This week has been a much needed recovery week after the marathon last Saturday.
Unfortunately, I don’t have much time to waste before gearing up for my next race, the City of Oaks Marathon in Raleigh, NC on November 5th. This race will be my first attempt at qualifying for the Boston Marathon.
I have given some thought to my training plan for this race and have decided to alter my normal abnormal routine. I have a need for speed as I build up in this cycle. I need to cut my mile splits down significantly from past races to even sniff a qualifying time.
To do so, I am planning to follow a training plan developed by Hal Higdon. Hal is a staple of marathon training history and knows a thing or two about running fast (he ran eight times in the Olympic marathon trials).
This plan actually cuts back slightly on the mileage per week, but focuses on achieving different paces throughout the runs. It will also allow me to supplement the running with abdominal workouts, strength training, and other cross-training opportunities to hopefully drop a couple lbs before the race.
Here’s the plan in full. We’ll see how well I can keep to it.
| 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 | Half Marathon |
| 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 |
Courtesy: Hal Higdon Training Plans at halhigdon.com.
Training Recap (7/10-7/16)
# of Runs – 3
Total Miles – 14
Long Run – 6 miles
Strength Workouts – 2