Question:
I’ve been running for about
8 months, and have managed to elevate
my fitness level quite reasonably.
My first distance event was the
Windsor Half Marathon at the end
of September where I achieved slightly
better than my goal, running just
over 1:36.
My next goal
is the London Marathon and I’d
really like to run it in 3:10 (I’d
love to run a good for age time).
I don’t feel this is unrealistic
given my half marathon time (the
Windsor Half is fairly hilly). In
preparation for the London Marathon,
I’m trying to pick a training
program that suits both the small
amount of experience I have as a
runner and the time I’d like
to achieve.
I’ve
looked at the two intermediate programs
on Hal Higdon’s website:
According to Hal the Intermediate
I training schedule is more suited
to my level experience, however
my feeling is I might have a better
chance of achieving my goal by following
Intermediate II. I’m currently
running 25-30 miles per week; 10
mile long slow runs aren’t
a problem at all.
To confuse
things further, the Runner’s
World article:
Says that aiming for sub-3:30 require
their advanced schedule, which is
very different to either of Hal’s
intermediate schedules. The RW schedule
has lots of hill, interval, tempo
and fartlet (I’ve done almost
none of this type of training in
my past) whereas Hal’s intermediate
schedules don’t incorporate
this.
Should I
be incorporating the amount of speed
work that RW suggests, given that
my target time is only 7 seconds/mile
faster than my average half marathon
mile split?
Do you think
the Intermediate II program (or
even my goal time) is too ambitious?
If so, do you think the Intermediate
I training schedule will allow me
to achieve my goal? Any advice will
be greatly appreciated.
Answer:
To get to a 3:10 you will need to
add hills, speed and more miles
per week to hold a 7:10 pace. I
really don't think Hal's will get
you there. I'm just one opinion
so let's see what others have to
say. When I ran road marathons I
was in the 3:06-3:12 range so I
can relate a little but you may
have a lot more natural talent and
not need to pay as much dues.
