Marathon Training Confession

In the deep, dark months of a northern winter several of us got the crazy idea to register for and race the Marine Corps Marathon. The idea though was not just to finish, we've all done that one or more times, but to run as fast as our old man and woman legs could carry us, targeting a Boston qualifying time as a goal.

Of course this meant we would need a training plan, a good plan. Sure, we've followed countless plans in the past with varying degrees of success. Now, though, the Hanson Brothers, from the Detroit area, have been creating buzz with Olympic qualifiers (Desiree Davila) and many other national/world class runners following their plans and training as a group. I purchased their marathon training plan on the internet and shared it with Mike and Lou. Two ideas stick out from the plan, the fairly high weekly mileage, especially for those of us with 40 hour work weeks, and the back to back hard-long runs. Many weekends call for 15-19 miles on Saturday followed by at least 10 miles on Sunday. These runs include a variety of paces thrown in, such as last Saturday's 8 miles at marathon pace during a 15+ mile run. (I could only manage 14, with 5 miles at or a bit below goal pace).

It sounds excellent and will definitely work for Lou and Mike, who are trying their best to stay on schedule. Forgive me Mike and Lou for I have sinned. Well, not really sinned, but I am not on the plan. They may already have figured this out, but if not, this is my confession.

After completing the Tupper Lake Tinman I was more mentally exhausted than expected. Within a week our Hanson plan should have begun. I couldn't do it, barely picked up the schedule to look through it. After two weeks I took out a calendar and tried to plan the next 18 weeks of running. It was discouraging realizing how much I should have already been running and where I really was at.

With fourteen weeks to go and Mike and Lou gung-ho with the plan I had to try something different. I re-read my (or is it Jan's?) Pete Pfitzinger marathon training book. He has a few different plans, one of which was a marathon on up to 55 miles a week and lasting for twelve weeks. Perfect. I adapted the plan for Marine Corps and am currently two weeks into it. Actually I'm running a bit more than the weekly mileage states I should be at.

Someday I may try the Hanson plan, but not this year, not for MCM. Please forgive me Marathon gods.