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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

HAL’S ANSWER: That’s a good “eventually.” You’re right: Intermediate 2 would be the logical next choice, but with a half dozen marathons completed and being that close to 4:00, you might want to move one step further to Advanced 1. Notice I said “might,” because the decision should be yours, not mine. But let me guide you. Speedwork most definitely will help you improve, although some risk comes with faster training if you are not prepared for it. Have you done speedwork before: either interval training on the track or fartlek and tempo runs in the woods? You might want to sample those kinds of training options before making your decision. My intermediate and advanced programs for shorter distances do contain speedwork, and they are only eight weeks long. Stick your toe in the water, then decide if you want to jump in.

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. 

HAL’S ANSWER: Training programs are like recipes in cook books. A lot of people who do not do much cooking often are puzzled when it comes time to figure out what the cook book author means when she says 1 Tbsp.

What you are asking about is a typical interval workout, normally done on a 400-meter track involving regular changes of pace: fast, slow, fast slow. The term “interval” comes from the slow interval between the fast repeats. Here’s how you would run that 6 x 500 workout you cited. Run 500 meters hard at 5-K pace Run or walk 500 meters at a slower pace to recover Continue to repeat until you have done a half dozen fast 500s with as many slow 500s between. It sounds complicated for those like you without a track background, but eventually you will get the swing of it.

How to do speedwork is explained in the introductions to all the free programs found on my Website, such as this one. And if you sign up for the interactive version available through TrainingPeaks, you will get daily advice on how to do each workout. Finally, there is an entire chapter on interval training in my book, Run Fast. As told in that book, interval training is probably the most effective means of improving as a runner.

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. 

After two months of training, I am only down to 190 pounds. I received your tweet recently saying that if someone is training for a marathon and running 25 miles per week, they should be eating 3,000 calories a day. So I am conflicted as to how best train for the marathon, stay healthy but also lose weight in the process. Today, for example, I will burn 800 calories by running and will eat 2,200 calories, thus hitting my 1,400 mark. From your tweet today, it appears that I am not eating enough, but even at that, the weight isn't coming off like I thought it should. I'd like to train per your instructions so as to be healthy and complete the marathon, but I'd also like to lose weight in the process and keep it off by continuing to run after the marathon is done.

HAL’S ANSWER: In all honesty, I feel that training for a marathon and attempting to lose weight are conflicting goals. I know a lot of people try to link marathon to weight loss, but I've never considered that a great idea. You need calories for energy, and if you're starving yourself with a low-calorie diet, you may not have enough fuel in your system to do the long runs comfortably. Trying to lose weight while marathon training is like having two masters: Which one do you want to please?

And while it might not be realistic (or healthy) to go from 195 to 170 pounds (25 pound reduction) during a single marathon cycle, you already have lost 5 pounds, so what's the beef? You're doing well enough without allowing some app to tell you how many calories to consume or burn. And by the way, that 3,000 calories cited was just an estimate. People differ greatly in terms of losing or maintaining weight by exercising at a certain level.

Why don't you simply relax over the next several months as you prepare for Flying Pig? Make sure you get enough calories for energy, but don't overeat. Your continued activity, particularly as the mileage climbs, should allow you to drop a few more pounds, but don't set the weight loss bar so high that you guarantee your own failure.

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. 

HAL’S ANSWER: My marathon training programs peak around 40-50 weekly miles, depending on level Novice, Intermediate or Advanced. Half that mileage (20-25 weekly miles) would be a reasonable maintenance level. That will help maintain your fitness level before the next push upward and also allow you to recover adequately and allow minor injuries to heal. Cutting miles also offers one other benefit: You can run at least a few of those miles at a faster pace. Changing training patterns always is a good idea. You might also experiment by getting out of your comfort zone and racing at some shorter distances than you might not otherwise try.

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. 

If I start a strength training regimen, I'd like it to compliment the marathon plan. I'm just worried that if I start a plan like CrossFit, for instance, it may leave me worn out when it comes time for my runs. Right now, the only time I get any exercise is when I'm running, so I'd really like to implement some core strength workouts into my weekly routine. Could you recommend a strength workout for me? I'm thinking the best days to do strength training would be Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday after cross training.  

HAL’SANSWER: If you weren’t a stranger to strength training, I would say, go ahead on those days. But you don't want to start strength training (if you never have done it before) at the same time you start a marathon training program. That's putting you into Double Jeopardy. The marathon training is going to be challenging enough, especially as the long miles get into the double digits. While I wouldn't hesitate to prescribe strength training for someone familiar with the gym, if that is not you, then, no!

Once you have finished your marathon and have had several weeks to rest and recover, then that would be the time to think of strength training, particularly the core strength workouts that you mention above. Increasing strength is good both for run performance but also (and particularly) for general fitness. Nevertheless, wait to introduce strength training when your mileage is lower than during the marathon build- up.

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.