Marathon Training Calendar

I've been running for quite a while using bits and pieces of various different training programs.  After registering for a May 1 marathon, I decided it was time to find a formal, structured program to follow through to race day.  After reading the details of a few training schedules, I decided to use one of Hal Higdon's marathon training programs.  Hal has 6 programs published on the Hal Higdon's Marathon Training Guide website, two each in the Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced levels.  He recommends the Novice programs for first-time marathoners, but I wanted a slight additional challenge and selected the Intermediate I schedule because I think it gives better preparation for the 26-mile distance by using a weekly medium-distance run  on the day before the weekly long-distance run.

Of course, the schedule is written in terms of "Week 1," "Week 2," etc., not in terms of an actual calendar or dates.  After plugging my race day into the end of the schedule and working backward for a day-by-day schedule, I looked for a convenient way to set up and follow a daily schedule.

During this process, I discovered Google Calendar.  This turned out to be a pretty good tool for the purpose.  I was able to set up a custom calendar for the 18-week progam.  The header on each date tells me exactly what is on the schedule, i.e., the miles and the pace.  The Description field let me copy and paste the full detailed workout description from Hal's website.  So, I can see at a glance what is scheduled for the date, and a single click on the header title brings up the full description.  A second click returns it to the header view.  It also let me embed the calendar in this blog, which is a very convenient place for me to keep up with it.  Pretty cool.

The calendar is completely filled in now, and is at the bottom of this page.