What Follow The Summer of Malmo?

thanks for bumping the thread, i'm very interested in this and have read a lot about it online. not sure if Malmo will see this a year after the thread started, but are doubles recommended for girls as well? thanks.

"Q: Who is it for?

A: Everyone (almost). Anyone that isn't reaching their full potential, and you know who you are. It's for runners that have been THINKING about doing doubles and haven't yet started. It's for you runners that have been THINKING of jacking up the mileage and haven't yet started. It's for college runners. High school runners. Boys, girls, men and women. Anyone that wants to make the leap for next year's cross country season. Different skill levels? No problem. Fitness levels? Coming off an injury and are way behind? It's OK, I've thought of it all. This foolproof SCHEDULE is all things to all runners!" - Malmo

My experience:

Girls CAN, in fact, train like boys. You should be careful though, because there's a good chance that you'll end up running like a boy!

This is a pet peeve of mine: seeing girls teams that are running 1/3rd the mileage of boys teams. Going by time is a good rule of thumb. If the boys are going 9 mph on a distance run, and you're going 8.5, then your mileage could be 17/18ths as high as the boys.

Malmo,

I'm currently building for my first marathon (Detroit, October 19th). I'm coming off mileage in the high 70's (last week) but have decided to dive right into your plan and begin to build while incorporating your two workouts per week.

As of yestearday (Monday) I'm 22 weeks out from Detroit. My plan is to use the SOM for 12 weeks (through the week of Monday, August 4th) running at LEAST four doubles per week and then begin incorporating workouts from a coach I respect the week of Monday, August 11th until race day (a period of 10 weeks).

My question (or questions) is, once I'm through with the 12-week SOM period and my coach's plan takes over, would you prefer me to "wean" myself away from these 4-6 doubles a week, or maintain them up until the race? My first instinct was that you would say to maintain 4-6 doubles (as well as my peak mileage) until maybe 2 weeks prior to raceday, but I felt I should ask to make sure.

Also, do you feel breaking this 22 week period into 12 and 10 week segments makes sense, or should I extend the SOM portion...shorten the SOM portion? What would be your advice?

I greatly appreciate your input. Thanks for the knowledge.

Plans? We don't need no stinking plans!

The did the Germans need plans when they bombed Pearl Harbor? Nah, they just did it!

Did Allen Iverson need a plan to play the game of basketball? We talking 'bout plans. Plans? Not a game. Not a game, but plans!

Just run baby.

Things I have learned:

1. You can do more harm than good in the last week before a race. Better to do to little than too much. Lock yourself in a closet if need be.

2. Splitting your hairs over whether to train for this way for 12 weeks and this other way for 10 weeks is great if you're an accountant, but you're not. You're a runner. So run. Really, it ain't going to make a hell a beans difference.

3. It really only takes about 8-12 weeks to get into peak form. The time spent before that is simply "getting into shape". The SOM is about "getting into shape", because most runners are lazy during the summer, take time off, etc. #1: Get into shape. #2: Get into race fitness. The time spent at #1 depends on how you are running at the time. If you are still getting much faster at the same effort then you are still not "in shape". You should reach a point where your times during the summer (both easy runs, tempoish runs, 200s, etc) are leveling off. Now you are in shape and ready for #2. #2 is all about race fitness. You know what to do. Hard work, fast reps, long hard marathon pace runs, track work to make you faster, etc.

"I worked like hell last summer, 125 miles every week for 14 weeks. I knew this fall that I would have a good season." - Alberto Salazar, after he won NCAA XC Championships on Novebmer 20, 1978

Thanks for the help guys, but I think it's a legitimate question and am curious as to what Malmo, or someone who has followed this plan in the past, would say. I understand that this isn't rocket science, but for someone who is new to the marathon, I was wondering how this plan might apply to 26.2, as well at what point (how far out from raceday) I might want to start dropping the doubles, if at all.

dsimp12303, this is in-between season training, mainly geared to those with a high school or college season coming up. I don't see any problem with you adapting it towards your schedule.

The main thrust of SOM here is, commitment by a group to meet twice a week, and easy, easy easy.

Usher wrote:

... I have coached teams that gelled and I would never have to tell them to do their weekend runs. They would get together and run and in their common effort, found all sorts of fun and enjoyment. 3 of the 6 from that team went on to run collegiately and 2 are still doing well ther (one dropped out to enter seminary). I never had to talk tough with that group.

So true. We had a group that would meet five days a week during the summer in front of the high school. I'm talking underclassmen JV guys to seniors. And an assortment of us would often gather on one of the weekend days as well. If anything the mistake we made was that the top guys were too gung ho and we may have scared a few off, but we still had JV guys showing up every day, running 60-70mpw and then running 17:00 in the fall. From the team my senior year, all the varsity guys ended up running in college at some level for some period of time, and a couple of the younger JV guys ended up running in college as well.

What a great group and what a great experience.