Marathon schedule

[Good Egg]

Just looking at the marathon schedule for novices you have on the site. Curious about how strict it is. Why are long runs on Saturdays and not Sundays for instance? Does it really matter?
Keep up the good work.

[El Gordo]

No, it doesn't matter. But there is some logic in the overall order of the runs. The Wednesday run is always a semi-long run, and that's obviously designed to be as far away from the weekend long run as possible. There's also a rest day before the weekend's exertions, and (in the novice schedule) a rest day on the Monday to recover. In the Hal Higdon intermediate and advanced schedules, there are runs on both weekend days and the Monday.

Oh dear.

[Seafront Plodder]

I notice from your diaries Andy that you almost followed the H H novice schedule to the letter for London, but during the race got an injury and didn't do yourself justice.

I followed the same plan up until 3 weeks ago, but now find the schedule too much, as it takes me a few days to recover from running 13 miles plus. I now only do 2 x 4 miles on Tues and Thurs, long run Sun.

With hindsight would you have been more lenient with yourself?

Cheers

Andy.

[El Gordo]

To be honest Andy, I think I had the opposite problem, and didn't train enough.

But first, I'd better clarify that the injury was in the Chicago marathon, not the London. For the Chicago race, my training was patchy. I missed several long runs, and in the later part of the training, I don't think I completed a single week as the schedule said I should.

I might be wrong, but I felt that the bad knee I got during the race was because I hadn't done enough mileage.

For the London race, 6 months earlier, I followed the programme more rigorously - though even then I missed several runs.

For your own training, I'd be slightly anxious about you missing what Hal calls the "kinda long" runs on Wednesdays. Even if you can't do the full length, a short jog would be better than nothing. I wonder if you're overdoing the weekend long runs? The important thing to remember is that although these are long, they are supposed to be SLOW. To be honest, you should leave your watch at home and just concentrate on getting to the distance (not that I managed to do that...)

I seem to recall Hal saying that the weekend long runs should be a minute or two slower than race pace.

Another thing you might try is a good sports massage on the Monday, or even a swim, to help you recover. But as always, the old cliche about listening to your body is the best advice, and as the coach says, undertraining is better than overtraining.

Are you managing to do all the long runs so far? I guess you'll have done 18 miles by now?

But in answer to your question, I have to say that I was probably too lenient with myself. But the reason that I missed so many runs wasn't that my body was telling me to stop, but just that I was working very long hours and couldn't fit them all in. If your body is saying that you can't do the long Wednesday run, then fair enough. Don't do it.

Is this your first marathon by the way?

Finally, remember that you can ask Hal himself for advice on his training programmes. Plenty of other people do. Got to http://www.doitsports.com/vt/index.tcl and sign up.

Keep us posted.

Andy

[Seafront Plodder]

Yes it's my first marathon, and looking forward to it I can tell ya.

My last 5 weekenders have been 13.1/13.1/16/16/18.

Hoping for 20 this coming Sunday, may do Worthing as my sister lives there and I know the area well.

I can't really say that my lack of midweek miles have done me any harm, quite the reverse I think, as come Sunday I'm raring to go, whereas even now I'm still stiff from the 18 on Sun.

My running ptr has been reading up on a piece by St Paula. Apparently she advocates no more than 50 mins per session midweek for beginners, whereas the Hal H novice schedule I was following wants 10 miles from me. Each to his own I s'pose.

Tapering soon anyway, so (as Del Boy would say), it's all epidemic anyway.

Andy.

[El Gordo]

I did Worthing last year. The length made it a hard event, though at least there are no hills. I'd recommend it, though it's just a little tedious as it's 4 circuits of the same 5 mile route. But at least Worthing is a nice place, and I see the sea rarely enough to always make it a bit of a treat.

Good luck on the last few weeks. Someone said to me last year: "Running a marathon must be really difficult". I explained that it's the training that's difficult; the marathon itself is the reward for the training. It's the prize at the end of the 18 week slog.

You must post a report after the marathon, or I'll... I'll track you down and beat you up.

Either that or just feel a bit disappointed.

Andy

[Seafront Plodder]

Originally posted by andy
Someone said to me last year: "Running a marathon must be really difficult". I explained that it's the training that's difficult; the marathon itself is the reward for the training. It's the prize at the end of the 18 week slog.

Andy

Ha, try telling a non-runner that we see running 26.2 miles out of choice as a reward. They'll just smile inanely, back away nervously nodding in agreement, and they'll stop returning your calls!

[Seafront Plodder]

I ran 21 miles on Sunday, along the seafront!!

Although it was very hot and I got sunburnt, the run was good, up until the last 3 miles.

My calfs were on fire, it hurt more to stop than to continue, and in the last two miles I felt like giving up. T'was good to finish!

Given that my burning calfs are a physical thing, how can "the crowds" be worth another 5 miles to me??

I may now answer my own question, when I say that I got a real lift in the last mile when I saw the finishing point looming ever closer.

[El Gordo]

Wow, fantastic run, SP.

Was this the Worthing run, or your own mission?

If your calfs are likely to give you trouble in the race, think about having a massage at the expo, or earlier if you have somewhere local. A massage made a real difference to me at last year's FLM.

Good luck with the infamous taper madness, and make sure you keep us informed about the experience.