marathon plan

drmariner

I have a question for all you experienced marathoners: Is there a stand-alone marathon plan that better serves that "sweat spot" of preparation and injury/burn-out avoidance? It seems to me that the FIRST program is quite similar to the EN plan.

I've never really done a stand-alone marathon plan ("winged" it for my only stand alone marathon many years ago and then followed various IM plans for my 4 IMs-the last 2 with EN). I'm 60 with recent .5 M times of 1:43-1:45. I plan to do an intermediate plan. 

The 2 cross training days and 2 optional rest days with both plans is very attractive to me . Does the standard EN Z4-Z5 OS bike work-outs fit in with the FIRST cross-training?

I feel that a stand alone marathon is alot harder event than an IM. I'm ready to get run-focused over the next 16 weeks and understand that instrinsic to marathon preparation is fatigue (and probable boredom). I would like to see if I can do a good job and get to the start un-injured. Is the FIRST intermediate plan a good option for me?

Thanks for your advice.

 

 

wrightb2

Hi David, I will be 60 next year and I've done three IM in the last four years and I've run similar half mary times to what you reported and I am following the intermediate 24 week plan with good results. I'm on week 18 and haven't felt like it was too much nor have I been injured. The only thing I do different is I build some walking breaks between sets which I think helps with my recovery. I joke with my wife, that this my age adjusted training plan. The coaches may not agree but it seems to be keeping me healthy and motivated. Hope this helps and good luck with your marathon.

MattAaronson

I have done a lot of research into plans (see a thread I wrote around October or November of 2013) but I suspect your age makes the answer totally different than the way I think about running. Your injury risk and recovery needs are much higher. I would be very interested if you see what is out there in terms of plans for grand-masters (or whatever the name is). The typical Daniels / Pfitzinger / Hansons etc. are full of very hard workouts and not a lot of rest. All of those traditional approaches end up running 6x/week and I'm not sure at what age that starts to become an issue for many people.

Perhaps some of the Hal Higdon stuff would be relevant.

I'm very interested to hear where you get with this.