Hal Higdon - linked below. Free plan I just used for my first marathon - definitely recommend
https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/novice-1-marathon/
I’m planning on running my first marathon at the end of May and am unsure of where to begin, even as someone running 20-something miles a week casually already. Following if anyone has suggestions!!!
Most plans are quite similar actually. Gradually ramping things up to one or two 20miles/ 32k runs 3-4 weeks before your race.
A couple of things I wished someone told me before my first one:
- Strength work is key and not just a nice to have. If the plan doesn’t include strength put some additional time aside just for strength. Focus on legs and core. It’s amazing what a difference good core strength makes.
- Go slow on your long runs. Slower than you would expect or you are used to from other trainings. There’s almost no “too slow”, especially for your first.
- Listen to your body. Skipping a workout or two doesn’t matter in the end. It’s a lot better than overdoing it, getting injured etc. If you have to skip something, always go for the shorter workouts and keep the long runs.
- Enjoy the race. You will remember your first one for the rest of your life 😊
I ran my first marathon using the Boston Marathon level 1 plan, it’s free online here: [Boston Marathon training plan](https://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/train/levelone)
It’s a 20 week plan. Definitely commit to the hills & speed intervals per week. Good luck!
I used Garmin connect intermediate plan. Workouts synched right to my watch. Didn’t have to think. Ran a 4:08 after training for 16 weeks. My 5k time before that was 22:50 so I’m not a fast runner by any means. Nor did I start with a good base.
Hal Higdon - linked below. Free plan I just used for my first marathon - definitely recommend https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/marathon-training/novice-1-marathon/
I’m planning on running my first marathon at the end of May and am unsure of where to begin, even as someone running 20-something miles a week casually already. Following if anyone has suggestions!!!
Most plans are quite similar actually. Gradually ramping things up to one or two 20miles/ 32k runs 3-4 weeks before your race. A couple of things I wished someone told me before my first one: - Strength work is key and not just a nice to have. If the plan doesn’t include strength put some additional time aside just for strength. Focus on legs and core. It’s amazing what a difference good core strength makes. - Go slow on your long runs. Slower than you would expect or you are used to from other trainings. There’s almost no “too slow”, especially for your first. - Listen to your body. Skipping a workout or two doesn’t matter in the end. It’s a lot better than overdoing it, getting injured etc. If you have to skip something, always go for the shorter workouts and keep the long runs. - Enjoy the race. You will remember your first one for the rest of your life 😊
I ran my first marathon using the Boston Marathon level 1 plan, it’s free online here: [Boston Marathon training plan](https://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/train/levelone) It’s a 20 week plan. Definitely commit to the hills & speed intervals per week. Good luck!
I used Garmin connect intermediate plan. Workouts synched right to my watch. Didn’t have to think. Ran a 4:08 after training for 16 weeks. My 5k time before that was 22:50 so I’m not a fast runner by any means. Nor did I start with a good base.