Operation Choose A Plan (Fall Marathon Training Week 1)

My original idea was to go with the plan from the book Advanced Marathoning by Pete Pfizinger. Everyone on the Runners World web forum swears by it and says that if you want to PR, you have to do it.
BUT it has a 12-15 mile run every Wednesday.  If it takes me over 2 hours to run 15 miles, and I have to be back to my house by 6:45am, that means I have to be out the door before 4:30am.  Um... no.  I just can't do that every week for 7 weeks (that's how many 14-15 milers there were in the plan.)

So then I put in a recent race time into SMARTCoach on the Runners World Website and it spit a plan back to me that looks pretty reasonable.

Then someone emailed me that he really was a fan of the Hanson plan, featured in RW.  So I checked that one out.  It has me running every day after the first three weeks.  Same mileage as the other two mentioned.

So... I think I've decided to do the Hanson plan, but with some modifications to get in some tune up races, and also start out with higher mileage on the long runs since I've just come off IM and have the endurance.  I'm using the core and weight training plan from the Advanced Marathoning  book which I love because it does not involve going to the gym.  Now that I'm back at work, I just don't feel great about sticking the kids in gym daycare much on weekdays.

I chose my tune up races -- Heritage Half Marathon on October 14 (7 weeks out) and the Potomac Valley Track Club 10K on November 17 (2 weeks out.)  I'd actually prefer the half marathon to be closer to the race -- like 3-4 weeks out -- but I haven't found one that's local and I don't feel like driving to Richmond.

Training went pretty well this week.  50 miles total.  I ran easy on M, Tu, W, and F, did a Tempo on Thursday (Tempo pace was 7:40ish, I think) and a 20 miler today.  Average pace for the 20 miler was 9, but I felt really crappy at the end.  All the plans I have looked at have a bunch of 20 milers, which is supposed to "get rid of the wall."  We shall see.

This is SO much better than Ironman training.  Every run this week was done before 9:30 a.m.  I actually have time to cook and do laundry.  :)