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I ran a 4:13 Boston Marathon as a first timer in April. I had never run over 5 miles prior to Feb up until then. Now I run a 7:10 for 10ks and and 8's for a half marathon so it can be done in a year. Biggest thing was track workouts. My running club has a track coach and he gave me some workouts to do over the summer. You need to teach your body what it feels like to run fast. Marathon is a tough distance though, I would not try to kill yourself to run a fast marathon without some serious base work. I have not run another marathon yet(ultra marathon in 2 weeks) but would expect a 8:30 or so over that distance.

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+1 to Anton. I lift 2-3 times per week in the offseason, mostly because I believe it benefits my cycling and swimming. Also I want to build up a bit to take the pounding I inflict on myself during the season. With that said I do not lift heavy weights at all any longer. In and out in 25 minutes.

I believe you would benefit most by increasing volume and tempo work to get you body used to more and faster mileage. Add hill repeats for your strength building for the legs. As you get closer to the 24-18 weeks out period when you are about to kick in your specific marathon plan, you will be ready to add the speedwork. Pete Pfitzinger, in Advanced Marathoning has a doable speed schedule. You might also want to race frequently throughout the fall/winter/spring in 5ks and other shorter distances.

If you are set on lifting, think about a circuit program the focuses on the shoulders, back, tris, and legs. You want to build functional muscle that will benefit you in tris as well.

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I was waiting to see what others wrote because the TriFuel group tends to be really, really big fans of the weight room. If the advice was going to be, "Ballet (plie) squats will get you to Boston!" (said like Billy Mays), I was going to sit out. While I have spent a few hours under an iron bar, I'll admit it's only so I look decent in a Speedo. My point is comparable to Anton's, Garen's, and WFD's: Skip the weight room. Hit the track (hills, LSD, etc.). What's your priority? Squating 405 and benching 225 aint gonna help you one bit hit 7:15 per mile. And it might be counterproductive: adding muscle mass may weigh you down (although I think that's specious logic because I can't see how the benefit of added muscle tissue, ergo making you a stronger runner, is outweighed by the drawbacks of a few extra pounds. I digress). Furthermore, as dkhartung wrote, taking an hour off in a year is an, uhm, "aggressive" goal to say the least. While I do recall Quincyceltic's posts about dropping his pace and was impressed when he did, that's definitly an exception and it's hard to generalize from N=1.

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Wow, you must have some free time if doing 40 miles running a week plus adding the volume for HIM "won't get in the way" - I'm envious! Anyway, there's no doubt that losing weight absolutely correlates to running faster, and that the best way to run faster is to run faster - both pointed out by others. Sounds like you're already doing some speed work with the 10K and 13.1. Hills add power and speed. Maybe I diverge from the others, however, when I think some work with weights can help. Not talking about bulking up, but getting lean and doing whole body, core, and plyometric exercises can help you lean out and increase speed. I spent some time doing such this past year and improved by bike and run - though nothing like 25% off my marathon! Keep us posted, and if you reach anywhere near your goals be sure to let us know how!

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My pace dropping probally had alot to do with the fact that this was my first season of running. But I do believe the track workouts put me in a faster mindset. I never thought I would run below a 7:00/mile and def. not for distance. However the workouts the track coach had me do had me believing and I ran a 5k pr at 6:40/mile.

As far as the weights I have always been a muscle head since high school and will never turn my back on them. I will say as I get deeper into tri's I have been doing ALOT less weight and more reps. The value is there in lifting but working on run specific stuff is def more important. My job affords me the ability to lift a couple times a week at work without affecting my tri specific workouts so I guess I am spoiled too.

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Please explain to me how increased functional strength from weight training can limit an athletes speed and endurance? Squats, deadlifts, olympic lifts, etc... all provide the functional strength and conditoning that will benefit ANY athlete, not just the runners and triathletes. While increasing strength and increased weight tend to go hand in hand, the benefits of the functional strength far outweigh the increased muscle mass (thank you for the agreement Trisooner) Besides, as triathletes, being that our main source of energy derives from carbohydrates, it is almost impossible to gain SERIOUS muscle mass (mass which would inhibit endurance, speed, and flexibility gains) without consuming an inordinate amount of calories from fat and protein. Give me an athlete who can squat and deadlift over a skinny bird man any day of the week. Being functionally strong in your muscles and joints doesnt just allow you to climb hills or run faster or harder, but it also makes your muscles less likely to break down in adverse situations. Strong people are more productive. I keep saying "fuctionally" strong because I dont think having a strong bench press or bicep curl (Anton: "maybe curls with light weight"... what will that benefit???) will benefit in anyway. Full body, multi joint movements (i.e. full squat, oly lifts) will have great benefits to any athlete.

I was a track coach in college so I second all statements regarding track workouts. 400M intervals are my favorites. Matty Jones favorite workout is 25x400m...

Good discussion by the way...

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That's exactly what I was going to say about injury prevention. Also want to second what Anton said about weight loss. If you can afford to lose 15 pounds, that's 30 seconds per mile right there according to what I've read.

If you are going to run 60+ miles per week (and you will need to on some weeks to get sub 3:10) doing weight training for injury prevention is a good idea. Please don't combine speedwork and/or weights when you are doing the highest volume running.