I am starting from about 30 mpw and want to run a maarathon 14 weeks from this past Sunday. I was wondering if anyone had any advice or knew of a good program they followed to reach this goal. I think I may be worth 3:05-10 if I train right.
I am starting from about 30 mpw and want to run a maarathon 14 weeks from this past Sunday. I was wondering if anyone had any advice or knew of a good program they followed to reach this goal. I think I may be worth 3:05-10 if I train right.
How many years of uninterupted running do you have behind you? Have you raced recently? What are your times for the respective distances? Can't give you to much info based on what you provided. 3:05 to 3:10 seems overly optimistic based on 30 mpw...
actually uninterupted....not since I was 25 (I'm 31). I have been battling injury and lack of motivation for 4-5 years.
Since april I ran up to 45-50 mpw with 2 hour long runs x 2 but I injured my achilles a couple weeks ago and it is just healed now ( I ran every other day about 3-5 miles).
JUly I ran 18:30 5k. (at 25 I ran 16:30-->1:20 half).
14 weeks does not give you much time. Any reason why the rush? Achilles injuries can sneak up on you repeatedly.
If running a marathon is a must, I would avoid hard intervals and concentrate getting in the mileage and longer runs. I wouldn't push beyond 50 mpw week during this cycle.
One suggestion would be two incorporate (2) quality workouts a week. Maybe use 14 day cycles:
Week 1
(Q1) Long Run 2:00 to 2:30 (start at 2:00 and increase slowly every two weeks)
(Q2) Cruise Interals @ 12-15K pace (3 x 1 mile @ 6:20 pace)
Week 2
(Q1) Long Run with Marathon Pace (30 min w/u + 25 min MP pace + 20 min c/d. Starts with 25 min and increase MP portion by 5 min every two weeks).
(Q2) Strength Tempo (5-6 miles/cumulative at 10 seconds faster than goal MP). 2 x 2 miles + 1 x 1 mile @ 6:40-6:45 pace.
Do this cylce 6 times (12 weeks) and then do a 2 week taper. Would not cut back too much based on your mileage totals. Maybe 40 miles week 13 and 30 miles week 14 (marathon week).
It's not a must actually I am just having a hard time getting motivated to run and was looking for a new challenge...I am losing my interest.
How about a half marathon? That's what I signed up for to get me going again after a long layoff. It's far enough that you need to get some miles in, but not so far that you'll hurt yourself trying to get ready in 14 weeks.
shank wrote:
It's not a must actually I am just having a hard time getting motivated to run and was looking for a new challenge...I am losing my interest.
You sound like a real pussy.
Pfitzinger has a plan that starts around 30 mpw and peaks at 55. There are 12, 18, and 24 wk programs. You could do some combination of the 12 and 18. He exaplains it all in his Advanced Marathon book.
First ask yourself if you want to run a marathon. I mean really ask yourself. Second what kind of training are you WILLING to put in. Third if you are still with me 14 weeks is a really freaking long time. To finish all you need to be able to do is run. It will be tough but you can do it most plans say you need 15 weeks. Keep motivated get some training partners or a dog. Find some trails and for gods sakes run...a lot. If at the end of this you still are not motivated there are plenty of other sports out there. They all just suck.