I hate to trigger you guys but I signed up for the Marathon in October this year. I just finished a USAPL meet this past weekend in the 66kg weight class and am pretty content with my results (S:365, B: 220 (lol failed 237.5 twice), DL: 418) following Boris Sheiko’s programming (it’s on the app: adv medium loads). I purchased both your 12-week and 7 week GPP endurance. I plan on doing the 7-week GPP endurance next before I have to start running. I’m following the free Nike Marathon 18-week training program because I don’t know what else to follow regarding marathon training since every blog is very vague. Previous running experience includes a dozen 5ks or so and one-half marathon completed at 1:42-ish that I kind of trained for (about a year and a half ago). My question is: Can I keep repeating the 7-week GPP endurance as I approach the Marathon and just switch out accessories every cycle? If not, what do you suggest me to follow to maintain my strength, as best as possible, since I don’t want to continue self-induced gainzopenia after the marathon? I understand it is a compromise and my strength will go down, but is it possible to maintain strength throughout this marathon training cycle? I plan on completing the 12-week strength after I finish the marathon. More detail: I do not currently run. The only cardio I have been doing in the past 3 months is one LSD (30minutes) workout and one HIIT workout on the Assault Bike per week. I am running the marathon out of curiosity. My marathon goal is to go sub 4 hours. I obviously want to do “well” in the marathon but I am not willing to make sacrifices such as losing weight and cut out resistance training throughout this process. I am 5’7" and weigh 150lbs. I’m having my gait analyzed on an AlterG before I start running by a PT. I have 24/7 access to a box. The box has an Assault Bike, C2 Rower, and Assault treadmill. Hope that is enough detail.
PS. Thanks for answering all my questions regarding a water cut. Went from 155lbs to 143.2 (oops) throughout the week coupled with caloric restriction.
As far as the 7 week GPP template, I think you could try and run that for your weight training and it would work pretty well for this purpose.
I don’t have enough experience working with marathoners to have a sense if that Nike program is very good or not, but the GPP endurance template certainly would provide a nice base of aerobic development IMO.
Thanks! I plan on using the 12-week for my next meet but didn’t discover you guys until I was already halfway through “Sheiko’s” programming. Great! I’ll start out with the 7-week endurance to build my aerobic base. As soon as I finish “How Doctors Think” I’ll transition into “The Science of Running” by Steve Magness. Thanks again.
You might want to check out the Furman FIRST program. See: http://www2.furman.edu/sites/first/Pages/default.aspx There are only 3 runs per week, track tempo and long, and in lieu of easy running miles on other days they substitute another mode of cardio (e.g. swimming), which might be better for you if you want to continue lifting legs. All of the runs are structured with a specific pace goal, and compared to many other programs the long run is done at a faster tempo, from 1 minute to 15 secs slower than marathon pace.
In my experience I’ve found it pretty difficult to lift legs heavy and hit my pace for the long runs. Doesn’t seem to have affected track or tempo workouts nearly as much. YMMV.
Oh yeah – here’s a comparison of many popular plans you might find interesting: