I was prepared for everything but the word Novice. By no means do I consider myself a seasoned runner; however, I have completed my fair share of races of varying distances (5k, 8k, 10k, half marathon, and marathon) and I've been running about 5-6 times a week for about the last 8 months.
Using a pace calculator on Runner's World, I decided (before I began training) that based on my most recent 5k PR, I am capable of running a 1:45 half marathon. When I began training (using the Novice plan), I thought it seemed a bit low on the mileage and was shocked that it didn't include speed work. (That's what I get for not reading carefully until I reached day 1 of week 6!) Now that I've realized my error, I'll be switching to this plan for intermediate runners. I wasn't following it to the letter and I was starting to mix in my own speed work, so hopefully it won't shock my body too much.
Let this be a lesson to the rest of you though: As my 3rd grade teacher said, "You miss a lot if you skip ahead!"
