Well I've settled on a marathon to run. I am signed up for the Houston Marathon. January 13, 2013. Signed up the first day of early registration. Had to have a sub 4 hour marathon to qualify for early registration. My 3:32 on the Route 66 Marathon last November was sufficient to get in. So now I am registered but $125 poorer. I do have something to shoot for now.
The last couple of weeks I have been mulling over different marathon training schedules. I picked up the book "Run Less, Run Faster" (http://www2.furman.edu/sites/first/Pages/rlrf.aspx) written by Bill Pierce, Scott Murr and Ray Moss. Basic concept is to run three quality runs per week with two days cross training. The key being that though you are running fewer times per week. Each day of running is more purposeful and generally more intense. Some Tempo runs. Some Intervals. It appeals to me because I know that being older it takes more time to recover than someone younger. Another reason I like it is time. I don't have a whole lot of time nor do I want to spend a great deal of time training. So if I can make more efficient use of my time that would be great. Though I am still not completely convinced that I can do this. One issue is the cross training. I don't want to invest a lot of money into a bicycle and find out that I really don't enjoy it or perhaps it is difficult to find safe places to ride here in the heart of the city. I also don't have convenient access to a pool. Unless I want to spend money to join a fitness club. My swimming skills are very poor as well. My good buddy "Shack" at the http://www.theracquetshack.com/ has provided me with a tennis racquet. Maybe I could find somewhere close by to play. Just not sure how much of a workout I would get with my very limited tennis ability. Also the challenge of finding a partner. So now I am running about four days a week. Generally not more than two days in a row. Averaging about 20 miles a week with a run of at least 8 miles on Saturday. I try to do most of my runs during the week at faster than marathon pace (MP). Generally the first mile is slightly slower than MP with the remaining miles at about 5K pace. Some would say this is too fast. But I feel pretty good. It doesn't wipe me out. So I think this pretty safe training for me. The distances so far are relatively short also. Right around 4 miles. My long runs I try to keep at around 30 seconds slower than MP. Today I ran with some old running buddies of mine. I ran my first marathon in 2009 with these guys. Anyway the pace was a little slow. Guessing around 9 minutes a mile. But right now I'm not too serious as it's still a long time to January. I think now I just need to get more miles. I want to be doing 40+ miles a week by the end of June. Most likely that will entail running 5 days a week rather than 4.
Other marathon plans I am considering are Hanson, Hudson, Higdon, Pfitz and Daniels. Not sure what I will end up with but it will be some sort of modification of one or more plans. My last two marathons I trained using my variation on Higdon's Intermediate. I'll update when I get a more clear idea of my marathon training schedule.
Summertime is here. Time for early morning runs. I love being able to just throw on shorts, socks, shoes and head out the door. Happy Memorial Day y'all.
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