Week-by-Week Running Plan

I personally don't know anyone who's set out to train for a full marathon in under a year, though I'm sure it's been done a time or two. For the sake of my sensitive ego, I'm going to pretend this kind of feat has rarely been accomplished and I am "one in a million". Truly, I know that I'm probably just a tad crazy. But for humor's sake, I will explain step by step how I plan to tackle this new mountain in my life. I've done a lot of research and talked to a lot of friends who are 5K Superstars and 1/2 Marathon Champions and have come up with the plan that I think is as close to possible as I can get without killing myself in the process. Here's the scoop:

I've adapted the first phase of the program from the ever-popular "Couch 2 5K" plan. 

This phase lasts approximately 9 weeks and assumes a person

never runs, which is perfect for a "cute couch potato" like myself. 

Week	Workout 1	Workout 2	Workout 3
1	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
2	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
3	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
4	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
5	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking.
6	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2-1/4 miles (or 22 minutes) with no walking.
7	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).
8	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).
9	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).	The final workout! Congratulations! Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).

The next phase of my program I've adopted the 

Hal Higdon Marathon Training Program.

This is the one that may just kill me. 

(I promise I'll post photos if that happens.)

This is a 30 Week plan, with plenty of "rest days"

(Hallelujah!)

and one "long run" per week to build up stamina.

Here is the week-by-week program:

Marathon Training Schedule: Novice Supreme

WEEK	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN
1	Rest	1.5 m run	3 m run	1.5 m run	Rest	3 m run	30 min walk
2	Rest	1.5 m run	3 m run	1.5 m run	Rest	3.5 m run	35 min walk
3	Rest	1.5 m run	3 m run	1.5 m run	Rest	3 m run	40 min walk
4	Rest	2 m run	3 m run	1.5 m run	Rest	4 m run	30 min walk
5	Rest	2 m run	3 m run	2 m run	Rest	3 m run	45 min walk
6	Rest	2 m run	3 m run	2 m run	Rest	4.5 m run	30 min walk
7	Rest	2 m run	3 m run	2 m run	Rest	3 m run	50 min walk
8	Rest	2 m run	3 m run	2 m run	Rest	5 m run	30 min walk
9	Rest	2 m run	3 m run	2.5 m run	Rest	3 m run	55 min walk
10	Rest	2 m run	3 m run	2.5 m run	Rest	5.5 m run	30 min walk
11	Rest	3 m run	3 m run	3 m run	Rest	3 m run	60 min walk
12	Rest	3 m run	3 m run	3 m run	Rest	6 m run	30 min walk
13	Rest	3 m run	3 m run	3 m run	Rest	6 m run	Cross
14	Rest	3 m run	3 m run	3 m run	Rest	7 m run	Cross
15	Rest	3 m run	4 m run	3 m run	Rest	5 m run	Cross
16	Rest	3 m run	4 m run	3 m run	Rest	9 m run	Cross
17	Rest	3 m run	5 m run	3 m run	Rest	10 m run	Cross
18	Rest	3 m run	5 m run	3 m run	Rest	7 m run	Cross
19	Rest	3 m run	6 m run	3 m run	Rest	12 m run	Cross
20	Rest	3 m run	6 m run	3 m run	Rest	13 m run	Cross
21	Rest	3 m run	7 m run	4 m run	Rest	10 m run	Cross
22	Rest	3 m run	7 m run	4 m run	Rest	15 m run	Cross
23	Rest	4 m run	8 m run	4 m run	Rest	16 m run	Cross
24	Rest	4 m run	8 m run	5 m run	Rest	12 m run	Cross
25	Rest	4 m run	9 m run	5 m run	Rest	18 m run	Cross
26	Rest	5 m run	9 m run	5 m run	Rest	14 m run	Cross
27	Rest	5 m run	10 m run	5 m run	Rest	20 m run	Cross
28	Rest	5 m run	8 m run	4 m run	Rest	12 m run	Cross
29	Rest	4 m run	6 m run	3 m run	Rest	8 m run	Cross
30	Rest	3 m run	4 m run	2 m run	Rest	Rest	Marathon

I have exactly 49 weeks until my scheduled marathon.

I plan to register for the OKC Memorial Marathon  in April 2013.

So here's the real deal-y.  I plan to post pictures (as I've threatened previously)

of the month-to-month progress. 

I'll post these photos on the 20th of every month. 

There's a tab at the top that will keep them all organized for us.

By God, I'd better see some "flab-to-fab" changes!

I'll also be posting pretty regularily throughout the process

about any tools and resources along the way that have helped me

gain some much needed knowledge and/or inspiration.

Cause, boy-oh-boy, am I ever gonna need some inspiration. 

Feel free to leave me some of yours!