Hi,
I am starting my first structured marathon training cycle next week and have opted to use the Daniels 2Q 54-70 mile per week plan. I am planning on a max weekly mileage of 75m and a min of 60m. Coming into this plan I have run 8 weeks with an average in the mid-50s with a few weeks in the 60s. Target marathon is in late February and I don’t really have a goal time.
I have 2 questions I am hoping to get some perspective on.
1) I noticed that there are not many runs over 20 miles in the 18 week cycle (only 2) and that they are just E runs with no M or T pace work in them. I was considering adjusting the plan to replace 2 of the Q workouts with a 21E run and a 12E+10M run. Any opinions on this?
2) I don’t really have a great starting point from a VDOT standpoint. I crashed and burned in a HM where I went out way too hard and walked/jogged it in after a spectacular bonk. I did run a 5k alone on the track this morning in 17:30 and felt pretty strong. I am somewhat undertrained aerobically for reference so my longer distance VDOT values will be slower. I was thinking that I would give VDOT 54 a try as the correlated paces seem pretty doable to me looking at the first few weeks. I figure I can always recalibrate. Does this seem too aggressive?
Would also be interested in any other nuggets of wisdom folks who have done 2Q might want to share. I HAVE searched the board history and picked up some good stuff which informed my decision in the first place.