Chicago Marathon Training Plan

Marathon Training has arrived again! AR and I are running our third marathon in Chicago on October 12, 2014. As usual, I am excited and concerned. We all know my real motivation to do this is the extra food I'll consume over the next four months.  Just kidding.

Honey Stinger products become a food group for me.

For out first two marathons, AR and I  used Hal Higdon's novice program. This program gets us up to a high of 37 miles/week, which is really all that our schedules can handle some times. It provides two rest days, four days of running, and a cross-training day.

The only concern is that it only reaches one 20 mile run and one 18 mile run. AR and I felt like we needed something more.

For the Atlanta Marathon, AR and I modified the plan to give us two 20 mile runs, which I think is important. We've also learned to add an addition 1-2 "flex" weeks in case disaster strikes (like the time I got diagnosed with pneumonia a month out...). This seemed to work much better.

This time, we are using Higdon's Intermediate 1 plan. This plan has running five days a week, with one day of cross training and one day of rest. The mileages gets up to 44 miles/week, which is a slight jump for us. We plan to build in one flex week, which we will use up within the first 12 training weeks.

Here is what is will look like:

WEEK	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	# of Miles
1	Cross	3 m run	5 m run	3 m run	Rest	5 m pace	8	24
2	Cross	3 m run	5 m run	3 m run	Rest	5 m run	9	25
3	Cross	3 m run	5 m run	3 m run	Rest	5 m pace	6	22
4	Cross	3 m run	6 m run	3 m run	Rest	6 m pace	11	29
5	Cross	3 m run	6 m run	3 m run	Rest	6 m run	12	30
6	Cross	3 m run	5 m run	3 m run	Rest	6 m pace	9	27
7	Cross	4 m run	7 m run	4 m run	Rest	7 m pace	14	36
8	Cross	4 m run	7 m run	4 m run	Rest	7 m run	15	37
9	Cross	4 m run	5 m run	4 m run	Rest	Rest	Half Marathon	26
10	Cross	4 m run	8 m run	4 m run	Rest	8 m pace	17	41
11	Cross	5 m run	8 m run	5 m run	Rest	8 m run	18	44
12	Cross	5 m run	5 m run	5 m run	Rest	8 m pace	13	36
13	Cross	5 m run	8 m run	5 m run	Rest	5 m pace	20	43
14	Cross	5 m run	5 m run	5 m run	Rest	8 m run	12	35
15	Cross	5 m run	8 m run	5 m run	Rest	5 m pace	20	43
16	Cross	5 m run	6 m run	5 m run	Rest	4 m pace	12	32
17	Cross	4 m run	5 m run	4 m run	Rest	3 m run	8	24
18	Cross	3 m run	4 m run	Rest	Rest	2 m run	Marathon	35

Notice those double weekend runs? Yeah, that is a little daunting, but I think it will make us stronger. I like doing a pace on Saturday because it will take some of the pressure off Sunday. I am hoping that I can focus on the distance on Sunday and not become obsessed with the pace of those runs, especially because we will be training in July/August/September. 

We start our training on June 2, which is two weeks away. We are focusing on maintaining our base mileage right now and adjusting to the heat and humidity. I really can't say I am looking forward to all these runs in the ATL weather. I really hope that training in the hills, heat, and humidity of Atlanta will help us run stronger in flat, cool Chicago. 

This is how I feel the whole time I train. 

I've been doing lots of hill workouts the last few months and running the majority of my runs outside, which is a start. I feel like I am getting better with the weather, but I still plan on starting my long runs by 7am to avoid most of the sun. 

Chicago Marathon, HERE I COME!!

Hannah