My Small Snafu in Last Week of Higdon Novice Plan

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

My DH and I have been using Hal Hidon's Novice Half Marathon Training plan. I like it and think it's worked really well for me. This is a somewhat minor issue, but I'm wondering if I should make any changes in the rest of the week based on a little "oops" today. DH and I had mapped out a ten mile run (the longest run for this training plan) at a place we haven't done a lot of running. It's a beautiful spot and we really enjoyed the run, but we found out about 1 1/2 miles into our loop that a bridge we had to go over was under repair and we had to make a detour. Our ten mile run ended up being an 11.4 mile run. I was actually rather relieved since that brought the time down to my 14 - something minute miles I've gotten used to doing on my long runs rather than cutting it closer to sweep time. And I felt good after the run. (Of course, I'm sitting here soaking my feet in hot water with epsom salts to help with yet another blister, but other than that, it was hunky dory!)

So, with that long introduction, I'm wondering if my taper week runs (which are supposed to be 4 miles Tuesday, 3 miles or cross train on Wednesday, and 2 miles on Thursday) should stay the same or if I should modify them at all. It looks as though the Intermediate plan has today as a 12 mile run with a similar taper week. I'm all for keeping them the same, but do you think it would be a good idea to maybe do just 3 or 3.5 on Tuesday since I ran longer than the plan suggested today?

Thanks for the input. I'm sure I'll get more of a feel for this type of thing as I get more running time and more races under my belt, but it's all still pretty new to me.

 

[FireDancer]

I don't feel much of a difference between a 10 mile run and an 11.4 mile runs so I would probably either continue on with the plan or cut a mile off the next run (forgetting about the .4). Keep in mind the Higdon program is just a guide and doesn't have to be followed like Gospel. I am using one of his plans for my January marathon and know I will be making quite a few small changes.

Now, if you feel a bit more pain then you should because the extra 1.4 was past a threshold for you that is different. Ice, rest a day, and make a decision from there but I still wouldn't make wholesale changes to the plan based on such a small deviation from the planned mileage.

 

[evhorizon]

IMO, 11.4 mi instead of 10 mi isn't a drastic difference. As long as you feel ok, I would stick to the original plan.

But as a general rule, it's better to be undertrained than overtrained. If you have any nagging injuries or pain, it's better to cut back than to push forward with a rigid schedule.

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

Thanks to both of you! I'll stick with the original plan. Yes, I'm a little sore today, and probably will be tomorrow, too, but no more so than after my 8 or 9 mile runs the last couple of weeks.