Opinions on Higdon Training?

I'm getting ready to start week four of Higdon's Novice 2 half marathon program as kind of a guide for my training but not right to the letter. If you are familiar with how it is set up you will understand what I mean when I explain how I've changed it to suit me.

I can't run three days in a row. I ditched the middle run and I'm increasing one of the other two midweek runs by 1 mile each week....

So example: 3m, 3m, 6m. Next week 4m, 3m, 7m. Next week 4m, 4m, 8m.

I am training for my second half so I'm not sure I would increase my mileage 2 miles a week in the early weeks if my legs weren't already conditioned to running double digit miles. This works better for me than running 3 days back to back. I also modified the 20 week program I followed for my first to avoid running on back to back days... I was starting to experience some overuse issues.. and I actually ended up taking off a month due to shin splints in the beginning.

How long have you been running, how far do you run, and what is your goal distance? Use those three questions to help you choose which program will work best for you and help keep you injury free.

ETA: I can't tell if you are trying to get into running or get ready for a half or full marathon reading back. See my initial thoughts if it's the latter. If the former, I suggest looking up Jeff Galloway.

I started on Higdon's Intermediate half plan about a year ago. It's a great plan to start out with. I made great progress taking the mileage at an easy pace (going from 13 min miles to now running 7:30 min miles and losing 60 lbs in the process) . Once a week I would try to hit my 3 or 4 mile run hard...basically a little outside my comfort zone. The key to building endurance is to stick to the schedule every week. You also need to be smart and listen to your body so you don't get injured. Other than that you'll get out of it what you put into it. Running is something you will come to cherish if you give it your all...you get to really test your limits and then push past them. Best of luck. Shoot me a FR if you need a running buddy.

I've seen a lot of recommendations for the program. I'm probably going to try the half marathon program - novice 1.

I second Jeff Galloway. I used his walk/run program when I first started running. I started at 267 lbs and was able to stay injury free for the entire program.

I've heard a lot of people have had success with Hal Higdon's program. For me, there was no way that I was going to be able to start out running 1.5 miles; I could barely go 30 seconds without wanting to die. His program wasn't "entry level" enough for me and the only other plan he offers for beginners is a walking program, not what I wanted.

At 5'3" with a large, muscular frame, I'm not built to run but it was something I wanted to try. A better option for me was Jeff Galloway's plan. My sister, a marathon run/walker, suggested his program and I had good luck with it after switching during week 4 of C25K back in April 2011. I have 8 or 9 half marathons under my belt and many more shorter races, all done running and walking in intervals. I've found that I'm faster overall if I run intervals. Being able to run for several minutes at 5.8 - 6.3 MPH and then walking at 3.5 - 4.0 MPH for one minute my overall time is faster than the 4.7 - 5.4 MPH I can sustain over longer distances.

Whichever program you end up following, I wish you the very best of luck!

I should have included the injury-free nature of my running as well. Also, after really looking at Higdon's "novice" plan, the one major concern I have with it is that he has you running for several days in a row right from the beginning. Apparently, he assumes you have some running experience because no other program for newbies would have you running every day; they all caution against running two days in a row. I've personally seen far too many newbies in these forums dealing with shin splints or sore joints because they were following the every other day running plan but doing 30 Day Shred or some other high impact activity on the "off" days. If you aren't a runner yet, I really don't think that this plan is for you. Start with something that will slowly build up your running distance, not have you immediately start with 1.5 miles on day one if you can't run more than a minute or two without stopping now.