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| David and I after Freedom's Run, David's first half marathon - about 2 years ago |
I'm putting together a training plan for the hubby, but it's complicated by the fact that David doesn't want to "just finish", he wants to break four hours. I don't think this is out of reach for him at all. Last December he ran a 1:52 half with his only training being his typical daily 3 miler and one ten mile run the weekend before the race. So I think he could run in the 3:50's. One big thing he has going for him is that (OCD little dear that he is) the man loves to follow a plan. Loves it. Give him directions to follow and he is a happy man. So as long as I write it out for him, he'll do the training.
A strike against him is that he really doesn't like discomfort. Not a good candidate for first pregnant man here. So the last few miles of this race will be harder for him than for most.
So, I need your advice as I craft his training plan. What should I include for a first time marathoner?
Good luck to him! I think the best advice is to listen to your body and try to have fun while training. And run with other people! Which shouldn't be a problem as I assume you'll do some of the training runs with him?
ReplyDeleteI'd do a lot of slow 20 milers, once he builds up to that, and not much speed. He does not have an aerobic base and so this should be the priority for his training, I think. Fun!
ReplyDeleteWhen I trained for mine I think I topped out at 20 miles. It made sense for me at the time because I'd injured my foot, but in retrospect I wish gotten up a little higher or at least run 20 more than once just so I'd be more familiar with how my body felt at those distances. Does that make sense?
ReplyDeleteAwesome! For my only marathon I followed Hal Higdon novice plan, though sometimes I thought it was too easy, maybe Hal Higdon intermediate might be better?
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Sounds like a good deal to me!
ReplyDeleteAs far as training plans- I recommend Hal Higdon as well. He has all different levels available for free online and he tends to ere on the less is more side of things which is good for 1st time marathoners. (less injuries, etc.)
Oooohhhh!!!!!! Good luck! And have fun! My husband is running his first marathon in April. I also signed him up. ;)
ReplyDeleteWell, besides putting in the miles and doing some speed work, here are a few thoughts I have... Rest day/xtraining days are much needed, foam roll like it's your job, stretch, do some tempo runs. Know that the crappy runs are going to make you stronger on marathon day. Mental toughness is just as important as the physical.
ReplyDeleteWell for the plan I got nothing but I want to know what he said when you announced to him he would run a marathon !
ReplyDeletehas he been running over the past 2 years since his 1st half? If yes, I would say one wk tempo and long run, the next speed work or hills and long run. Also, I would work up to as many miles as he feels he can do without fear of injury. I would also incorporate an up and down, for his long runs something like 10, 12, 10, 14, 10, 16, 10, 18, 10, 20, etc. I think that down wk is super important for a newbie to 26.2 training. yes, yes, do tell - what was his response to the notification of his 1st marathon?
ReplyDeletethe last 6 miles is tough, I don't handle that pain well either, so I run high mileage to prep for that. It's tricky with it being his 1st.
I would suggest keeping it simple. I wouldn't worry as much about intervals, speedwork, etc... I would just get him used to putting in the miles; that helped me a lot at first. Although doing speedwork kind of breaks up the monotony of running a lot. So, I don't know.
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