Today I started training for my next half marathon, which I think is going to be either the Platte River Half Marathon (probably in early April, although there’s no date listed on the website yet) or the Colfax Half Marathon on May 18, 2008.
For the past couple of years, I’ve been following the FIRST training plan, but this time, I’ve decided to shake things up a bit and follow the plan in Matt Fitzgerald’s most recent book, Brain Training For Runners
The book features 3 different half marathon training plans - Level 1, 2, and 3. I’m going to follow the level 2 plan, which calls for 5-6 runs per week and long runs up to a maximum of 14 miles. All of the plans are 20 weeks long, separated into 4 phases: base training for 6 weeks, a ‘build 1′ phase lasting 4 weeks, a ‘build 2′ phase lasting 4 weeks, and a 6 week ‘peak’ phase, the last week of which is a taper week.
There are a lot of similarities between the FIRST plan and the Brain Training For Runners
The Brain Training For Runners
I’m really looking forward to trying out this new plan - I’m hoping the extra mileage and the power training workouts - neither of which of done enough of in the past - will help me get a PR in my next race. Stay tuned in the coming weeks and I talk about how the new plan is going for me.
So, what are your plans for training through the winter and for your next race?
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Great minds think alike.
My thoughts exactly on Fitzgerald’s plan — I really like it, though I’m a little intimidated by the total volume. Last time, I did a FIRST plan w/ Fitzgerald influence… this time, I think I’ll do the opposite.
Also trying to decide what my focus race will be for the spring… still wavering on possibly going for a full marathon, though I’m thinking more and more of emphasizing shorter and faster stuff. In the meantime, my only goal for December is lots of slowish aerobic trail running… build a healthy aerobic base and heal up the aches and pains.
I’ve been somewhat training for a half marathon that I will be running in 2 weeks. Actually I’m running with my 2 sons in a marathon relay in Charlotte, NC, and I get to do the leg that is 13.1 miles. I ran The Denver Marathon just recently, and then had to get back into training for this next one.
I see that the course for The Colfax is changing for next year and it looks like it will be much “easier”. I did the half there this year, and that last hill in Lakewood was a killer. This year you start in City Park and go East, and then come back to the park. I’m trying to decide if I want to do the whole marathon there, or do a different one. We shall see.
Dave,
Good luck in the relay - sounds like it’s going to be a lot of fun. And, congratulations on the Denver Marathon. I was supposed to do the half there, but life got in the way. I heard it ended up being a rather tough day because of the weather.
It seems like there were a lot of complaints about the uphill finish at Colfax, so the course change decision was probably a good one. It should be a nice race.