Marathon Weekend 2018

[lhermiston]

Okay gang, let’s talk marathon training plans.

I finished my first marathon in about 4:22 and my second in about 4:32. I’m not disappointed in either time, but I think I have it in me to get closer to 4:00.

For both races, I’ve relied on a “first time” marathon guide that was all about finishing upright. Not speed work. No intervals. Just distance. Now that I have a couple marathons under my belt, I’d like to upgrade my training a bit.

I’m curious what plans you all use, what they entail, cost, etc. My next marathon is planned for late April and I plan to start training in January.

Thanks in advance!

 

[JeffW]

Okay gang, let’s talk marathon training plans.

I finished my first marathon in about 4:22 and my second in about 4:32. I’m not disappointed in either time, but I think I have it in me to get closer to 4:00.

For both races, I’ve relied on a “first time” marathon guide that was all about finishing upright. Not speed work. No intervals. Just distance. Now that I have a couple marathons under my belt, I’d like to upgrade my training a bit.

I’m curious what plans you all use, what they entail, cost, etc. My next marathon is planned for late April and I plan to start training in January.

Thanks in advance!

I used Hal Higdon plans (free) for many of my first marathons. For me, his Intermediate 1 plan was about the right step up in time/effort/distance when I transitioned past "just finish" as a goal. You can easily drop the Thursday short run for another day of Cross training if 5 days a week is too much wear and tear on the body

 

[courtneybeth]

This makes me wonder. What's the most random thing you could get someone to give you to cross the finish line with. I've always wanted someone to give me 2 turkey legs so I can cross the finish line while eating like a viking. Either that or an entire pizza from Via Napoli. I'd like to run that across to "deliver" it to a volunteer.

I saw pics of a girl finishing once with a funnel cake.

I love your idea of Turkey Legs

 

[rteetz]

I used Hal Higdon plans (free) for many of my first marathons. For me, his Intermediate 1 plan was about the right step up in time/effort/distance when I transitioned past "just finish" as a goal. You can easily drop the Thursday short run for another day of Cross training if 5 days a week is too much wear and tear on the body

Yeah I’m using Higdon as well but with some modifications due to my schedule. Still getting most of the mileage and what not though.

 

[camaker]

Okay gang, let’s talk marathon training plans.

I finished my first marathon in about 4:22 and my second in about 4:32. I’m not disappointed in either time, but I think I have it in me to get closer to 4:00.

For both races, I’ve relied on a “first time” marathon guide that was all about finishing upright. Not speed work. No intervals. Just distance. Now that I have a couple marathons under my belt, I’d like to upgrade my training a bit.

I’m curious what plans you all use, what they entail, cost, etc. My next marathon is planned for late April and I plan to start training in January.

Thanks in advance!

I started out with the Higdon novice plans and go back to them when I'm not working towards any specific goal. For goal work and improvement, I've been using @DopeyBadger plans. He customizes the plan for your current and desired fitness, your goals for the training cycle and how many days you are willing to commit to training. At heart, I think the plans are Hanson's-based, but they are heavily personalized and don't feel as overwhelming as a strict Hanson's approach. I've been very happy with my results on his plans and recommend you drop him a line.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Okay gang, let’s talk marathon training plans.

I finished my first marathon in about 4:22 and my second in about 4:32. I’m not disappointed in either time, but I think I have it in me to get closer to 4:00.

For both races, I’ve relied on a “first time” marathon guide that was all about finishing upright. Not speed work. No intervals. Just distance. Now that I have a couple marathons under my belt, I’d like to upgrade my training a bit.

I’m curious what plans you all use, what they entail, cost, etc. My next marathon is planned for late April and I plan to start training in January.

Thanks in advance!

You tell me what you can do and what your current fitness is and I write the best plan I can come up with. It's based on your availability, races, current fitness, injury history, etc. I also give you a rough estimate at the start at what I think is possible at the end, but of course I don't make a solid guess until much closer to race day. Just send me a PM if interested. I offer the service for free to all the DIS members interested. Now's a great time for me because everyone for the most part has their Winter/WDW Marathon Weekend plans in place so I'm in a down period of time. It'll pick back up in January.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Okay gang, let’s talk marathon training plans.

I finished my first marathon in about 4:22 and my second in about 4:32. I’m not disappointed in either time, but I think I have it in me to get closer to 4:00.

For both races, I’ve relied on a “first time” marathon guide that was all about finishing upright. Not speed work. No intervals. Just distance. Now that I have a couple marathons under my belt, I’d like to upgrade my training a bit.

I’m curious what plans you all use, what they entail, cost, etc. My next marathon is planned for late April and I plan to start training in January.

Thanks in advance!

I used this plan to get below 4:00 for the first time many years ago (http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_4/129.shtml). I now have a personally modified program.

 

[pixarmom]

I'm very much like @lhermiston - my two marathons this year were 4:26 and 4:35. In good weather conditions, my HM is around 1:52/1:53, so my McMillan estimate (based on HM POT) says I should be able to run a marathon in 3:58. OK, maybe!

Regarding training plans, I've always used a modified version of the runDisney plans (finishing in upright position) but I spread out the mileage more along the way and only went up to 21 miles on a training run. Following that approach, there was my failed experiment - running lower mileage and high frequency. This works really well for me for 5K-half marathon distances. On the other hand, I think it contributed to my leg cramps at mile 15 of the marathon earlier this month. So I'm not going to repeat that experiment for a full marathon.

@DopeyBadger just created a plan for me for Goofy 2018 and I absolutely love it. Customized for me, and he's even tolerant of the fact that I've ditched all technology and can't come back with any data! So I'm running by perceived effort based on a DB training plan. I told him that regardless of the time outcomes, it's already a success. Now I feel like I have a great plan, but it doesn't stress me out. At some point, it would be great to finish closer to 4:00, but it's not my main objective right now.

 

[lhermiston]

You tell me what you can do and what your current fitness is and I write the best plan I can come up with. It's based on your availability, races, current fitness, injury history, etc. I also give you a rough estimate at the start at what I think is possible at the end, but of course I don't make a solid guess until much closer to race day. Just send me a PM if interested. I offer the service for free to all the DIS members interested. Now's a great time for me because everyone for the most part has their Winter/WDW Marathon Weekend plans in place so I'm in a down period of time. It'll pick back up in January.

Thanks, @DopeyBadger. I really appreciate the offer. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: you’re a credit to this great running community. I’ll be in touch.

 

[Z-Knight]

I'm on the "Beat the Badger" plan ... but just like my Illini (Univ. of Illinois) I am sucking it up this year (and we won't beat any badgers this year) so I'm planning on cheating. I am trying to procure some rockets to strap to my back - that should end well. And in the event that procurement fails (they tell me you can't just purchase that stuff on the open market - without being on a list), I am falling back on the Hanson's plan ... but let me be honest, I have no idea why so many people try Hansons, I don't see the benefits yet - is the goal to grow long hair? I don't know.

 

[camaker]

Actual training photo of @Z-Knight:

 

[Anisum]

I saw pics of a girl finishing once with a funnel cake.

I love your idea of Turkey Legs

Funnel cake sounds so messy and delicious. It leads me to believe the turkey leg is the better idea.

With regards to training plan I do whatever DopeyBadger tells me to run. It's a PDF which prevents editing. I'm not sure if I like that feature.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I'm on the "Beat the Badger" plan ... but just like my Illini (Univ. of Illinois) I am sucking it up this year (and we won't beat any badgers this year) so I'm planning on cheating. I am trying to procure some rockets to strap to my back - that should end well. And in the event that procurement fails (they tell me you can't just purchase that stuff on the open market - without being on a list), I am falling back on the Hanson's plan ... but let me be honest, I have no idea why so many people try Hansons, I don't see the benefits yet - is the goal to grow long hair? I don't know.

View attachment 276659

Glad to see the other option is off the table for now...

 

[courtneybeth]

You guys are cracking me up this morning!

 

[GollyGadget]

I'm on the "Beat the Badger" plan ... but just like my Illini (Univ. of Illinois) I am sucking it up this year (and we won't beat any badgers this year) so I'm planning on cheating. I am trying to procure some rockets to strap to my back - that should end well. And in the event that procurement fails (they tell me you can't just purchase that stuff on the open market - without being on a list), I am falling back on the Hanson's plan ... but let me be honest, I have no idea why so many people try Hansons, I don't see the benefits yet - is the goal to grow long hair? I don't know.

View attachment 276659

I think the benefit comes from running to the finish faster so that you no longer have to listen to mmmbop.

 

[camaker]

Funnel cake sounds so messy and delicious. It leads me to believe the turkey leg is the better idea.

With regards to training plan I do whatever DopeyBadger tells me to run. It's a PDF which prevents editing. I'm not sure if I like that feature.

The first thing I do when I get a new @DopeyBadger plan is copy it over to a spreadsheet manually. That way I can record the actual data from my runs alongside the prescribed runs and (shhh, don't tell @DopeyBadger) it allows me to edit and move runs around to my heart's content!

 

[Anisum]

The first thing I do when I get a new @DopeyBadger plan is copy it over to a spreadsheet manually. That way I can record the actual data from my runs alongside the prescribed runs and (shhh, don't tell @DopeyBadger) it allows me to edit and move runs around to my heart's content!

GASP! So scandalous. I mean, I have a notebook that I keep at my desk that tracks my runs. It has stickers for runs I complete like I'm 5. Apparently this method doesn't work well when using a spreadsheet. They mostly just leave sticky spots on your monitor. Weird.

 

[croach]

Glad to see the other option is off the table for now...

View attachment 276679

WHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DopeyBadger]

The first thing I do when I get a new @DopeyBadger plan is copy it over to a spreadsheet manually. That way I can record the actual data from my runs alongside the prescribed runs and (shhh, don't tell @DopeyBadger) it allows me to edit and move runs around to my heart's content!

GASP! So scandalous. I mean, I have a notebook that I keep at my desk that tracks my runs. It has stickers for runs I complete like I'm 5. Apparently this method doesn't work well when using a spreadsheet. They mostly just leave sticky spots on your monitor. Weird.

LOL! I could always email you the excel file to save time.

 

[lhermiston]

I think the benefit comes from running to the finish faster so that you no longer have to listen to mmmbop.

You say that as if you don’t realize that “mmmbop” is probably one of the top 10 songs ever recorded.