Hal Higdon's Marathon training + tri

No one here is less rah-rah or more pragmatic than I, but I really think you have the base, and have time to implement the training program before Mardi Gras, so go for it, I'll see you there!

I'm a big fan of Higdon's plan, simple yet effective.

Not a big fan of dropping the cycling, though. Cycling is the best thing I've done to improve my running, allows you to work the "non-running" muscles in your legs to give you balance and improves your aerobic conditioning in a non-impact setting. I'd heartily recommend that you maintain the cycling at least two (preferably three) times per week, at least an hour at a time. Do it on Hal's cross-training days, and/or as an evening workout to compliment your morning run.

madeye - 2005-10-13 12:36 PM Thanks all. I'm going to do it. It just fits too neatly into my already-planned winter training to not go for it. And Bear, I knew you were going to chastise me for dropping cycling. I WILL get back to cycling, I know how good it is for running. But I hate it, so I had to take a break from it. November, I'm back to it. Talking to the SO about logistics of getting to the Mardi Gras marathon...I think this one will be very special. If that's not worth training for, nothing is. Hopefully will see some of ya'll there.

Cool. Let me know if you want any insight into the event or the course. I've done it (half or full) each of the past four years. Of course, everything is subject to change in this brave new world. The promoters claim this will be the " the first major sporting event back in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina brought the Crescent City to its knees on that dark Monday morning in August."

http://www.mardigrasmarathon.com/article.php?story=pr1.marathonison

Madeye,

Go for it. I'm on Hal's plan (thanks bear) and it's awesome. In fact because I was training for a HIM I was already well into week four. But started over because I got the time. Here's to our first marathon. Woo Hoo.

Wow, major deja-vu.

My '05 season begain in October of '04 when I started the Higdon beginner plan for my first marathon in NOLA at the end of February. I also planned my first Half Iron at White Lake NC in the beginning of May

You can check my logs for the beginning of this year to see how I did. As others have said, the Higdon beginner plan will get you to the finish line. In my case, I was truly a little disappointed in my results. My predictors (1:45 1/2 mara and 44:00 10k) would have had me finish the maraton better than the 4:35 I posted. Of course, I do place some blame on my own eagerness to show my wife all the cool stuff in NOLA (she had never been there).

Likewise, my half iron did not go exactly as I had hoped (2:25 run after a 0:42 swim and a 2:48 bike for a 6:02) I cooked my legs on the bike. I believe that my focus on marathon training at the expense of bike base miles was a big factor here.

So. Yes you can do a marathon on 16 weeks of training. I'd reccommend more long runs than Higdon puts in his plan, I'd also reccommend that if you do the New Orleans Marathon that you save the dining and drinking and sight seeing until after the race. Hell, you get a right proper city tour on the race route.

I am seriously entertaining the notion of running the half this year even though my training plan is geared towards sprint and oly races.

good luck, run slow (for a long time)

This is what Higdon's novice plan is designed to do: get you to the finish line. My first word of advice to virgin marathoners is to forego any time goals and focus on finishing (there are exceptions, Joel ). Given that goal, Higdon's novice plan is perfect.

If you insist on time goals, I would point you to Higdon's Intermediate plans, which have 2 and 3 20+-mile runs, or better yet, to Pfitzinger and Douglas' Advanced Marathoning.

Yep, the time goals disappeared at mile 14.

I probably should have drunk more beer along the route.

Could I at least be credited to starting the corruption process??

Congrats on deciding to do the marathon!! I'm going to see how well my body recovers from Marine Corps before deciding on Mardi Gras....

My first mary will be the MGM.  I am also doing the Hal Higdon beginner plan.  I did his 1/2 Mary plan and liked it.  I was going to White Rock but I just had too many breaks in my training with everything going on.

madeye - 2005-10-14 7:42 AM So for those who did Higdon's novice plan -- I run really slowly. The longest run he has planned is 20 miles. For me, that additional 6.2 is going to be well over an hour. Does that make any difference, or is it assumed that if you can run 4 hours you can run 5 and just won't notice? I know this has been asked before, so I'll go hunt around. Right now that just seems almost insurmountable -- nearly 5 hours of running. That's a hell of a lot. I guess I'll use it as an excuse to buy an ipod.

Sorry you won't make it down this way, but Tybee has a decent reputation as well: flat, well-supported, though a double loop is not my favorite course structure. Also looks to be considerably smaller than MG, with ~300 finishers.

Yeah, traditional thought is that "if you can finish 20, you can finish 26.2." Very few novice plans have you running over 20, even most advanced plans rarely go over 22 for the long run. If anything, you will find coaches out there that tell you that runs over three hours are counter-productive. I tend to disagree with this philosophy, especially as it applies to slower runners. If your target is 5 hours (~11:30 pace), then your training pace might be 12:30 to 13 minutes per mile. At 12:30 pace, you can cover less than 14.5 miles in three hours. I'm not sure I would have anyone attempt to run a marathon with a long run of less than 14.5 miles. Twenty miles at that pace would take 4:10.

Five hours of running ain't nothing but a thing, girl!

Have you considered FIRST to the Finish Training Program? It's three runs per week, at least two crosstraining sessions (or one easy run). The only thing is that the weekly runs can be pretty intense with one tempo and one interval workout a week. I'm working my way through the program and it offers a nice variety of workouts to keep me from getting bored. Just a thought...

Marina,

Don't know if you intended to post this one, but the reason it's so intense is because it's their program for experienced marathoners looing to improve their times. Their Finish with FIRST program is the one for beginners.