THE Program

Most everyone knows there are dozens of marathon training programs. The different programs are generally founded on the same concepts but are surprisingly wide ranging in their approaches. I've been overwhelmed as I've sorted through the options trying to choose what's best for me and will help me achieve my goals. Of course that has meant defining my goals. Although I don't feel my marathon goals are definitive and I'm not convinced I've selected the best program (I don't think you can ever really know ... even after running several marathons ....), I'm using the SmartCoach Personal Training Program on the Runners World website. I used the same program (loosely) for the half marathon and it worked. The program is manageable for me from a scheduling standpoint. It also has 3 20-mile long runs in the schedule whereas most of the other schedules I saw only had 2.

The difficulty with this is that I have so many great running options. Doug Storey's Tuesday track workout group that Stephanie introduced me to is great. I like having the weekly speed work laid out for me and the synergy of doing speedwork with others.

There's Stephanie's newly formed hill and interval group on Thursday nights in the Bayou. Heaven knows I need the hills and intervals! I haven't run with them yet but I'm sure it's great since Stephanie is at the helm.

Jonathan has suggested dropping in for weekly early morning speed sessions with Kenyan Way. I'd love to give this a try. Jonathan has had great results and it seems very focused and disciplined. I also like the idea of getting my workout in early.

Stephanie (in conjunction with Houston Racing ???) has a Saturday morning long run group. They run around Memorial Park and the Bayou on some soft surfaces rather than entirely on asphalt or pavement.

I always enjoy running with Jonathan on the occasions we've met after work. Recently I like the fact that he's made sure I get my core exercises after running (when I'm alone, I've found justifications easy to come by!).

There's ChampionsFit. Their formal program starts in July. The convenience of being very close to home and starting the Saturday long runs very early is great. I met Bob through the group and enjoy running with him. The group is always on hard surfaces and their focus will be the Houston marathon in January rather than a fall marathon. The group is viable but I'm getting the sense it's not robust. I'm not 100% sure my running goals and objectives correlate exactly with their program.

On top of all this, I've found that I'm driven my the competition of racing. Since laying off the race circuit since Memorial Day, I've really missed it. I'm not a great racer but I truly get a motivation and sensation from it that I want on a frequent basis.

So what am I saying? Essentially that my training program really doesn't sync up with much of this. But, on the other hand, I don't want to go it alone so I guess I'll be stuck mixing and matching and hopefully accomplishing my objectives.

OBJECTIVES / GOALS:

Make it to October 6 healthy and ready to run the St. George marathon.

Come away from the marathon feeling I haven't cheated myself of the opportunity through poor preparation.

Enjoy the marathon.

Be pleasantly surprised with by my performance .... Target time = ?:??:?? (TBD)


McMillan suggests 3:34
Runners World suggests 3:35
Bayou VDOT suggests 3:32
AttackPoint suggests 3:30

Let's just say I would be thrilled with any of those times. I don't think they're possible now even though I'm using equivalent calculators. As input, I'm using my 5K PR (21:59) from April 28, 2007. However, I've found the calculators aren't reliable for me when they're extended to longer races (my 10K and half marathon). Both of my longer races have come in slower than the calculators suggested I should run. My conclusion is that my overall fitness and endurance conditioning isn't where it needs to be to run the projected times at longer distances. Hopefully the next 15 weeks with SmartCoach puts me on top of my game. I'd love a 3:35 my first time out at 26.2!