Taking Time Off

QUESTION: I plan to use your Novice 2 plan for my first marathon: Philly, end of November. I have been running for nearly a year with a background in high school cross-country and track. (I will be 27 in June, so there has been a gap between then and now.) I have been gradually increasing my mileage, and am currently at 24 miles a week, running four days with a long run up to 13 miles. I am unsure how much I will be able to run during late May and early June due to my wedding and a 2-week honeymoon out of the country, but I hope to return and start serious training mid-July. I am curious as to how much you think I should increase my training to be able to start with a good base.

HAL’S ANSWER: I wouldn't do any serious training in the week or two before the wedding, or during the honeymoon. Focus on what is most important in your life. I suspect your mother has told you that 20 times already, while your future mother-in-law keeps saying to her son, "Why is that girl running all the time?"

But you have a couple of months between now and when it is time to get serious about your Real Life. It might be nice to have some goal race at the end of that period to keep your training on track. If not a half marathon, even a local 5-K or a 10-K might suffice. That would allow you to attain a reasonably decent level of fitness before taking a break, so it will be easier to resume training after that break. And while I'm not going to force the issue, if you could find time to do some working-out every other day while in your so- called “off” period, that would allow you to preserve some fitness, more than you might suspect. I've done a lot of traveling during my life, and I've always found that running in different cities allowed a view of those cities that you don't get on the tourist bus. (Maybe I shouldn't tell you about the time in St. Petersburg when I got lost during a workout and couldn't remember the name of my Russian hotel!)

But you asked about base. Novice 1 is designed under the assumption that people arrive at Week 1 with no base: Zero! It helps, of course, if they have done some running for a month or for before I ask them to do a 6-mile long run that first week. Novice 2 runners usually have more of a background in running, and that includes you. A base of 20-25 miles is plenty. And if some of those miles could include a long run, that certainly would be better still. I would focus my workouts around a single long run on the weekend, but let's not count miles. Say 60 to 90 minutes, and don't worry how far you go. Middle of the week, a couple of more runs at more moderate distances. You'll do fine. Tell Mama not to worry.

Hal uses TrainingPeaks to power his interactive marathon and half marathon training plans. Check out more of Hal Higdon's training plans here or on his website. 

Finding the Perfect Hill

QUESTION: Just curious, when I see “hill training” listed in various training programs, yours and others, what kind of hill am I looking for? Steep? Long and gradual? Time goal to the top?

HAL’S ANSWER: All of the above. It depends on what convenient hills you have nearby. Adapt your training to what is available. I have the advantage of living at the top of a hill with two approaches: short and shallow on one approach; long and somewhat steeper on the other.

For my hill training, I always choose long and steeper. Did I say, somewhat steeper? The hill is approximately 400 meters long. It is not so steep so as to prevent me from maintaining a good rhythm. A typical “hill training” workout for me toward the end of a training cycle might be 6 x Hill, running the hill up fast, then jogging back down easy. When training for Boston or other hilly marathons, I sometimes would insert a fast downhill repeat or two.

Effort would be about the same as if I had done an interval training workout on the track: 6 x 400 meters. Times might be slightly different, but times don’t matter in hill training. Steepness of the hill doesn’t matter. Length of the hill doesn’t matter. You adapt to your surroundings, whatever hill is convenient. Mine obviously was convenient, because it ended at my mailbox In other hill workouts, I used a steep sand dune a mile away that would have brought a Kenyan to his knees.

Hill training is a great way to strengthen the quads, so necessary at the end of marathons. Good luck finding a Perfect Hill near you.

Hal uses TrainingPeaks to power his interactive marathon and half marathon training plans. Check out more of Hal Higdon's training plans here or on his website. 

Speed to Endurance

QUESTION: I am not an experienced runner, but I have run 10-Ks on three occasions in the last three years with a PR of 51 minutes. Now I’m planning to do my first marathon in October. Until then, I have been following one of your advanced half-marathon training plans and also working with a personal coach, whose approach is similar to yours: interval training, tempo runs and a long run once a week. For the marathon, I plan to switch to your Novice 1 program. Although this is my first marathon, my goal is to break four hours. Should I quit the program from my personal coach? If I keep training with his speed-based program, do I risk overtraining and injury? How can I tell if I'm overtrained besides feeling exhausted right after a training session?

HAL’S ANSWER: There are a number of symptoms for overtraining, exhaustion being one of them, also inability to sleep or lack of desire to eat. The last can be critical, because if you don’t consume enough calories, you can drive yourself deeper and deeper into the hole. The best measurement might be an elevated pulse rate before rising.

As for training plan, as a somewhat experienced racer/runner, you might take a look at Novice 2. I’m not sure you need to train too hard for a first marathon. You and your coach have done a good job with speedwork, but now that you are in Marathon Mode, you need to make the switch to endurance.

I hate to tell you to fire your coach, but you could at least consult with him to see if he agrees that it is time to make this move. As for your four-hour goal, I checked one of the popular calculators: Greg McMillan Running. Greg suggests that someone with a 51:00 time for 10-K should be able to run 3:59:17 for a marathon. That is cutting it pretty tight, so I hope your more precise time at 10-K was not 51:59.

Hal uses TrainingPeaks to power his interactive marathon and half marathon training plans. Check out more of Hal Higdon's training plans here or on his website. 

Qualifying for Boston 2014

QUESTION: I just completed the Boston Marathon and I had a horrible race on what turned out to be a very tragic day. Immediately afterwards, still in shock, I wasn't even sure I wanted to run a big race again. But after some serious thought, I am fully committed to re-qualifying for Boston and need your help in terms of choosing how soon to race again. At Boston I ran 3:43 and missed my re-qualifying time by 3 minutes. (I have run much better races, my best 3:27.) I live in Minnesota and am looking at Fargo, which is on May 18, or Grandma's, June 22. I know the Grandma's course really well, but I worry about hot weather. Fargo looks fast, but I would be running it with only four weeks between marathons. What should I do?

HAL’S ANSWER: In the wake of the tragedy, a lot of runners have begun to ask me about getting a BQ so they can run Boston in 2014. I suspect the demand to be on that starting line in Hopkinton next year will be huge despite the dangers, perceived or real. Unfortunately, the qualifying window is small with entries due in September.

I have heard good things about Fargo, and Grandma's is one of my favorite marathons. But you know the Upper Midwest: Weather in late spring is impossible to predict. Grandma's, with its point-to-point course along the shores of Lake Superior, can be lightning fast if the wind blows from the northeast, offering cool temperatures and a tailwind. With winds from the southwest, resulting in high temperatures coupled with a headwind, you might as well relax and enjoy the scenery. I’m less familiar with Fargo, but suspect that its May race date might offer better weather. Notice intentional insertion of the word “might.”

Still, a June race would allow you eight weeks to prepare: Advantage Grandma’s. Whichever marathon you choose, surf over to my website where I offer Multiple Marathon Training Programs for 2-8 weeks between races. Or, you could delay your next qualifying attempt until September. One runner commenting in my TrainingPeaks Forums, suggested the Wineglass Marathon as a fall option, but I would not look that far ahead. Focus all your attention on whichever late-spring race you choose. I know you will succeed.

Finally, I have not spoken yet to my friends at the Boston Athletic Association. They are busy enough now dealing with the present without worrying about the future. But I will be very surprised if the BAA does not revisit the subject of who gets to run Boston 2014. One issue concerns those runners (wisely) prevented in the last miles of their race from entering Boylston Street, which had become a crime scene. For the 100th running in 1996, the BAA opened its doors and 36,000 ran Boston. I have no inside information yet, but I anticipate some similar accommodation for 2014. The BAA already has said as much on its website, BAA.org. Let’s hope you are one of the runners invited back.

Hal uses TrainingPeaks to power his interactive marathon and half marathon training plans. Check out more of Hal Higdon's training plans here or on his website. 

Boston

Out of respect for those affected by the tragedy in Boston we will not be posting Q&A with Hal today. You can view Hal's response to yesterday's events on his website. Our thoughts are with those affected by this tragedy.