The Pfitz Way

Our Spring marathon cycle has officially kicked off, and although I have been battling a bout of runner's knee off and on the past few weeks, we're excited to begin focusing on the next marathon.

This time around, I personally feel like a much more informed and seasoned marathon runner. While I have a lot of respect and admiration for what Hal Higdon has done for the marathon, I don't think his Advanced II plan (his most demanding) is appropriate for anyone other than a first time marathoner who has a fair amount of experience. To be fair, I don't think I would be where I am today knowledge-wise of the distance had I not followed his plan and analysis last year.

If I knew one thing for certain after my first marathon last September in Marquette, it was that I needed to ramp up mileage in my off-season, and select a plan that reflected putting in a ton of miles with a good deal of work done at marathon pace on tired legs during medium and long runs.

Doing research over the last few months, there were some solid options for the next training plan. I read Jack Daniels' Running Formula, perused various Let's Run threads, and even considered hiring a local coach. But after reading Advanced Marathoning - 2nd Edition by Pete Pfitzinger, I decided to go all in on the Pfitz plan.

The Pfitz Way

Pftiz takes an old school approach to the marathon by piling on mileage, focusing on longer midweek runs and stressing the importance of medium/long run fast finishes. Whereas Daniels' plans are very formulaic, Pfitz prescribes his non-tempo/lactate threshold workouts where you begin at marathon pace + 20%, progress to marathon pace +10%, and then finish at marathon pace. This includes everything from 12 mile midweek medium-long runs through the 22 mile weekend long run. So you are focusing on running at marathon pace at the end of longer sessions multiple times per week. In terms of addressing my greatest concern of being able to finish a marathon with strong legs, I think the Pfitz plan makes the most sense. 

Originally I was targeting the 18/85 (18 week duration, 85 miles per week at the peak) plan, however with the knee issue I'm modifying it by adding a rest day on Mondays following the weekend long run, as suggested by his 18/70 plan. Christine will be focusing on the 18/55 plan for this cycle, with the option to adjust for more mileage if her hips/legs respond well.

This time around for the blog, I plan on posting weekly logs that capture workout notes as I progress through training. Hope you enjoy!