12 week marathon training plan

Today begins my 12 week trainng plan for the National Marathon on March 26th!!  I did a bit of prep last week, but I "officially" started today with some speedwork on the dreadmill...I mean treadmill.  I am definitely NOT the biggest fan of the 'mill, but even I will admit that it busts out your speedwork like nothin' doin'-and at 10x400 at 55 sec - 10k pace (aka 10 repeats of 400 meters at a 7:10 pace) I certainly don't trust myself to be awesome enough to bang out those last few repeats at the right speed on a track!  Plus, who am I kidding, the local track is icy as a skating rink in lovely upstate New York at this time of year, so I'm much safer on a flying belt going the speed of light while watching to see if the Young and the Restless cast start marrying their cousins again and hope that amidst my gasps I don't go flying off the back of the belt and knock myself senseless....

Anyways, I digress.  Adapted from Runner's World's 16 week plan, here is my 12 week training plan!

The FIRST Training Plan (prep for national marathon)
The FIRST marathon program includes three running workouts per week—a speed workout, a tempo run, and a long run. Here’s the full, 13-week marathon training program. Participants are also encouraged to cross-train for 40 to 45 minutes on two other days per week
Week	Speed	Tempo	Long
1/3	10x400m	7 miles	14 miles
1/10	5x1200m	5 miles	15 miles
1/17	7x800m	8 miles	17 miles
1/24	3x1600m	10 miles	13 miles
1/31	12x400m	3 miles	18 miles
2/7	8x800m	5 miles	15 miles
2/14	4x1600m	8 miles	20 miles
2/21	12x400m	5 miles	15 miles
2/28	6x1200m	5 miles	20 miles
3/7	7x800m	4 miles	15 miles
3/14	3x1600m	8 miles	10 miles
3/21	30 min easy w 5x60s	20 min easy w 3 or 4 pickups	Marathon
The FIRST Paces
The training paces recommended by the FIRST program are somewhat faster than those recommended by other training plans. Of course, with just three running days a week, you should be well rested for each workout. Here are the paces you’ll need to run, each expressed relative to your current 10-K race pace (8:10 per mile)
Long Run			10-K pace + 60 to 75 seconds/mile (9:10-9:30)
Long Tempo			10-K + 30 to 35 seconds (8:40-8:45)
Mid Tempo			10-K + 15 to 20 seconds (8:25-8:30)
Short Tempo			10-K pace (8:10)
1600m Repeats			10-K - 35 to 40 seconds (7:30-7:35)
1200m Repeats			10-K - 40 to 45 seconds (7:25-7:30)
800m Repeats			10-K - 45 to 50 seconds (7:25-7:20)
400m Repeats			10-K - 55 to 60 seconds (7:15-7:20)

I did cut it from 16 week to 12 weeks because I didn't want to burn out in 2011 training for 10 months (race schedule upcoming!) and more or less I'm a lazy slacker who would rather bake christmas cookies and eat lots of bad food in December rather that train (ok, thats only a half truth, I did bike 5000 miles in 2010, go me!) but I've been slacking on running for the past month.  

This type of plan will allow me to get in enuogh miles to get ready for this marathon (more race info coming!) while still keeping in shape for cross training for tri season (some seriously fun races coming up!) and not freezing off my little tootsers slogging through the snow 4-5  time per week. 

1st workout was a success!!  I think the dude on the treadmill next to me was getting seriously worried about my red face and gasping breath (I swear I saw him reach for his cell to call 911 or maybe the gym owner to kick me out :-P) but I think I did those 400's justice!!

The Workout:

Warmup .5 miles @ 8:34 (easy pace)

10x400 repeats at 7:08 pace with 45 sec recovery

.75 mile cooldown @ 8:41

Time:  38:31

Distance: 4.75 miles

Washington, here I come!!