I needed to adjust the program. I removed two early weeks (I felt this would have limited consequences on our training) and a 20 miler + recovery week later in the program. This was the final cut:
Week Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun 1 3 m run 30 tempo 3 m run 3 m pace Rest 5 m run 11 2 3 m run 35 tempo 3 m run 4 x 800 Rest 12 6 m pace 3 3 m run 35 tempo 3 m run 3 m pace Rest 7 m run 14 4 3 m run 5 x 800 3 m run 35 tempo Rest 7 m pace 10 5 3 m run 5 x hill 4 m run 40 tempo Rest 8 m pace 16 6 3 m run 40 tempo 4 m run 3 m pace Rest 8 m run 17 7 4 m run 6 x 800 4 m run 40 tempo Rest Rest HM 8 3 m run 6 x hill 4 m run 45 tempo Rest 9 m pace 19 9 4 m run 45 tempo 5 m run 4 m pace Rest 10 m run 20 10 4 m run 7 x 800 5 m run 45 tempo Rest 6 m pace 12 11 4 m run 7 x hill 5 m run 50 tempo Rest 10 m pace 20 12 5 m run 6 x 800 5 m run 30 tempo Rest 4 m pace 12 13 4 m run 30 tempo 4 m run 4 m pace Rest 4 m run 8 14 3 m run 4 x 400 3 m run Rest Rest 2 m run Marathon
As of today, June 9th, we are midway through Week 2 - and feeling great. I'm especially proud of my wife for crushing her first track intervals since high school this morning. She knocked out 4 800's in 3:27 - 3:30 pace! This weekend we are traveling to Asheville, NC. Really looking forward to hitting up Bent Creek for some great trail running. Any other suggestions? - J