Marathon Training Plans

The Muppet

I'm contemplating going for the DCM next year, it would be my first, I have followed this years and last years novices thread and I noticed there were a few different marathon plans used.

I would be really interested in hearing peoples experience of training on the different plans and if they felt their plan prepared them well for the task in hand and if they had any recommendations for little tweeks they though might have made the run a little easier.

Finglas Flier

I think for people to give you some input, it might not be a bad idea if you post a bit of background,fitness wise.
Training plans can widely differ from person to person, depending on their base line fitness to be honest..... I have run the last 8 DCMs and each year I am learning something new with regards to training and sessions... As your body changes, so to do you make adjustments to your training schedule...

Its a never ending learning curve, is training...

The Muppet

Thanks for the reply I was thinking this could be a general thread to find out how different runners fared on the different plans which may be of interest to others who are thinking of taking the plunge.

But to answer your question I'm relatively new to running from a couch 2 5 k program . Currently I'm running 6 days and about 35 miles a week . I've ran somewhere around 700 miles this year so far I'm slow but getting quicker . My longest run to day is 14 miles and I have done a good few half marathon distance runs. I'm 51 .

pgmcpq

The Muppet wrote: »

Thanks for the reply I was thinking this could be a general thread to find out how different runners fared on the different plans which may be of interest to others who are thinking of taking the plunge..

The problem is the question !

A plan that works for the 4.xx marathon runner and the plan for e.g. the 2.3x runner differ not just in quantity. There is a reason why the HH plans are popular with novices, especially people who decide to run a marathon without a few years of 10k,HM racing. Also the plans are generic - they do not make allowances for your strengths and weaknesses ... which is why in an ideal world we'd all have a coach whose ideas and philosophies mesh with our own.

Then there is age .... I'm the same age as the OP. I know that this make things a bit different for me (three years of constant injury taught me that !). Now I have to compensate by training smarter which means reading a plan and thinking.

So for me e.g. the P&D plan gave me my best marathon result (to date hopefully, ask me Monday!) , I loved the JD plans but they led to injury.

So really to get meaningful feedback here, you'd need to have a pretty good idea of who was posting, their background, strengths, age, gender and what they had been doing in the run up to the plan. The basis for a marathon is not often in the work done prior to the plan (months, years) the allows the execution of the plan.

Disclaimer: this is a purely personal and inexpert opinion.

The Muppet

pgmcpq wrote: »

The problem is the question !

A plan that works for the 4.xx marathon runner and the plan for e.g. the 2.3x runner differ not just in quantity. There is a reason why the HH plans are popular with novices, especially people who decide to run a marathon without a few years of 10k,HM racing. Also the plans are generic - they do not make allowances for your strengths and weaknesses ... which is why in an ideal world we'd all have a coach whose ideas and philosophies mesh with our own.

Then there is age .... I'm the same age as the OP. I know that this make things a bit different for me (three years of constant injury taught me that !). Now I have to compensate by training smarter which means reading a plan and thinking.

So for me e.g. the P&D plan gave me my best marathon result (to date hopefully, ask me Monday!) , I loved the JD plans but they led to injury.

So really to get meaningful feedback here, you'd need to have a pretty good idea of who was posting, their background, strengths, age, gender and what they had been doing in the run up to the plan. The basis for a marathon is not often in the work done prior to the plan (months, years) the allows the execution of the plan.

Disclaimer: this is a purely personal and inexpert opinion.

Thanks I'm not looking for someone to recommend a plan suitable for myself . I'm more interested in hearing people's experience on the plan they chose for themselves .

I'm one of those people that reads lots of reviews before committing to something.

First Up

I used a plan I found in Runners World (US mag) by Benji Durden and I found it excellent. He has pace charts to suit everyone from the 32 minute to one hour 10k runner and maps it out in a mix of long runs, speed/hill sessions, tempo runs and easy recovery. Its a 15 week programme that assumes a basic fitness level to start - 60 minutes or better for a 10k and be able to run for an hour or more.

I liked the emphasis on the duration of runs, more than the distance covered, although he does map out progressively longer runs (and increasing total mileage) as you progress. I found it all made sense and I used it pretty exactly for my first marathon and while I can't say if it was the "best" plan for me, it got me through it fairly comfortably.

The plan is online so have a look at it and see how it looks for you. Remember, your only objective for Marathon #1 is to finish. Doing it without walking is a bonus!