Hal Higdon

I sure hope Hal Higdon is a smart guy. And not a complete quack. There seems to be plenty of evidence that he's alright, including 34 books on running, a long list of contributions to Runner's World (the magazine), a resourceful web site with all kinds of training advice and a book for children. So, it's probably not a terrible idea to take his advice on a training program for a marathon.

Yesterday, I completed week 3 of HH's Intermediate 1 Marathon Training Program, which has one gradually build up to 26.2 miles over the course of 18 weeks. This past week was a regression week, which HH schedules every 3 weeks or so (long run is about 2/3 the the distance of the prior weeks long run). This whole regression thing seems like a good idea. May help stave off injury. So far, so good. Hal instructed to me to run 6 miles yesterday. Although he also instructed me to run long runs at a leisrurely pace, I was unable to do so on this occasion. The in-laws were coming, so I had to rush a bit. Six miles in 46:35 (for those without calculators, or calculator-equipped homunculuses, that's a pace of 7:45).

Monday, on the Intermediate 1 Marathon Training Program has one cross-training. Fortunately, I live about 50 paces from a fine swimming-harbor, so that cross-training might take the form of swimming. Additionally, I live about 2 miles from some great trails that weave through beaches and dunes along the Cape Cod seashore. Either way, Monday's cross-training promises to be a pleasant event.

If one finds oneself on the market for a marathon training program, I would encourage one to go immediately to www.halhigdon.com. Although I can't speak from much experience, his seems to be the most credible and rich online marathon training resource.