Marathon Program
This program is of intermediate level, for runners who have done a fair bit of running, and who want to prepare well for a marathon. I've chosen 18 weeks as the training period, but it can be extended or shortened depending on fitness level when starting the program.
|
Week |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
Sunday |
|
1 |
Ti - 4 x 5 min with 1 min jog recovery |
E, 50 min |
I, 4 x 4 min, with 3 min jog recovery |
L, 80 min | |||
|
2 |
T, 15 min hard, 15 min easy, then 15 hard again |
E, 55 min |
I, 6 x 3 min, with 2 min jog recovery |
E, 40 min |
L, 85 min | ||
|
3 |
E, 60 min |
E, 45 min |
I, 5 x 4 min, with 3 min jog recovery |
E, 45 min |
L, 95 min | ||
|
4 |
T - 25 min steady run. |
E, 50 min Strides |
I, 6 x 3 min, with 2 min jog recovery |
L, 90 min | |||
|
5 |
T - 15 min hard, 45 min easy, then 15 hard again |
E, 60 min |
E, 55 min Strides |
E, 45 min |
L, 100 min | ||
|
6 |
Ti, 5 x 6 min, 2 min jog recovery |
E, 50 min |
E, 65 min Strides |
L, 95 min | |||
|
7 |
MP, 80 min |
E, 60 min |
T, 4 x 4 min, with 2 min jog recovery |
E, 35 min |
L, 110 min | ||
|
8 |
T - 45 min steady run |
E, 65 min |
E, 70 min |
L, 100 min | |||
|
9 |
T, - 20 min hard, 60 min easy, then 25 hard again |
E, 55 min |
Ti, 4 x 5 min, 2 min jog recovery |
E, 45 min |
L, 120 min | ||
|
10 |
MP, 100 min |
E, 50 min |
E, 55 min |
E, 45 min |
L, 125 min | ||
|
11 |
T - 45 min steady run |
E, 55 min |
T, 5 x 5 min, with 2 min jog recovery |
L, 135 min | |||
|
12 |
T, - 20 min hard, 60 min easy, then 25 hard again |
E, 60 min |
T, 4 x 4 min, with 2 min jog recovery |
L, 125 min | |||
|
13 |
E, 60 min |
T, 6 x 5 min, with 2-5 min jog recovery |
E, 55 min |
L, 140 min | |||
|
14 |
MP, 90 min |
E, 35 min |
E, 45 min |
L, 120 min | |||
|
15 |
E, 55 min |
T, - 20 min hard, 50 min easy, then 15 hard |
E, 55 min |
L, 150 min | |||
|
16 |
E, 45 min |
Ti, 4 x 3 min, 3 min jog recovery |
E, 55 min |
E, 60 min | |||
|
17 |
T, - 20 min steady run |
E, 35 min |
E, 45 min |
||||
|
18 |
Ti, 3 x 3 min, 3-5 min jog recovery |
E, 25 min |
E, 15 min |
E - easy, steady running with rhythmic breathing at about 70-75 % of Max HR.
L - 20-25% of week's total milage, about the same speed as E, or slower if needed.
Strides - 5-6 x 30 seconds at comfortably quick speed, but do not sprint. Just relaxed quick running with light turnover. It is meant to improve mechanics, so it is important not to go too fast. Do these at the end of your workout.
Quality sessions
Every quality session should begin with a warm-up of about 10-15 min, and a cool-down of the same length. Be sure to stretch before and after the workout, especially calves and hamstrings.
R - Repetition runs, with the purpose of improving the anaerobic capacity, to improve speed and running economy. The length of these repetitions is anywhere up to about 2 minutes, but not much longer. Recovery time is as long as you need. The important thing is to run relaxed but fast, and if you need 3-6 min to recover in order to run the next repetition as fast as the previous one, do that. These repetitions works well as hill running or on a treadmill. Quality workout should not be longer than 5% of weekly milage.
I - Intervals, with the purpose of maximizing oxygen consumption, or VO2Max. They are run at the speed you are able to keep up for 10-15 minutes. These are the "tough ones", and should not be done until you are fit enough. Intervals should not be longer than 5 minutes. The total length of this quality session should be about 6-8% of weekly milage. Another way of describing this speed is 98 - 100 % of your Max HR. Recovery time is about as long as the duration of the intervals, or a little shorter.
T - Threshold runs, with the purpose of building stamina and getting used to running fairly fast without suffering from high accumulations of lactic acid in the blood. Can be in threshold interval format or just steady tempo runs. The speed is about 10 -15 s slower per kilometer than your 10 k- race speed. Another way of describing this speed is 85-90% of your Max HR. Tempo runs are about 15-20 minutes, threshold intervals in about 3-10 min each. Length of quality workout can be up to 8-10% of weekly milage. Remember this should feel like fairly comfortable speed. If it doesn't, slow down your speed a little. These runs should not be done close to your maximum speed. These runs should feel refreshing, like a good hard run that makes you feel good, and which also leaves you with the feeling that you could have done more.
MP - Marathon Pace running, simply your projected marathon pace.
Good luck!!
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