Hal's Advanced Plans

gerard65

Has anyone ever used Hal Higdon's advanced programs and if so how did you do on them?. I've been looking at his half marathon advanced plan and like his 'advanced' 10k and half programs they seem a bit 'light weight' when compared to other coaches. I know his other programs are good and 'safe' for beginners and improvers but whats your thoughts on the advanced stuff:
www.halhigdon.com

ecoli

Just had a look at the 10k advanced plan.If the wed session was pushed to thursday not having two hard days in a row and also the mileage (which at 30mpw is more middle distance territory) on easy days should be a bit higher.
Other than that this plan seems solid for people making transition as is a fairly safe schedule that you cant really go wrong with regardless of the athlete. NO huge improvements but you will prob see improvements none the less

cfitz

'12 x 400m at mile pace' isn't very useful unless it tells you what recovery to take.

average_runner

usually recovery is 2 mins, its what we do anyhow

ecoli

average_runner wrote: »

usually recovery is 2 mins, its what we do anyhow

2 min recovery sounds more like quality high end speed and middle distance training as opposed to 10k. I think cfitz has a valid point here as unless recoveries are determined to highlight what is being looked for in the session then it is too ambiguous. Sprinters to marathon people can do 400s but the difference comes in the intensity and recovery. As the distances go up the emphasis changes from rep time to recovery time

watch the hop

I followed his Advanced 1 marathon plan for Cork in 2009. I finished it in 3.31. On a cooler day I would have gotten inside 3.30, but I am currently about to start a non Hal programme for DCM.

I thought his programmes are excellent for beginners and improvers who want to get under 3.30 but if you are aiming at a faster finish than that (and particularly sub 3.10 or below), then I reckon the Hal programmes (even advanced II) are a bit lightweight and you should consider a programme with more mileage, incl more cruise intervals and more PMP runs.

Krusty_Clown

Going back to Gerard65's point (Half Marathon advanced plan), the tempo runs seem very short (they're similar in duration to the 10k advanced plan, for an event that's over twice the distance) and the pace runs on a Saturday seem too short as well, topping out at 5 miles (I would have thought closer to 8 miles would be more beneficial).

It goes back to a discussion from a long time ago. How exactly do you define 'advanced'. Advanced in Hal's American speak might suggest someone who's trying to crack 1:30 - 1:40, rather than someone who is chasing 1:20. In general, the plan has a lot of beneficial elements, such as long intervals, tempo runs, some hill-work, a 5/6 day week, and core strength work that should improve someone who has previously done a couple of half marathons, and wants the extra discipline and variety of a plan, rather than just running x miles per week.

gerard65

I'm looking for a 12wk program for a half marathon in September to go for a sub 1:35. The two I'm looking at are Hal's and Bob Glover's. Hal's is quality above quantity whereas Bob's is the other end of the spectrum with only one quality workout and one long run a week with the rest of the days base miles. Bob's peaks at 45 miles per week, I always think Hal's is very low on base miles. Might give Glover's a go.

Posted at the same time a Krusty, confused again!

Krusty_Clown

Why not try a mash-up of the two?
e.g follow the HH plan, though extend the length of the runs (hell, even throw in a few Tergat PMP sessions for good measure!).

gerard65

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Why not try a mash-up of the two?
e.g follow the HH plan, though extend the length of the runs (hell, even throw in a few Tergat PMP sessions for good measure!).

What I'm now thinking is to follow Glover's plan for 8 weeks and then switch to the more quality stuff of Hal's or the Furman 3 day high quality stuff for the last 4 weeks. This would give me a good 12 weeks base milage, starting last week, and a 4 week sharpening phase.