help me design my training plan

ditpoker

Hi guys,

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p3uSloOc_HQHnXms-qTo6SQ

at the above link is an adapted version of Hal Higdon's 18 week novice training plan. I have noted on the side the date of the sunday on the given week, i.e. week one Saturday = rest (20th December 2008) , sunday = 3miles (which is 21st December 2008). I've noted the sundays as London Marathon is on the 26th April 2008.

I have shifted the days from the original so that my long runs take place on a thursday. One of the main reasons for this is that I have Thursdays off work.

My goal for the marathon is to complete it. If i complete it in 6 hrs, or 7 hrs, or 3hrs, i dont mind, but i want to start and i want to finish.

I have had problems with my knee (ITB) before but have done alot to counter that this time around (icing and stretching at every opportunity every day more or less.

For the last 2-3 weeks I have been running 3miles 3 times a week minimum. I will keep this up as a base ahead of the above training schedule.

Now here is the tricky part, I'd be more than happy with the above schedule on its own, its more than enough. But... at the moment, I play football 3 times a week. Saturday match day (90mins), Monday Training (90 mins), Thursday Training (60 mins). Football has always been my priority, I play football, thats what i do. I want to run a marathon in addition to my football, not as a substitute or replacement. The work load is probably excessive for a novice marathon run, can i drop one of the shorter runs? can i drop the cross training? can i drop some of the mileage? should i drop anything? or just run everything as an addition.

Also, I am aware of the risk of injury from football after 5 months of training only to pick up a knock in a match the week before. Is what I am talking about viable? Any suggestions on modifications I can/should make to the training plan.

Thanks everyone!

Krusty_Clown

Without studying your spreadsheet too closely, from my own experience, you can definitely eliminate some of the mid-week lower mileage runs as these would be suitably covered by the football training/matches. My football is limited to a game a week on astro, with no training (obviously not as serious as your football), and I would typically cover 3.5-4 miles of sprint/stop type running, which seems to have been a good replacement for a low mileage speed session.

Mondays look very difficult if you're planning on doing both a 90min training session and a hard run. You're looking at doing 110-160 minutes of training, which with the added IT band issues, are going to be very difficult. you should probably include your football sessions in your training schedule so you (and we) can get a true picture of an individual day's efforts.

Would you not do:
Saturday - match
Sunday - long run
Monday - 90 minute football training
Tuesday - Hard run
Wednesday - Recovery run
Thursday - 60 minute football training
Friday - rest or cross training, depending how you feel.

cfitz

ditpoker wrote: »

Hi guys,

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p3uSloOc_HQHnXms-qTo6SQ

at the above link is an adapted version of Hal Higdon's 18 week novice training plan. I have noted on the side the date of the sunday on the given week, i.e. week one Saturday = rest (20th December 2008) , sunday = 3miles (which is 21st December 2008). I've noted the sundays as London Marathon is on the 26th April 2008.

I have shifted the days from the original so that my long runs take place on a thursday. One of the main reasons for this is that I have Thursdays off work.

My goal for the marathon is to complete it. If i complete it in 6 hrs, or 7 hrs, or 3hrs, i dont mind, but i want to start and i want to finish.

I have had problems with my knee (ITB) before but have done alot to counter that this time around (icing and stretching at every opportunity every day more or less.

For the last 2-3 weeks I have been running 3miles 3 times a week minimum. I will keep this up as a base ahead of the above training schedule.

Now here is the tricky part, I'd be more than happy with the above schedule on its own, its more than enough. But... at the moment, I play football 3 times a week. Saturday match day (90mins), Monday Training (90 mins), Thursday Training (60 mins). Football has always been my priority, I play football, thats what i do. I want to run a marathon in addition to my football, not as a substitute or replacement. The work load is probably excessive for a novice marathon run, can i drop one of the shorter runs? can i drop the cross training? can i drop some of the mileage? should i drop anything? or just run everything as an addition.

Also, I am aware of the risk of injury from football after 5 months of training only to pick up a knock in a match the week before. Is what I am talking about viable? Any suggestions on modifications I can/should make to the training plan.

Thanks everyone!

I understand your point about football being the priority and marathon being secondary. It makes perfect sense, but I'm not sure that you can train for a marathon without without it having an effect on your football. For someone who doesn't run, any run longer than a 5 miles will probably be felt in the legs during football training the next day. How about training for football six times per week and leaving the marathon until you've retired from football?!

Football would count as cross-training so that's one issue sorted. You have 2 rest days as well so you could avoid any clash. I'd say you could do the runs on top of the football training, just make sure that the shortest ones are on the days you have football. Maybe leave it so that you've one complete rest day and one day where you are doing both football and running on the same day. Start easing in to it now so that you're used to running and football on the same day.

Try to keep it so that the hard runs and the long runs aren't on the day before your important football days.

Stupid_Private

It's a tough one to figure out how to fit it all in. The first thing I'd say is scratch the long run on the Thursday. Just because you have the day off doesn't mean that your legs will be able to deal with a long run in the morning and then a football training session in the evening.

If your goal is to finish it then most you don't need to worry too much about hard runs, easy runs and intervals etc. My first marathon was done when I used to box twice a week - Tuesday and Thursday's boxing training took place of the running that day. You'll more than likely have to do your long run on a Sunday. It's the only day I can see working if you play footie on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Long easy run on the Sunday after football on Saturday. Monday (football) - Tuesday (rest) - Wednesday (easy run or off) - Thursday (football) - Friday (easy run or off)

That's how I'd see it - best of luck

-updated as I had the football training days wrong

Peckham

If football is to take priority, then you should probably drop back to 4 running days per week (not ideal, but then again you're looking to "get around" rather than doing a particular time), and ignore the hard runs & cross-training

I'd go as follows:
Mon - No running, football training
Tue - As per your schedule (easy)
Wed - Rest
Thurs - As per your Sunday run, football training
Fri - As per your Monday run
Sat - Football match (assuming this is in the morning)
Sun - Long run

As things progress in the schedule, the Monday football training is going to get tough as a result of the long Sunday run.

I'd also have concerns about the amount of football training and potential for injury, especially in the crucial stages of marathon. Personally, I'd drop the football at that stage (but that's easy for me to say, as marathon is my priority). But others here who play football may be better able to advise.

You're setting yourself a very difficult task to say you want to do a marathon, but that another sport is your priority. Marathon training is very time and energy intensive.

Racing Flat

I know a few fellows who've tried this and usually they end up picking one or the other. Some fellows complained that the marathon training 'slowed' them down for football. But it may well be manageable, but you're bound to be tired for football if you add marathon training on top compared to normal, so you might not play as well.

I'd advise going to football training early so you might get in a half hour run of your own prior to the football training warm up run - I presume you must do a 15min warm up jog at the start. If you also do a 15min warm down at the end of football training, you'll have an hour run done and a lot of football running as a bonus. As there is a lot of short fast running in football, I wouldn't be too concerned with doing speed sessions in your running training, especially seeing as the marathon is secondary to football.

So I'd do 2 days football training where you do extra easy running, 1 day of football match, 1 rest day, 2 days of easy running, build up to an hour, 1 long run, build up to 3 hours.

I was still playing football a few years ago when I started running, but it did get to the stage where I was more concerned with improving my race times, so I'd rather do a running session than football. Added to this the fact that as I was getting older I was getting niggly knee and groin injuries from all the twisting in soccer, so by the end of the season I'd given up soccer. So beware...!!!

ditpoker

thank you all so much for the detailed replies! some great advice in there.

perhaps had i given more info i could make a better decision.

my working week:
tues/wed 8am-12noon. 5pm-9pm

my football week:
Saturday match, almost always a 2pm kick off. 90 mins, intense.
Monday training, 90 mins, i can give this a miss if and when needs be, but should attend 70%-80% really.
Thursday indoor training 60 mins, same as above, but this is the more enjoyable side of the training so would be more inclined to go to this over the monday one.

I'm liking the idea of the Sunday long run, will also mean i dont skew things at the end and keep the marathon race long run on a sunday too, for planning's sake. Tuesday/Wednesday a run in the afternoon, these would be my base runs that build to 1 hour, with sunday being the long run that builds to 3hrs.
Mon/Thurs effectively are running rest days, but with footie.
Friday is 1000000% rest day.

I'm very worried about injury from football effecting the marathon, but sadly its a gamble i have to take (currently side lined at the moment actually ). I can see the knocks and niggle's frustrating me, but they've been a constant since i was 7/8 years old, so should be able to soldier through a bruise here or there. obviously if i do in my ankle or something i'll have to hang up the running shoes and football boots regardless.

thanks again for all the advice. i'm going to re-do the spreadsheet in the morning and re-assess. great advice so far!!