Marathon Training Starts Tomorrow

On November 30 (16 weeks from today) I will be running the Seattle Marathon. This will be my second marathon and this time my goal is to beat 4 hours. That means taking more than 25 minutes off my previous finish time while running on a more difficult course. Aim big, I say.

Below you can see my training plan (or view it as a pdf here). It’s a home brew plan based on several Runner’s World Smart Coach programs. I didn’t choose a pre-made program because I needed to adjust for a 12 day vacation in September, the Victoria Half Marathon (a tune-up race for me) in October and a Vegas trip in November. I didn’t want to run my last 20 miler in Vegas so I moved it to the following Tuesday (I have the day off for Veteran’s (Remembrance) Day). Then I decided to use a “phase shift” so that in November my training weeks will run from Wednesday – Tuesday instead of my usual Monday – Sunday. The process of creating the training plan was actually quite enjoyable and I’m confident that this plan will get me to the starting line in good shape.

Stay tuned for weekly training updates and general marathon obsession for the next 4 months!!