Sorry Hal

Marathon training started last week for me.  After much reading, and advice from you folks, I decided on Hal Higdon's Novice training plan.  Last week, I got off to a rocky start with travelling, but have stayed on top of the schedule this week.  So why, Sorry Hal?  Hal tells novice marathoners to not worry about speed or hill training.  All three of my runs so far this week were to be 5K/3 miles at a slow, easy pace.  Sorry Hal, but that's boring.

I know many would advise against setting a time goal for a first marathon, and it's true - finishing is my ultimate goal, but finishing with a good time would be better!  I'm not going to be overly ambitious here, but sorry Hal, finishing before the course closes would be ideal.

Also, sorry Hal, but running at slow, easy pace all the time just doesn't work with my competitive nature.  I'm motivated by seeing my time improve, by doing faster intervals, by finding hills get easier, not just running longer and longer distances.  I don't think I can get through 18 weeks of running at slow, easy pace every, single time.

So, sorry Hal, but I ran intervals yesterday, and today went out and ran as hard as I could for 5K.  And I ran my fastest 5K ever (26:14), on the hottest day of the year so far, on my lunch break, and I feel great.  I can't wait to try to push myself even harder next week.

I know the reasoning behind the lack of speed/hill work in the plan is to increase the chances of getting to the starting line injury-free, and I will be sure to keep an easy run or two on the schedule each week, especially as the mid-week runs get longer, BUT, I need to mix things up a bit more or I will not make it to the starting line at all due to boredom!