Coaches Corner - Galloway, Bingham, Higdon – Oh my!

[cewait]

As we enter into June the time to start training for the big event nears. Galloway’s newest marathon plan starts 30 weeks out, or the week of June 17 – Tuesday June 19 to be precise. For the halfers, September 17 is you starting week and it will be here soon.

So Coach, what is the ‘best’ training plan for my first marathon?

Actually, any plan will get you to the start – as long as it is a plan. The three plans in the title (note Bingham paired with Jenny Hadfield to develop the Marathoning for Mortals plan) are a great place to start as they cover the basics of how to get ready for the big day. Their plans have build and recovery weeks and work their way up to between 20 and 26 miles as a final long run. There is nothing really magic about a plan, other than it should build mileage up gradually, have recovery weeks and be summarized in one place so that you can map it out into Outlook, iCal, Excel, the PTA Calendar, etc. The best thing one can do is write it down and have it hold you accountable for getting out and running.

For the most part, Galloway and Higdon have shared their plans over the internet for free. If one Googles long enough, you can also find Bingham’s plan in the cobwebs of the net. By far these plans are used by thousands of runners each year to train for their half or full event.

Look at these plans and then apply them to your normal week. Do you have time to run 10 miles as a midweek run? If you are moving at a 15 minute training pace that is a 2.5 hour block of time for running and does not include prep or warm down time. Can you run 4-5 days a week? If you are a beginner runner and in the well seasoned age group say over 50, I would suggest planning on 3 maybe 4 runs a week is all that your body can take. That would equate to a Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday run.

Plan out the time of day you want to run. I will put your long run in for early, at least through the summer. The midweek runs should fit into your work and family schedules. Either end of the day will work. Be flexible, you may end up changing from mornings to night and even back…

What if life gets in the way?

Life will interfere at least once in your schedule. Look at the calendar and you will see that you are running through three holiday periods. I will bet that you will have to change up something to keep to your training plan during at least one of them. You mission priorities are to make all the long runs, or at least prioritize them. The weekday runs tend to not be as important if something gets in the way.

So what if I just flat miss a weekend?

If you cannot make a long run due to life or injury, do not try to go back and make it up. Just move forward. Yes the run was important but trying to fit it in can lead to other issues, especially if you try to cram it in late during the following week and interfere with the next long run.

Coach, I am currently running 6 miles each week for my long runs, what should I do?

You have 2 options… One is to start your plan and follow it with the initial reduced mileage. It will feel like a vacation and your body will appreciate it. The 3-5 weeks at the reduced miles will allow for some recovery and help strengthen your body. Option 2 is to just keep running the current long run distances and merge into the plan once miles increase beyond your current distance. Either way works.

Do I need to really run 26 miles in training?

I leave that up to you the runner. If you are a first time marathoner and are unsure about those last 10k, then I suggest planning on the Galloway 23 and 26 mile training runs. I will say that if you are feeling injured or fatigued to give yourself permission to reschedule the distances down. Seasoned marathoners will be quick to point out that much of the game after about 2.5 hours is mental. Yes, one has to have the endurance fuel tank gained through training, but the mind will start firing constant negative thoughts in the last 6-8 miles of a marathon. You can put the toolboxes in place to overcome these thoughts through training. They are relatively easy tools (thoughts) such as run to the next street light, expansion joint or as granular as run at least 5 more steps. Jeff put the 26 in for beginners mostly for the mental game and to give you a sense of, yes I can do this. It also comes from old school training principles that have the elite runners running over-distance long runs.

Cross Training?

Oh yes. Please put in some form of cross training. Cycling by far is a great pairing with running, but then so is swimming or rowing or any non-impact cardio workout. I would try to avoid the day before and after your long run for cross training.

Strength Training?

Yes you can weight lift during a marathon plan. I would suggest working all body parts including legs. A 2-3 x a week plan is not bad in the first part of a marathon plan. I would pull back on strength later in the marathon plan; especially legs. Though I have personally pushed legs workouts to failure during taper. It’s an advanced training thing we tried that I would not necessarily lay into a beginner plan.

Some basics –

- Write your training plan down
- Get a log book and note your miles, feelings and weather
- Do not increase weekly running totals by more than 10% a week
- Long runs should be conversational… that is the effort is low enough that you could almost carry on a normal conversation while you run. Weekday runs are generally at a harder effort
- Get to a running store and get a pair of shoes fitted for you
- Tech clothing is 1000% better than cotton. Note never use fabric softener on tech fabrics.
- If speed challenged, consider adding some strength drills (more later on this)
- Have FUN
More to come


Train hard, live clean

 

[johde]

Nice summary Coach. A couple of thing I would add.

In your "Life get's in the way sections" for my first couple of half marathon, I started the plan I think 2 weeks early (may have been 4 weeks). That gave me 2-4 opportunities for an unexpected cutback week. The one thing you need to watch out for is how the plan finished up. Most of them shift to a long run every other week (or in the case of Jeff's marathon plans a long run every 3 weeks). You want to make sure you get the last long run in at the right time. I know the one time I didn't "need" the extra weeks and I did 2 10 mile long runs. Which was beneficial because the first one wasn't pretty.

You mention that you can get all of the plans for free. And that is very true when you add in previews from books.google.com and Amazon.com. That being said, I think it can be useful to buy the book. and given used book prices online not that expensive. I know Jeff Galloway has a large number of plans beyond the ones you can find free online that you can use depend where you're starting. You can also learn some things about their training philosophies that you may not get in the free versions.

Understand the goal of the plan: At first that may sound obvious The goal is to get you ready for the race, but it's not that easy. Most of the plans discussed here, Bingham/Hadfield's, Jeff Galloway "to finish" and beginner plans, and Hal Higdon's beginner plans are designed to hopefully get you to the starting line uninjured and allow you to finish in one piece. They are not designed to allow you to "race" the distance. You may be able to go a little bit faster come race day but I wouldn't count on it. Especially in your first race, I would start off at your long run pace and slowly pick it up from there. Starting off too quickly can lead to a long walk at the finish or worse.

 

[Big Vic]

I just signed up for a Galloway marathon training plan through work (decent discount). Starts on 16 June, meeting every Saturday morning with an end date of 01/13/13. We'll see how it works out.

 

[MightyDuck001]

Question!I finished my first half about two weeks ago and I'm doing a half labor day weekend and one in November. The November one lines up perfectly with the 13 mile week in the Higdon plan, but what should I do with my summer? I'm not looking to break world records, just finish in the allotted time, uninjured, and smiling like I did with the first.

 

[cewait]

Question!I finished my first half about two weeks ago and I'm doing a half labor day weekend and one in November. The November one lines up perfectly with the 13 mile week in the Higdon plan, but what should I do with my summer? I'm not looking to break world records, just finish in the allotted time, uninjured, and smiling like I did with the first.

just from a maintenance thought, if you rollers through a series of 6-8-10 mile long runs it works out perfectly on the calendar. To anchor the dates, the 10 miler would occur this up coming weekend, followed by a 6 miler over June 16/17, 8 miler June 23/24 and then 10 again June 30/July 1. This pattern works out well having you come into the Labor Day half following a 6 miler (8/19), an 8 (8/26) and then the half over the holiday.


This is really simple and is kind of a maintenance plan. I you feel the need to pull back, I would just take your half plan followed for the last half and lay it out backwards from the Labor Day race. Just jump back into the plan where you would be this coming weekend.

 

[cewait]

Nice summary Coach. A couple of thing I would add.

In your "Life get's in the way sections" for my first couple of half marathon, I started the plan I think 2 weeks early (may have been 4 weeks). That gave me 2-4 opportunities for an unexpected cutback week. The one thing you need to watch out for is how the plan finished up. Most of them shift to a long run every other week (or in the case of Jeff's marathon plans a long run every 3 weeks). You want to make sure you get the last long run in at the right time. I know the one time I didn't "need" the extra weeks and I did 2 10 mile long runs. Which was beneficial because the first one wasn't pretty.

You mention that you can get all of the plans for free. And that is very true when you add in previews from books.google.com and Amazon.com. That being said, I think it can be useful to buy the book. and given used book prices online not that expensive. I know Jeff Galloway has a large number of plans beyond the ones you can find free online that you can use depend where you're starting. You can also learn some things about their training philosophies that you may not get in the free versions.

Understand the goal of the plan: At first that may sound obvious The goal is to get you ready for the race, but it's not that easy. Most of the plans discussed here, Bingham/Hadfield's, Jeff Galloway "to finish" and beginner plans, and Hal Higdon's beginner plans are designed to hopefully get you to the starting line uninjured and allow you to finish in one piece. They are not designed to allow you to "race" the distance. You may be able to go a little bit faster come race day but I wouldn't count on it. Especially in your first race, I would start off at your long run pace and slowly pick it up from there. Starting off too quickly can lead to a long walk at the finish or worse.

THanks, these are great points. I was going to put a paragraph in on trying to understand the plan. For that each coach has a book and I would highly recommend spending some time reading their books. It will help you understand some of the why's behind their thoughts and plans.

 

[sunshine269]

Thanks for posting this. I've been trying to decide which plan to go with and I think I'm going to use Galloway's plan. This will be my first marathon and my goal is to simply finish. I might cut back on the miles toward the end. I don't think I'll go the full 26 before the full, might top out at 22 or 23. I'm also using the Non-Runners Marathon trainer because it focuses a lot on the mental aspect of the marathon.

Jennifer

 

[JCH]

Thanks for posting this. I've been trying to decide which plan to go with and I think I'm going to use Galloway's plan. This will be my first marathon and my goal is to simply finish. I might cut back on the miles toward the end. I don't think I'll go the full 26 before the full, might top out at 22 or 23. I'm also using the Non-Runners Marathon trainer because it focuses a lot on the mental aspect of the marathon.

Jennifer

I plan on doing the same thing, follow the plan but replace the 26 mile runs with 20 mile runs. I wish Disney would post the Marathon plan already!

 

[johde]

You can find the links to Galloway's plans from 2011 here. There may be a few changes because of the TOT 10 miler and the new date for W&D, but not too much. At this point, it seems like some of the links are broken but some of them work.

 

[wvjules]

I'm doing the Baltimore Half on October 13. I'm using Hal Higdon's Novice 2 training plan. No matter what plan I'm using for the WDW full I have to tweek the miles at the beginning to get them to fit. I have a calendar with the weekly milage for each plan I'm trying to decide between (HH Marathon Novice 1 or 2, Galloway to finish and Bingham/Hadfield Run/Walk). As of right now I'm strongly leaning towards Bingham Run/Walk because I really think run/walk will get me to the finish in an upright position.

My questions are:

If I can run most of the half in October is it conceivable that I can do the same for the full?

If I do decide to do Bingham Run/Walk, is transitioning from a running only program for a half to a run/walk for a full be difficult? It would be basically changing plans mid training since the half almost fits into a full training program.

Thanks.

 

[JCH]

You can find the links to Galloway's plans from 2011 here. There may be a few changes because of the TOT 10 miler and the new date for W&D, but not too much. At this point, it seems like some of the links are broken but some of them work.

Thanks, I've actually already made a makeshift training calendar to factor in ToT..I just like having the "official" one all printed and pretty.

 

[JCH]

And my wish has been granted! They are finally up! So question...I was hoping it would have ToT on there, since the last day for ToT says Sign Up for the Marathon...but alas, Sept 29th is a 3-4 mi run depending on the plan.


So...do I do 3 long runs in a row? Sept 22 says 13 miles and Oct 6 is 15 miles...how do I rearrange for the 10 miler on the 29th...? Thanks!

 

[johde]

They don't seem to have any of the bridge programs up yet from the fall races to the January Marathon. I looked at the Marathon plan and like you said, It doesn't add in any of the fall races either. If you did Jeff's Goal Time TOT plan you could probably transition to the old W&D to Marathon plan. the TOT goal time plan peaks at 14 miles. That Marathon plan starts at 15 miles. Hopefully as times goes on, they'll add a more formal plan.

 

[cewait]

I'm doing the Baltimore Half on October 13. I'm using Hal Higdon's Novice 2 training plan. No matter what plan I'm using for the WDW full I have to tweek the miles at the beginning to get them to fit. I have a calendar with the weekly milage for each plan I'm trying to decide between (HH Marathon Novice 1 or 2, Galloway to finish and Bingham/Hadfield Run/Walk). As of right now I'm strongly leaning towards Bingham Run/Walk because I really think run/walk will get me to the finish in an upright position.

My questions are:

If I can run most of the half in October is it conceivable that I can do the same for the full?

If I do decide to do Bingham Run/Walk, is transitioning from a running only program for a half to a run/walk for a full be difficult? It would be basically changing plans mid training since the half almost fits into a full training program.

Thanks.

More than conceivable that if you run all (or most) of you half that you will do the same for the full. The issue with the "let me run til i fail" plan is that once you break, your day becomes a survival march. Those can be rather torturous. I would say start run walking from the beginning and then convert to a run from the half point. Or, if you are mostly certain of running the entire half, try walking a minute at each mile point or water station. It will give you that little break and since pre-planned, it does not register mentally as a fail.

You might also look at building your marathon plan first then just running the half for that week's long run. I have not laid out the plan so I am not 100% sure that works, but I am thinking that it could.

 

[fashionista311]

I would also chime in that if you go with a more low mileage training plan, you have to realize these plans are designed to get you to the finish line...and not much else. Which is totally fine if your goal is to just finish (as well it should be for your first marathon anyways) but you have to scale back any time goals, and pace yourself accordingly...and even then, realize you might be in for a death march at the end. Marathon #2 went so much more smoothly because I had a decent base and trained fairly well...it was a much "happier" marathon. Had I known had woefully unprepared I was going into marathon #1, I might have deferred and waited a year. Oh well....that's life.

I'm getting my coach's certification in about two weeks actually from RCAA, so in a few weeks, my unsolicited two cents will come with some creditability, too

 

[johde]

I would also chime in that if you go with a more low mileage training plan, you have to realize these plans are designed to get you to the finish line...and not much else. Which is totally fine if your goal is to just finish (as well it should be for your first marathon anyways) but you have to scale back any time goals, and pace yourself accordingly...and even then, realize you might be in for a death march at the end.

As a moderately low mileage runner, I would give a qualified agreement to your assessment. I haven't done a Marathon, but I"ve done 5 half marathons. Right now, I've been using one of Jeff Galloway's Goal Time plans that starts at about 16 miles a week and peaks at 25 miles (with a 15 mile long run). So not beginner plan low mileage, but still low mileage. When I started, I was using either MFM plan that went from probably 9 miles to 20 miles.

Yes, you need to "temper" your goal time, especially in your first one. At this point, five races in, I have a pretty good idea of what my race potential is. Where my low mileage let's me down is is adjusting when things don't go as planned. For me, that's especially true about the heat.

For example, at Disneyland, it was 63 degrees at the start and about 73 by the time I finished. My PR is 2:51:02 from 6 months earlier, on a near perfect PR course and perfect weather conditions. I started Disneyland I ended up starting out too fast then settled into a 3:00:00 race time pace and ended up bonking in mile 10. I ended up with a 3:11 half. I didn't have the base to overcome the combination of the heat, going out too fast, and travel for a destination race.

After that, I've tried to really watch how heat effects my times. This spring, my half marathon was in 65 degree weather at the start and stayed about there throughout with high humidity. My original goal was 2:40-2:45. Ended up revising it to a 2:50, and ended up with a 2:52:45 after fading but not bonking in the last 3 miles.

 

[live4sleep]

Anyone have any thoughts on the Hanson Brothers training plan?

I've run 6 Half Marathons (2 of which were back to back days - Donald + Chip 'n Dale relay in January) and need to train for NYC in November and Dopey in January. NYC will be my first marathon.

I'm need to decide on a training plan so that I can start "formal" training at the end of the month.

Thanks.

 

[cewait]

Anyone have any thoughts on the Hanson Brothers training plan?

I've run 6 Half Marathons (2 of which were back to back days - Donald + Chip 'n Dale relay in January) and need to train for NYC in November and Dopey in January. NYC will be my first marathon.

I'm need to decide on a training plan so that I can start "formal" training at the end of the month.

Thanks.

Can I ask what the draw is to the Hanson plan before I answer? FOr the record I like the plan, but I think it is not for most first timers... Just wanting to understand before I give a little more detailed answer

 

[live4sleep]

Can I ask what the draw is to the Hanson plan before I answer? FOr the record I like the plan, but I think it is not for most first timers... Just wanting to understand before I give a little more detailed answer

I found the theory interesting. It goes against other plans I've read, but at the same time made sense. I was just curious if anyone's tried it/preferred it over the more conventional plans and why/why not?

I did notice that even though the longest run caps out at 16 miles the total weekly mileage (M-Sun) under the Hanson "beginner" plan IS higher than Higdon's Novice 2 plan.

Any thoughts on if the Hanson plan would be more or less likely to lead to overuse injuries?

 

[cewait]

I found the theory interesting. It goes against other plans I've read, but at the same time made sense. I was just curious if anyone's tried it/preferred it over the more conventional plans and why/why not?

I did notice that even though the longest run caps out at 16 miles the total weekly mileage (M-Sun) under the Hanson "beginner" plan IS higher than Higdon's Novice 2 plan.

Any thoughts on if the Hanson plan would be more or less likely to lead to overuse injuries?

Thanks, just wanted to see where you were coming from...

The Hanson plan, even the 'beginner' plan, is an advanced plan. Independent of this plan I have personally trained a very similar plan. Note that while the long runs are shorter than many plans, you are learning to run on dead legs. Midweek is a tough set of runs.

So, yes I actually train via a personal version of the plan since I am somewhat older than the typical person going the the project. I lay off one of the midweek runs, substituting a spin workout in its place. The reason I adopted the plan was due to injury in the 2005 training season - coming into the 2006 Goofy. I was lucky to get 17 miles for my longest training run; but I was also running hard sets of hills and intervals. I PR'd both races and then went back to study what I had done and why it was successful. What I found was the same things the Hansons have found, and that is the adaptations created through essentially having dead legs at the start of the long run, happen at lower mileage. Long story short, I have not run longer than 17 since 05 in training and have not injured in training until last week (that was gym related, not running).


I am not sure if I helped or not. I think for a first marathon, I would not necessarily suggest the Hanson plan... unless you were saying that you have a history of racing in shorter races. That would signal that you understand the true effort required of a hill and interval workout. If that were the case, then I would say give it a try.

From a race day perspective, I find that I get between 17 and 23 miles before needing that really deep dig - depending on the course, weather and effort. That is no different for me personally than when I ran 20-23 as my long run.