Favorite marathon training program?

All right y'all, I need some suggestions.

I am running my 3rd 1/2 marathon here in about 6 weeks and I am thinking after that I am ready to attempt a marathon.  I am looking at the PF Chang's in Phoenix in January 2011.  I am also planning on doing another 1/2 marathon here locally Halloween weekend so hopefully I could fit that into any training plan.

What have been some of your favorite marathon training programs?

Rebecca

Most are actually pretty similar. A few differences are whether to walk/run or just run and how far you want your long run to be. Most programs say that a marathon can be completed on a few 20 mile long runs. My first marathon program came from a book called The non-runners marathon trainer. It called for a 24 mile long run and I ma glad I did it that way.

Thanks for the tip! Oh and I am totally walk/run all the way, even for my halfs.  I like my walking in tiny planned spurts rather than running out of gas 3 miles before the end of the race :)

Rebecca

Jeff Galloway is the walk/run guru.  Since that is your thing, check him out.

Good for you on all the 1/2 marathons.

On training for a marathon - I recommend Brain Training for Runners (Matt Fitzgerald), it talks a lot about the psychology of running and trust me, a marathon is a mental thing as much as a physical thing. Trust me on this one...your training alone will require your head to tell you what your body doesn't want to do. It's also got several plans (beginner, intermediate etc) for different distances in the back. I've done the beginner marathon a couple of times - confess that I didn't do EVERY workout but enough to get me across the finish line.

You can also check out the Galloway Method - (google it - you'll find Jeff Galloway's site). He's all about the walk/run method and is geared toward the beginner runner. Although with 4 1/2s under your belt you're not a beginner any more.

Last piece of advice for when you pick where to run your full- read all the reviews on the races. I always make sure I've reviewed the course (no big scary hills unless I'm ready for them thank you) and read other opinions. I'm always a fan of picking a destination race too - really makes the vacation fun. Have run the London marathon 3 times  - you get to finish in front of Buckingham Palace.

Good luck.

one of the most common tools for marathon training is hal higdon's plans, he has plans for first timers on up the experience ladder.  i used his for my full and swear by it.  just search for hal higdon's marathon training or use this link:  http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/Mar00index.htm

 I used Hal for my first half, I ran into common over training injuries, and really felt like I had to pull it back a bit from his plan, but I am a 40 year old big guy with bad knees from my army days.  I currently am using my own sort of hybrid plan where I do a long run every other week, hoping to work up to a long of 22 or 24 before the race.  I guess we'll see how mart I am :)  

The Galloway method is really great!

Rebecca,

The last time I did RNRAZ, I got a free training plan that started in August or September.  It worked pretty well for me.  There are also some other free ones online.  In fact, I'm trying to get my base miles at the starting point for the intermediate plan that I found once on the NYC marathon website.  I'd look around and see what there is available and use the one that fits your schedule and time frame the best.  As long as the longest run is at least 20 miles, you'll finish just fine.

Linn

I really like the FIRST plans you can get on Runner's World website. I used their half marathon plan, but they started with a marathon one.