Running my first Marathon Nov 17 - training plans?

dixiech1ck

I'm running my first marathon in Philly on November 17th. I want to get started in mid-June for training to build up to those longer runs. My longest run has been 15 miles and I've completed 2 10-mile races and 4 half marathons, plus doing another 4 half's before my full.

My question is, what are the better training plans for a beginner? I've heard good things about the Galloway and Higdeon methods. I plan to incorporate some run/walk ratios into my routines as well to keep my legs fresh.

My biggest concern is also nutrition and maintaining proper food intake for this. If anyone has any links, articles, what not, I would be more than appreciative to read them.

Thank you!!
Angela

(a 26.2'er in training!)

caramia311

I did Higdon Novice 2 and enjoyed it. What is your base mileage and current long run distance now?

caramia311

Well, "enjoyed" may be the wrong word, but you know what I mean!

neurorat

Well, "enjoyed" may be the wrong word, but you know what I mean!

lol! I totally understand this! I used Galloway and I tolerated it :-)

I am using Galloway again, but I have replaced the walk day with an easy run (4-5 mi) and have incorporated both hill sprints and sliders/speed drills to work on two weak areas of mine.

I like sports beans for refueling. I eat two beans every 45 min. I tried every hour but I seemed to need energy sooner than that. I also find that I am *ravenous* after my long runs.

Good luck! My marathon is in October (Columbus, Ohio)

watsdd

I ran my first at Disney this year and used Higdon and it worked wonderfully. I also used gels and Clif blocks to make it through. i found that doing some halfs to get used to a plan and stick with it worked the best for me. i eat that same food the day before, drink the same stuff and eat the same the morning of which works. The think i had trouble with was the anxiety from doing my first made me worried about eating but just keep your same plan whatever it is.

dixiech1ck

I did Higdon Novice 2 and enjoyed it. What is your base mileage and current long run distance now?

My base runs are between 3-5 miles 2-3 times during the week. My long runs on the weekend range either 7-11 miles, depending on how much time I have.

CarsonRuns

I suggest you start running more right now. Get to a consistent 5 days between 25 and 30 miles per week, then start one of the training plans 16 weeks out. With your experience, you may even want to consider an intermediate plan. Also, I don't think that you need to do Galloway, but you certainly can if it suits you.