beginner to intermediate

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colettedeann Jun 2013 9:50am, 5 Jun 2013 5065 posts	0 colettedeann looking at training plans for next marathon is becoming a bit of a task - beginner too little - intermediate too much - so i just go for t he harder one and then tweak it! :/ - but this doesn't mean i am tweaking it right! however - this morning i was asked do i consider myself to be a beginner runner or an intermediate runner - it seems i am not the only person moving from beginner and stuck in a no-man's land any thoughts and guidance here would be helpful
Craig_ Jun 2013 9:53am, 5 Jun 2013 492 posts	0 Craig_ you're certainly 'expert' at word association...
colettedeann Jun 2013 9:55am, 5 Jun 2013 5066 posts	0 colettedeann lol thanks craig - that was helpful
eL Bee! Jun 2013 9:59am, 5 Jun 2013 18609 posts	0 eL Bee! Colette - you have logged 2 marathons - so from that perspective I'd suggest you are a beginner. And as yet you don't have a lengthy running 'history' which is pretty important when it comes to improving over that distance. Best advice you can have at the moment is to run regularly and consistently - mostly at an easy pace and never skim on the Long run Fancy training plans won't be much help at the moment, and are more likely to injure you (which stops you training regularly and consistently) than improve your performance over the marathon distance. So depending on how often you out your trainers on, alternate slightly faster days with very easy/rest days and always make sure you do a Long Run each week. It's not rocket science, and the greatest gains are to be had (I'll say it again) from Regular Consistent training at your stage
colettedeann Jun 2013 1:44pm, 5 Jun 2013 5068 posts	0 colettedeann thanks eL Bee - i have been lucky in not being injury prone - but i have had 2 bouts of illness this year - problem with not having a training programme is that i am clueless about to do - i have tho - as suggested looked at myself as a beginner - and looked at the hal higdon novice 2 which doesn't work from the assumption that you are a complete beginner - but has a programme that looks like i will be able to follow
Craig_ Jun 2013 2:15pm, 5 Jun 2013 493 posts	0 Craig_ ...on a more helpful note... ...Not sure if you've seen the big list of Fetch training plans - http://www.fetcheveryone.com/training-plan-list.php As you say collette, you're probably in the transition zone from beginner to intermediate so a lot of plans will either be too simple or maybe a bit too much weekly mileage. I think you would probably prefer an intermediate plan as it will be more of a challenge but see what works for you and your goals. I would say the important bits are the starting position and the speed of transition. If you're not quite ready for what the plan is asking in week 1, just use that as a target to build up to before implementing the plan. Also, if the increases are too rapid you could risk injury or over-training so although you've done a couple of marathons before, something like a basic marathon training-plan will give you a good framework to fiddle with and tweak to your own needs. The Furman Marathon Training plan (Runners World version) might be good? Anyhoo, see what you fancy, tweak it to suit and just give it a try...