Adding mileage safely

UrbanRunner81

After I run the Pittsburgh Marathon and hopefully not too beat up and take a break I want to come back strong and add mileage to really step it up to train for my fall marathon. I have some races planned through the summer (5ks, half marathons) but I want to increase my running to 5 days a week.
I know I need to do it gradually as I do not want to get injured again (I had tendonitis in my foot and it really side tracked my training for Pittsburgh).
So advice or plans to look into? I've always followed Hal Higdon. Should I try his intermediate marathon plan?

kristinegift

I like the Runners World Smart Coach app. You can put in how much you're running now, how many weeks til your next race, and what your goals are, and then it will give you an idea of how you should build up your weeks. I used it successfully the last time I was training for half-marathons and I recently used it to build a schedule for my next go-around of training (because I like to run on weird days and move stuff around, and I refuse to do 10-mile midweek runs- I split those between 2 days). The training ramps up a little fast though, but if you want an intermediate plan, it might work well for you!

That being said, to train for half marathons when I first started years ago, I used the Hal Higdon program (each day cut in half), and I really liked it. I think it keeps the mileage very reasonable, and it does 5-day-a-week plans which is what I prefer schedule-wise. My dad used (and still uses, I think) the Hal Higdon training plan, and he's run something like 10 full marathons pretty succesfully. (I think this is the one I used, and that my dad has used loads of times: http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51138/Marathon-Novice-2-Training-Program) His programs build at a nice pace, and that can give you time to heal and then get back on your game

PeteWhoLikesToRunAlot

Most people follow the 10% rule, don't add more than that amount of mileage week over week. What is your weekly mileage at now? When adding additional frequency, perhaps cut back some of the duration/distance for 1-2 of the other ones and go from there. My experience is that the 10% is a good guideline, but there have been times that I've added more, and other times I've felt crappy and couldn't add 10%. Good luck!