Caitiln,

I am currently training for my third marathon (chicago in october) and I would recommend that as a first time marathoner, you do not train any further than 20 miles. Most running coaches agree that the strain on your body outweighs the benefits of training runs over 20 miles. Actually, many seasoned marathoners do not train over 20. Do not be worried that 20 is 6 miles short of the marathon (I was!) but the emotions and the energy of the day carries you through. Just my two cents 🙂 Good luck!

Look at all those shirts! 14 races is awesome. I didn't know you ran three in one weekend either – wow! Great job getting your training plan put together 🙂

I have bibs, tshirts, medals. All stacked around in my room.

Your training plan looks intense! I might borrow it, with a little adaption I can use it for my marathon!

Your dinner looks AMAZING!

I'm currently training for my very first Half Marathon (in october to infact) its been tough. I checked out your schedule and it looks fab! I hope we can all list some tips together and ultimetly help eachother out! Don't be scared! You have all of us for motivation!

I really enjoyed reading your first 1/2 marathon recap. I just started training for my first half marathon (although I haven't decided if I will try to tackle on that's coming up in Dec. or wait until February- it depends on how busy Dec. is, really) and I am very excited! I have a long way to go though b/c my longest race has been a 10K in April and I'm not regularly running further than 4.5 miles lately. I'm excited for the challenge though!

Looks like a great training plan. I do not keep my race t-shirts unless 1. they are dri-fit or 2. they are from a big race such as a marathon. I don't think I have kept any race numbers over the years.

Hi Caitlin,

I would love to hear more about how you put your training schedule together! I think it's interesting you decided to have your longest run be 22 miles and not 20 like the standard – I was wondering if you adapted this from another training plan? In my experience I've found it to be detrimental to run further than 20 (unless you are an elite marathoner) so I would love to hear more about this!

Happy running!

I wouldn't say it's "detrimental" to run 22 but I totally agree with others who said that it's not essential or standard, and I also think running 20 and 22 back to back is rough, not to mention running 22 two weeks before the race seems intense. I'd cut that 22 in half probably. Good luck – I've run two marathons and dozens of half marathons, but would love to run Disney some day!

Also:

Yes, do the 22 miler. If anything, its a mental boost.

I think your plan looks great, though I agree with Kathleen. There is no need to go over 20! I have, on occasion, but only so I could do a super-exciting route!
Also agree that you should not do 20 and 22 on concurrent weekends if at all possible.

I keep race t-shirts, but I often don't get them if I have to pay extra! They're so expensive, but I will always pay if the race is special. I don't keep numbers anymore either- I'd rather put them in the draw for a spot prize!

I'm training for my 3rd marathon (and with the same knee problem as yours) and I would definitely not train for more than 20 miles in your first marathon. After the 20 miles, do 12 miles and then 6 and then your marathon. That's a very smart taper. You need at least 3 weeks for a taper in marathon training.

I plan on putting all my t-shirts and making a quilt out of them. Using this company. http://www.campusquilt.com/ Kinda expensive but should be totally worth it! I have enough shirt to make a couch t-shirt quilt. I only use my cotton shirts and the ones that I don't want to wear. Some of my halves and marathons are giving away tech shirts though so I won't use those.

I love that Not Guac recipe. I am gonna try that.

you can do it, caitlin! rock on!

Your training plan looks great! I'm currently training for my first marathon too – NYC! My plan is quite similar to yours, but the farthest I will do is 20. Only because I'm a wimp 🙂 I am starting to get up there in my mileage (my race is only a little over 2 months away!), and I really enjoy my rest day after my long runs – so don't worry if you skip some of those Monday runs! Good luck with all of your training. I ran the Disney half about 8 years ago with TNT and loved it. Looking forward to following you on your journey.

P.S. I'm scared too!

Don't be scared!! You can do it 🙂 I have read your blog from the very 1st post, and I have seen how much you have accomplished. You are one big inspiration to me, and I know you can do WHATEVER you set your mind to.

I would kill for that muffin right now! 🙂

i have done 3 marathons, caitlin — and i think your plans looks GREAT in terms of finishing without injury. i have done high mileage plans and lower mileage plans, and for my first marathon i just tacked a 16, 18, and a 20 onto some half marathon training and i did just fine (in fact, only 7 minutes slower than my fastest marathon which i trained for much, much harder).

the commenter above who wrote "I've done 5+ marathons and the least trained I ever was off a base of 45 MPW over 12 weeks. I typically stick with 60-70." — ahhhh! that person is so lucky to be able to do this without getting hurt, but some of us just aren't made that way. when i see this, i always want to do some ambitious training plan that gets me injured!

since this is your first marathon, any finish will be a PR and i know that like me you struggle with getting there pain-free! your plan looks great for that goal. are you planning on some XT on the 'off' days, like cycling or elliptical?

GOOD LUCK either way — i'm so excited to follow along! i'm currently debating a marathon as well so maybe you will inspire me to try a 'minimal' plan to do so.

PS: love organization week. i think i am going to do something similar next week!

I wish I could give you some marathon tips, but I find myself taking your advice and inspiration because I am running in my first 1/2 next month. Caitlin, all I can tell you is that you are a huge reason why I love running. You have inspired me for about a year through following your life and I know that you will be amazing in this marathon. Mostly because of the reason you are doing it all. You rock girl!

Great job on the training plan! You can totally do this! You're inspiring me to want to run more 🙂 Great dinner – love that you ate a little bit of each!

Are you sure you want to do two 20 milers and a 22 miler before the marathon? I would stick to one 20 miler and not go above it, especially if you're worried about voer training. I know a lot of beginning marathon training schedules I've looked at have said the same thing and that's all i did before my marathon and I was fine. I think anymore then 1 20 mile might be pushing it.

i totally keep all my shirts and bibs…and basically live out of my shirts, even from years ago! ah!

love the seasons 52 one…that was some (cold) race!

I love it! I was cleaning out my second bedroom last night and came across a lot of my old bibs and one of my half marathon medals from this year. It really did inspire me and remind me of how much I have already accomplished.

You are going to be great!

I think I have 40+ running shirts…I ran cross country and track in high school, so my tshirt totals added up very quickly! About half are long sleeved, which come in handy for our northern winters.

Some people probably won't agree with me on this…but I think your mileage is a bit low. While you don't need to do 70 miles per week to be successful and complete the marathon, only one run per week for you will be over five miles. If you definitely think you'll be skipping a fair amount of Monday runs, that drops your mileage even lower. I'm no marathon plan expert, but I think most low mileage plans are meant to be supplemented with ample cross training, which you should be good with! Also…I think you should skip speedwork. As a first time marathoner with low mileage, speedwork is NOT necessary. I would add a few more miles in instead of going for speed. Annnd lastly, I would make your taper week long runs go 22 –> 12-ish –> 8-ish. That's a pretty typical taper. (Although I really don't think you need to do 22…20 will get you ready, and anything over 20 increases your risk for injury.)

Okay, some people might not agree with me, but I never claimed to be an expert, and those are all just my opinions! I'm looking forward to hearing about your training!

I keep all my race shirts too!! I can't help it. I love the memories from each race. The only time I donate them is if they don't fit.

I just finished training for my first marathon in July. I race the San Fran using Hal's Intermediate Program. Here are few thoughts I had about your schedule.

– I ran 3 20 mile runs and that was definitely plenty! I thought I would need to do a 22 for mental reasons. But if you can finish a 20 miler and feel like you have some energy left at the end, you did it right. My rest day was the day after my long run for recovery. If you are worried about your knees, running the day after might be really tough. Could you run before the football games on Saturdays and take Sunday off? At least then you could refuel with an ice cold beer at the game! 😉

– The best part of Hal's plan is the cut back weeks! They really helped me. Some of your long runs on cut back weeks seem really short in the middle of the plan. The 8-10 mile runs are an important part of training and teaching your body to conserve energy.

– Don't worry about your low mileage as long as you supplement with cross training. Having three quality runs per week is better than adding miles just to up your weekly mileage.

Don't forget to get lots of rest and stretch as much as humanly possible. Yoga was my life saver! Good luck!

I'm excited to hear that you're running a marathon! Don't be scared, you'll do it. It's all about avoiding injury, you'll be fine with the actual running. Also Disney is a fun one, my wife and I did it this year.

Your schedule looks pretty good to me. If your goal is really just to finish, then the 22 miler is probably unnecessary, but I do think there are some benefits to getting comfortable with that kind of distance, if speed is a concern at all.

I think it's fine that your mileage is low. I usually don't get much over 40 miles per week in my training.

If I would change anything, it would be to get rid of the 16-17-18 mile runs 3 weeks in a row. Why not make the 17 more like 8 or 10 to give yourself a rest? Also if you can fit it in, I think increasing the distance of some of your Wednesday runs to 6-8 might help make your long runs not seem so long.

Last thing! You said you are going to do some speedwork. Definitely do this, and maybe work in some hills. Not so much for the fitness benefit, but for the variety. I got soooo bored when I trained for my first one because all the runs were the same.

Good luck and I'm really looking forward to following your training!!!

also just reading through some comments, for my first marathon i peaked at 41 miles in a week, and averaged in the 30's for most of training… you will be fine with that mileage. sure i run more than that now, but i needed that base in marathon training to build up. you are going to do great 🙂 have fun!!

I think it is safe to say that there are a million and one ways to train for a marathon and most of them will get you safely across the finish line. I always do a 25-26 mile run before the marathon and run the majority of it at race pace. I gurantee that a lot of people will disagree with that method of training but it works for me. I think you should plan on doing 22 and then be willing to modify the run if you need to. The most important thing is to enjoy the training and stay focused on your goal. You are going to do great!

This is my kind of burger as well… I follow your blog and now you can follow mine as well

latteashley@blogspot.com

Take Care Caitlin

oops- i forgot to answer the question- i have almost all of my bibs, but not all of my shirts. most of them were too big so I just didn't have the space to keep shirts i couldn't wear.

I'm a bit late with the comments, but I think your plan sounds fine. Everyone is different. I'm currently training for my 12th marathon and have two 20 milers planned but may bump one up a bit to a 22 or 23 miler. I definitely understand the confidence boost of doing a 20+ mile run. Does it help in the end? Who knows. But I don't think adding 2 or 3 miles on to a 20 mile run is going to be the end of the world.

My issue is more so speed work. I'm running NYC, typically my fall marathon is my slow one… the hot training weather does me no favors and I'm so busy during the summer. My goal is to do my long runs on Sundays and run at least 2-3 times during the week. If one of those days is speed work, great, if not, I will survive. Plus I already qualified for Boston, so that is also in the back of my head too. But still NYC will be HUGE for me, especially as I'll have family there watching!

Best wishes and happy running!