the (chicago) blueprint 3

OK, couldn’t resist throwing a Jay-Z reference in there (Kevin, figured you’d like that!)  But it kinda fits Chicago training in a way…the “blueprint” is the training schedule, and this will be my 3rd marathon.  (or is it my 4th?  I honestly don’t know whether to count Marine Corps since it was a DNF.)

So as Chicago training starts for me in one month…I really have to figure out some kind of game plan in the next coupla weeks.  What’s it gonna be, I don’t know as of right now, but what I do know is that I need some kind of change.

During my aborted attempt of training for NYCM in 2005, I used one of the schedules on the NYCM site (if I recall correctly, I think I started off with the “Basic Marathoner” schedule as I had that base already, but had to drop back to the “Casual Marathoner” schedule until the plantar fasciitis eventually stopped me in my tracks.)  And to be honest, I didn’t really love that schedule and didn’t want to use that again in 2006.  In 2006, one of the Flyers assistant coaches did me a huge favor and helped me with a plan that worked…and I just adapted it in 2008 and 2009 with more mileage.  But seeing how things went wrong in 2009…maybe I don’t know as much as I thought, maybe I need to look into some “tried and true” plans and work from there. 

And what do I need in a plan?  Well, I do know I want to run more than 3 days a week, but ideally no more than 5 (maybe 6 during the peak weeks) as I will need to cross-train in order to stay uninjured this time around.  The 40’s seem to be the sweet spot of weekly mileage for me.  I like tune-up races and will need to factor those in.  No more than three 20-milers again?  And of course, I’ll be doing speedwork with my UA crew and that’s gonna have to fit in too.

So that said, here’s what I’ve been considering:

• Higdon-that’s been pretty popular lately.  I kinda like the Intermediate 2 schedule…maybe swap one easy run day for speedwork (as I feel the Advanced schedule is a little too intense for me)  And I like that it’s 5 days a week.  However, no planning for races, and maybe too much MP work?  (I obviously want to practice marathon pace, but don’t want to be burned out by doing too much of it.)
• Hudson-another one that seems to be popular as of late.   The principle seems to be flexibility in terms of creating your own training program, decent mix of hard and easy.  Looks like the suggested marathon program is 20 weeks which would mean starting right after Brooklyn…but it’s possible I may already have the base for week 3…or could adjust.  But do I really trust myself to “create” my own schedule after last year?
• Pfitzinger-I know this one has been popular for awhile, this always seems to be the “go-to” plan for those trying to BQ.  And last year Runner26 used the 18 week/55 mile peak plan to train for the Philly Marathon and had great results.  The thing is I wonder if the 54-55 mile weeks may be too much for me.  And honestly, those mid-week double digit runs may be tough for me to fit in…if this summer is as crazy as the last few have been.

So…that’s whats on my mind as of now.  If anyone has any opinions on the following plans…or any suggestions that I hadn’t thought of before, I’d love to hear them!!  I need all the help I can get.  I don’t want to do anything drastic…just want to not get injured and cross the finish line on 10/10/10 in 3:40:59.  (Of course, if my time happened to be in the 3:30’s, I wouldn’t cry or anything.)