Four Week FIRST Tune-Up

I am working on putting together a 4-week schedule to get myself ready for my FIRST marathon training that begins on July 9th. I need to be running about 25 miles a week by that time, and my long run should be up close to 13 miles. I am planning to run a total of 16 miles this week, so it's pretty easy to ramp up to 18, 20, 22, and 24 miles over the course of the next four weeks. The biggest challenge will be increasing my long runs as I haven't run anything over 8 miles since December. Endurance usually develops fairly quickly for me so I am confident that I can handle the build-up.

I have been reading "Run Less, Run Faster", a book that covers the development, evolution, and specifics of the FIRST training program in great detail. The marathon training plan outlined in the book is far different from the one that I obtained from Runner's World in 2005 and used to train for the Marine Corps Marathon. The program has evolved based on research studies done on runners using the program and now includes a total of five 20-mile runs over the course of 16 weeks. It looks to be much more challenging than the program that I used in the past, and I know it will push me to the limit. I am planning to execute the program as closely as possible, but if the program becomes too much, I will fall back to the FIRST program that I used back in 2005. I could then use the new FIRST program as a sort of advanced program that I could progress to when training for my next marathon beyond this fall. I haven't run a marathon since April of 2006 and my overall mileage and fitness have definitely slipped significantly since then. It will take some time for me to get back to my previous level and I don't want to push too hard too quickly lest I become injured or burnt out.

I am feeling pretty good right now as I've lost about nine pounds over the last month while getting stronger at the same time. The weight training/running combination has definitely paid dividends and I feel more fit each week. As I become more fit, I have more energy, which allows me to train harder. This in turn gives me more energy allowing me to train harder and on it goes. It's an upward spiral of fitness and conditioning that ultimately results in being at your utmost best. The dark shadow looming over all of this is injury. Months of great training can be dashed on the rocks by an untimely running ailment. I must be careful to give my body a chance to adapt to the progressive overload that I am placing on it in my workouts. I am gearing up for a summer of tough training. I feel like I am ready for the challenge. If all goes well, I am confident that a marathon PR is a very real possibility in the fall.