Training Guide: Marathon - Experienced
This schedule is only a guide. Take breaks and make adjustments according to how you are feeling. It is also a good idea to check with your physician before starting any kind of training program.
Experienced Program
This program is designed for those runners who have become relatively comfortable with the marathon distance or have been running as many as 50 miles a week on a regular basis. This training guide is designed to challenge you and hopefully prepare you for a new P.R.!
Keep in mind that everyone’s life outside of running is different so if Wednesday is not a good day for a hard workout for you then make it Thursday and take your day off on Wednesday (just as an example). The important thing is that you get all of the week’s work done not that you do it on the exact day it is written here.
- RECOVERY: These are the most basic runs on the schedule, but they are actually the bulk of your training. Recovery runs should be done at a pace at least one full minute slower per mile than your marathon race pace, but can really be as slow as you need. These runs give the body a chance to rest from some of the harder days, but still accomplish the goal of increasing aerobic capacity. Every time you run you teach your body how to more efficiently transport oxygen from the legs to the muscles no matter what pace you are running. When a day on the chart below just has a mileage number, such as 6, that implies a 6-mile recovery run.
- SPEED: Speed workouts should come early on in a marathon segment as a way to tune up the legs before the more important strength workouts begin. Speed workouts should be based on current 10k race pace and should total between 3 and 5 miles worth of hard running. Examples are shown below the marathon chart.
- MP: Marathon pace workouts are essential in any marathon training program. These runs should be run at your goal marathon pace and should be run at a completely even pace. Training your body to hit the exact pace that you want to run on race day is the key to preventing going out too fast or too slow on the big day. These workouts should total between 6 and 10 miles in length and should be run on a well-marked course so you know exactly where each mile mark is located. Recommended distances are indicated on the chart below. Example: MP 8 means you should do an 8 mile run at goal marathon pace.
- STRENGTH: Strength workouts are the most challenging workouts in this training program. Done at half marathon pace they are designed to increase your threshold so marathon race pace feels easier. In order to accomplish this, your strength workouts need to be faster than race pace. The workouts should total between 4 and 6 miles of hard running. Examples are shown below the marathon chart.
- LONG RUNS: The long run is done every other week and is the workout that will enable you to run the entire distance on race day. It is NOT, however, any more or less important than any other run on your schedule. In other words, there are no 20 mile long runs on your schedule because marathon training is all about consistency. Putting too much emphasis on the long run takes away from the speed, strength, and marathon pace workouts as well as your recovery runs. When following this schedule, the workload is substantial enough that you will enter each long run with a certain amount of cumulative fatigue already in your legs. This fatigue essentially equates to already having run a few miles before you take that first step out the door. So when you run a 16 mile long run it is much more like running the last 16 miles of a marathon as opposed to the first 16. On race day, when you are tapered and your legs feel “fresh” the 26.2 mile distance should not be a problem. One final instruction on long runs is that the pace does not matter. It is all about covering the distance so normal recovery pace is fine.
| Week # |
MON |
TUE |
WED |
THU |
FRI |
SAT |
SUN |
| 1 |
5 |
6 |
off |
5 |
6 |
5 |
8 |
| 2 |
6 |
6 |
off |
6 |
6 |
5 |
8 |
| 3 |
6 |
6 |
off |
7 |
7 |
5 |
10 |
| 4 |
6 |
7 |
off |
7 |
6 |
6 |
10 |
| 5 |
6 |
8 |
off |
8 |
6 |
6 |
12 |
| 6 |
6 |
8 |
off |
8 |
7 |
7 |
10 |
| 7 |
6 |
MP 6 |
off |
7 |
SPEED |
7 |
14 |
| 8 |
6 |
8 |
MP 7 |
off |
7 |
8 |
10 |
| 9 |
8 |
SPEED |
off |
7 |
MP 6 |
7 |
12 |
| 10 |
8 |
8 |
SPEED |
off |
7 |
8 |
16 |
| 11 |
6 |
MP 8 |
off |
7 |
STRENGTH |
9 |
12 |
| 12 |
8 |
8 |
MP 9 |
off |
7 |
7 |
16 |
| 13 |
6 |
STRENGTH |
off |
7 |
MP 8 |
9 |
14 |
| 14 |
8 |
8 |
STRENGTH |
off |
7 |
7 |
20 |
| 15 |
6 |
MP 9 |
off |
7 |
STRENGTH |
9 |
16 |
| 16 |
8 |
8 |
MP 10 |
off |
7 |
7 |
14 |
| 17 |
6 |
STRENGTH |
off |
6 |
MP 6 |
6 |
8 |
| 18 |
6 |
MP 3 |
off |
5 |
1 |
3 |
Race Day! |
Speed Workout Examples
IMPORTANT: Before any “workout” where you will be running at a pace that is equal to or below race pace you should do a warm up consisting of an easy mile or two of jogging, followed by some light stretching. Ignoring this step could lead to injury. These types of workouts should then be followed by a cool down which consists of another easy mile or two of jogging and another set of stretching.
Mile Repeats- A mile repeat workout consists of one mile of hard running, followed by a three to five minute rest interval depending on how long it takes to run your mile. These workouts can be done at your local high school track, or on a marked running/bike path, or a course you have marked out for yourself. The miles should be run at a pace that you can currently race a 10k. If you are unsure, just estimate and it is probably about 40 seconds slower than marathon pace. Based on this mileage schedule it would be appropriate to run two to three mile repeats in one workout. Your rest interval should be roughly two minutes less than the amount of time it takes to run your repeat. During the rest period you should maintain a light jog.
½ Mile Repeats- A ½ mile repeat workout consists of the same basic principles as the mile repeats. They should still be done at 10k race pace and the overall volume should stay the same but the rest should be a bit shorter. A good ½ mile repeat workout for this mileage schedule would consist of five to six repeats. Your rest interval should be roughly 30 seconds less than the amount of time it takes you to run the repeat.
Fartlek- Once you get past the funny name, which is Swedish for speed play, you realize that a fartlek is one of the best workouts around. Less structured than a repeat workout, a fartlek can be done anywhere because it is not based on distance. In simple language it is running fast for a certain amount of time and then slow for a certain amount of time. You can set those times beforehand, for example, and run for 20-30 minutes with 3 minutes hard, followed by two minutes easy or you can just go where the wind takes you and run around the neighborhood or the park and pick out lightposts or landmarks and run hard until you get to them and then take it easy again and continue that pattern.
Strength Workout
Tempo Run- These should be done at ten seconds faster per mile than marathon pace. The most basic is a straight tempo where you will run 4-6 miles at ten seconds faster than marathon pace and that is it. For varieties sake you can break these up and run three miles of tempo, take a mile jog break, and run three more miles of tempo or run two miles, break, two miles, break, two miles. Break it up how you wish, but never run any segment for less than two miles. These workouts are to be done at a very even pace. Like the marathon pace workouts, they teach your body to find a rhythm and stick to it. It may feel natural to pick up the pace, especially when you are feeling good, but that is a bad habit to get into when training for a marathon.
ONE MORE THING: HYDRATION…HYDRATION…HYDRATION!!!
When you commit to a marathon training program you commit to a lot of running. When you run you perspire and when you perspire you lose essential nutrients involved in muscle recovery. In other words, if you do not replenish those nutrients before, during, and after exercise you will feel sore, tired, and run-down. Besides water, you should be consuming energy drinks and gels. These provide the electrolytes that water does not. Practicing water stops during your everyday runs is also a good way to practice for race day when you should be taking water at every station and trying to take in as much as 70 ounces during the entire race. |
