Aside from the plans themselves this book covers everything. It's a great resource. Diet, pacing, stretching, and the science behind all of it. It goes into heart rate training and everything. Highly recommend.
by kkruns 2017-08-19
You guys can definitely tackle the marathon, and a BQ doesn't seem totally out of the question, but running the first marathon is always hard, and you might be hit by various unexpected issues (nutrition, hydration, etc) that derail that, so you should be ready for that possibility.
As for what plan, you might want to consider one of the lower mileage Pfitzinger plans in his book Advanced Marathoning .
Late-August is going to be tough. It might not seem too hot to racing when you are used to runnign 5Ks, but ideal marathon temperatures are like 50 degrees. If you guys could plan a weekend in mid-September to leave campus and meet up for a race, that would give you better options. In that event, your two weeks at school before the race would be taper time, so not too many miles or hard workouts, which should be manageable with the beginning of college life. I've heard good things about the Lehigh Valley marathon in mid-September. That's a pretty easily accessible location from pretty much anywhere in the northeast.
by AnonymousWritings 2017-08-19
Honestly I'd say that with a 1:57 half and five months to train, 4:30 is a pessimistic time. You'll just have to make sure to get some good long runs in, and don't jump into things too fast after the half (to avoid getting an injury).
https://toptalkedbooks.com/amzn/0736074600
Aside from the plans themselves this book covers everything. It's a great resource. Diet, pacing, stretching, and the science behind all of it. It goes into heart rate training and everything. Highly recommend.
You guys can definitely tackle the marathon, and a BQ doesn't seem totally out of the question, but running the first marathon is always hard, and you might be hit by various unexpected issues (nutrition, hydration, etc) that derail that, so you should be ready for that possibility.
As for what plan, you might want to consider one of the lower mileage Pfitzinger plans in his book Advanced Marathoning .
Late-August is going to be tough. It might not seem too hot to racing when you are used to runnign 5Ks, but ideal marathon temperatures are like 50 degrees. If you guys could plan a weekend in mid-September to leave campus and meet up for a race, that would give you better options. In that event, your two weeks at school before the race would be taper time, so not too many miles or hard workouts, which should be manageable with the beginning of college life. I've heard good things about the Lehigh Valley marathon in mid-September. That's a pretty easily accessible location from pretty much anywhere in the northeast.
Honestly I'd say that with a 1:57 half and five months to train, 4:30 is a pessimistic time. You'll just have to make sure to get some good long runs in, and don't jump into things too fast after the half (to avoid getting an injury).
I would look at the Hal Higdon intermediate plans
Just to give you the flavor of Pfitz, the peak distance week of the 18/55 plan has you running 88km (55 miles) split up as:
Mon: Rest / cross-train
Tues: 10K w/ strides
Wednesday: 19K
Thurs: Rest / cross-train
Fri: 19K w/ 11K tempo
Saturday: 8K
Sunday: 32K