I have been toying with the idea of doing the Dubai Marathon in January. It is still hot as, well, Dubai in the summer here, so it is hard to wrap my mind around it, but I want to do it before we leave and I probably only have two more chances. I need to start a training plan in the next few weeks if I am going to do it, but they all intimidate me like you wouldn't believe.
Are there any plans with less running, especially less days of running? I know that with my schedule it is tough to commit to more than 4 'real' runs per week. Fewer would be even better. But I don't want to get injured either...
I wouldn't be trying to set a land speed record. I think this would be a run to finish (but actually run, not a 7 hour marathon) situation. I have run two marathons, but that was basically in a different lifetime.
A friend of mine is doing run less, run faster plan. I think that is what it is called. Only 3-4 runs a week I think: long run, tempo run, and easy run I think.
I always just follow Hal Higdon, focusing on the long runs. Then, I do 1-2 runs during the week. I never run more than 5-7 miles during the week either, there is no time unless I want to get up at 2 am, which isn't going to happen.
I've completed 2 marathons doing this and felt good throughout both races. I'm pretty much following that same concept for my marathon in Nov.
And definitely do the race! I wanted to do the Cape Town 2 Oceans half or ultra marathon while I lived there, but didn't get my butt in gear to train for it and now I wish I had done it.
I just built a tentative training plan based on FIRST. Tomorrow I will build an alternative based on HH. Then I will decide if I can really commit. FIRST looks HARD. Geez. They want me to run at what pace?
I only run 4 days a week, and don't cross train nearly as much as I should. :/ I used that Runner's World sub-4 plan and just basically took out the Saturday run and added more pace work. I also ran faster speeds than the chart, because I knew I wanted to break 4 with more than a 59:59, ya know? I'm using the same basic plan right now.
I just built a tentative training plan based on FIRST. Tomorrow I will build an alternative based on HH. Then I will decide if I can really commit. FIRST looks HARD. Geez. They want me to run at what pace?
It's hard, but do-able! The numbers look intimidating, but I've been surprised with what I can do if I focus on a particular number vs. just running to run the miles.
I'm 5 weeks out from my first marathon and have done FIRST (Run Less, Run Faster) along with heavy lifting. It's been a great plan for me. I'm not a fast runner - never have been and never will be...I don't know that this is the plan for building speed. I like the format - track, tempo and long run. I think I would be burnt out and/or injured if I had to run more. I like running, but like doing other things too - this has been a good balance!
I'm never great about sticking to a specific plan even if I intend to. My schedule just gets too haphazard & last-minute sometimes, but generally during marathon training every week I TRY to do the following:
-Build my long run up to 20 miles, with a cutback week every 3-4 weeks. Add some faster miles at the end of long runs about every other week.
-Do speed work of 800m up to 2 mile repeats, for a total run of 5-8 miles. Make this an easy run instead if I'm feeling really burned out, possible injury problems, or on cutback weeks.
- Do a 4-6 mile run at marathon pace.
- If I have time for extra runs beyond 3, I'll do easy runs and maybe one more day of marathon pace.
Good luck!
ETA: Tempo runs also fit in there somewhere, too. I might do a tempo (think 10K pace) instead of repeats, or I'll make sure to add in an extra tempo day if I've got a shorter race coming up. I'm also loving these other suggestions, because I know I could benefit from changing things up or trying something different too.
My plan (smartcoach) only has 3 days of running, one easy, one repeat/tempo run, and a long run. I usually add another day or two, but I like that I can run 3 days a week if needed to.
@thom2202 - I am always in awe of your training because I know you must be crazy busy with your farm. I hope I decide to take your approach and just figure it out schedule-wise.
@thom2202 - I am always in awe of your training because I know you must be crazy busy with your farm. I hope I decide to take your approach and just figure it out schedule-wise.
Brit, I think you've got just as much (if not more!) going on with being a mom, a demanding career, a traveling H, and navigating another culture that is100+ degrees.
I really think if you take a reasonable approach of 3-4 days running per week you can do this. After all, you've already done two, and if I remember the 2nd was a strong race on pretty minimal training.
Because I'm curious... How big is the Dubai marathon? What's average January temp? Does it get many spectators?