marathon training

Well after about 3 weeks of 'short distance training' my shins were really getting sore, so I took a full week off running (cycling and swimming only) and they felt waaay better. I am now going to try the opposite approach -- longer, slower running, to see if the slower pace helps my knees/shins stay happier. Will this training result in an actual marathon attempt? We shall see!

I rode 30 miles on Saturday and ran 1 hour 15 minutes on Sunday - it felt nice to run at "normal pace" as I had been following the FIRST plan for the prior few months, which resulted in almost never running at a comfortable pace. Sunday's run averaged 74%MHR, which is 137 pulse for me, and was about 8.40/mile over moderately hilly terrain. Felt great most all of the time and no shin problems. My legs were a bit heavy from the 2 hour ride on Sat, but overall the run felt great and I was pleased with "endurance weekend #1".

The marathon training plan I am thinking about following is here, it has a lot of appealing elements to me. Pretty flexible, not too high mileage, which will allow some good quality cross-training, and the speedwork is not so intense. I am becoming convinced upon reflection that the overly fast speedwork and tempo running I have been doing this past year has contributed to my shins feeling so painfully beat up. I love running fast, but as I have only really been training seriously for not even 1.5 years, I think I should have eased into it more.

I am really looking forward to seeing if increasing my long runs will help me hold a better pace over longer race distances. For now my primary goal is not increased speed, but staying injury free.