Just change the
dates, and you have a great plan for
any sub 3 hour marathon! Steve Richey
Introduction:
Training
plans can be complex, or they can be simple.
We're going to start out fairly simple with this one, and adjust as we
go. The concepts are simple. First, you go through phases -- first build
the base and endurance, then strength, and then speed. This sets you up for sharpening (tune up
races), the taper and game day. After
that, recovery and then back to base building as the cycle repeats. Another basic concept is easy/hard. You work hard on a given day (which does
damage to the tissues) and then run easy to as to allow recovery and repair,
leaving you stronger than before.
Similarly, there will be "recovery weeks" once about every five-week. The foundational run is the long run, for
endurance. Hill repeats give you
strength. Interval workouts for
improving your oxygen intake and give you more race speed. Recovery runs, as already mentioned, are
when you actually get stronger and improve.
You may notice that there is a lack of traditional "tempo
runs". These are replaced with
training races and "special" long runs -- this one of the aspects
that are a bit different about the approach described below. Another difference from the more popular
approaches is the slower paces for the day-to-day and easy long runs. The higher mileage, the workouts and the
"special" long runs will off set this. The goal is to find a way to obtain the needed higher mileage
while still doing the quality speed work needed to race well --- and, to do
this without getting injured. The
secret to this is to do the other miles slower. And, it's balanced by harder/faster workouts. Too many folks run too fast day-to-day, and
then not fast enough when it counts. High (slow) mileage and quality speed
work are the keys.
The
dates below are "weekending dates", and are all Sundays. That is, your training week starts on
Monday. This way both Saturday and
Sunday are in the same week, because races and long runs aren't all on just
Saturdays (or all on Sundays).
I'm
going to make the simple assumption that you're going to try and run every day
at lunch (or before/after work) and then do a long run on Saturday
mornings. I know life is never this
neat and tidy, but that will be the assumption. Another simple assumption is that your program, once we get into
the "workouts" (hill repeats, intervals, etc.) is that you'll do
these workouts on Wednesdays and the long run on the weekend. The other weekend day is available for rest,
cross training, or slow runs of no more than 3-5 miles --- your choice. Or, if you miss a lunch time run, then
adding in a slow 4-7 miler over the weekend can be viewed as a "make
up".
For
the first several weeks, the focus is going to be on just running slow at lunch
and a Saturday long run. Or, doing
strides (4-6x100M where you take ~20 seconds to stride up to 5K race pace and
then back down) is also a good thing to throw in once a week during the early
base building phase. Your task each
week will be to get in enough "slow lunch time miles" to meet your
weekly mileage target (minus the miles spend doing a "workout" and
the weekend long run). The
goal of this initial phase is to keep you healthy while we get your base
running up to 40 miles a week with a 14 mile long run. Getting to that point is the platform for
launching a 4 month training program where the goal is to avoid injury while
preparing for your first marathon. This plan is based on no more than 55 miles
a week, at the peak.
From that foundation we can go to longer long runs and strengthening
(hill repeats). As we get there, we'll
talk more about how to execute the hill repeat and interval workouts. In general, they both involve a 10-20 minute
slow warm up and cool down with the middle part be short fast runs alternating
with recovery jogs. For hill repeats,
this usually means uphill hard at something like one mile race pace, but for
about one minute followed by jogging back down the hill. For intervals, it usually means 800M at 5K
race pace followed by a 400M jog. The
pace for the easy lunch time runs and the easy long runs (except for the "special"
ones) should be 9-11. Regarding "marathon race pace", we'll figure
that out later at the training progresses.
And, as a side note, the idea of fitting in a shorter low key local race
into the middle of a weekend long run can be fun and beneficial .... just
remember "easy/hard" when doing it ....
Building the base: (assumes a starting point of 30 miles a week with a
10 mile long run)
25 Nov 2007. Easy lunch time runs. Easy long run of 11 miles. 30-35 miles total for the week.
02 Dec 2007. Easy lunch time runs. Easy long run of 12 miles. 30-35 miles total for the week.
09 Dec 2007. Easy lunch time runs. Easy long run of 13 miles. 30-35 miles total for the week.
16 Dec 2007. Easy lunch time runs. Easy long run of 10 miles. 30-35 miles total for the week.
23 Dec 2007. Easy lunch time runs. Easy long run of 14 miles. 32-35 miles total for the week.
30 Dec 2007. Easy lunch time runs. Easy long run of 10 miles. 35-40 miles total for the week.
06 Jan 2008. Easy lunch time runs. Easy long run of 14 miles. 35-40 miles total for the week.
Should
be at 40 miles a week with a 14 mile long run by this point, and should now be
ready to start 4 month marathon specific training.
13 Jan 2008. Easy lunch time runs, one day with 4x100M
strides. Easy long run of 15
miles. 35-40 miles total for the week.
20 Jan 2008. Easy lunch time runs, one day with 5x100M
strides. Easy long run of 16
miles. 37-40 miles total for the week.
27 Jan 2008. Easy lunch time runs, one day with 6x100M
strides. Easy long run of 17
miles. 40-45 miles total for the week.
03 Feb 2008. Easy lunch time runs. Easy long run of 10 miles. Recovery week. No more than 30 miles.
Strengthening: (critical phase for first time marathoners)
10 Feb 2008. Easy lunch time runs. 5 hill repeats. Easy long run of 17 miles. 40-45 miles total for the week.
17 Feb 2008.
Easy lunch time runs. 6 hill
repeats. Easy long run of 18
miles. 40-45 miles total for the week.
24 Feb 2008. Easy lunch time runs. 7 hill repeats. Easy long run of 14 miles. 40-45 miles total for the week.
02 Mar 2008. Easy lunch time runs. 8 hill repeats. “Special” long run of 18
miles on hilly route, charging up and jogging down the hills. 45-50 miles total for the week.
09 Mar 2008. Easy lunch time runs. 9 hill repeats. Easy long run of 19 miles. 45-50 miles total for the week.
16 Mar 2008. Easy lunch time runs. 10 hill repeats. Easy long run of 10 miles. 40-45 miles total for the week.
23 Mar 2008. Easy lunch time runs. 4 hill repeats. Mini-taper (Thr./Fri./Sat., running only ~6 miles total over
these 3 days) for half
marathon training race
on Sunday (Cary, IL). 35-40 miles total for the week.
This will help set the paces for the upcoming speed work.
30 Mar 2008. Easy lunch time runs. Easy long run of 10 miles. Recovery week. No more than 30 miles.
Speed: (more experienced marathoners could slightly
shorten the Strengthening phase and correspondingly lengthen this phase)
06 Apr 2008. Easy lunch time runs. 6x800 workout on Wed. “Special” long run of 20 miles. 45-50 miles total for the week. Fitting a local 5K race into the middle of
this week’s long run would be an optional benefit (otherwise, for the middle 8
miles, run ˝ mile hard and ˝ mile easy for each mile). Practice taking in (2) gels during this
week’s long run.
13 Apr 2008. Easy lunch time runs. 7x800 workout on Wed. Easy long run of 14
miles. 45-50 miles total for the week. Fitting
a local 5K race into the middle of this week’s long run would be an optional
benefit (otherwise, run middle 5 miles 45 seconds per mile faster).
20 Apr 2008. Easy lunch time runs. 8x800 work on Wed. "Special"
long run of 22 miles with 5x1 mile repeats at marathon race pace in the
middle (i. e., 3 mile slow warm up, miles 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 and marathon race
pace, other miles very easy – or run a local race in the middle). Practice taking in (2) gels during this
week’s long run. Monitor
(Measure/record) your fluid intake, and weigh your self before and after the
run, so as to get a handle on your fluid
loss rate at a given temperature.
50-55 miles total for the week. {Boston Marathon is the following Monday
...}
27 Apr 2008. Easy lunch time runs. 9x800 workout on Wed. Easy long run of 20 miles. 45-50 miles total for the week.
04 May 2008. Peak
workout on Wednesday with 10x800, with taper starting after this
workout. 14 mile long run with middle 4 miles at MP pace. Otherwise, the usual easy lunch time runs.
40-45 miles total for the week. This concludes the 4 month marathon
specific training.
Taper:
(the last 11 days before the goal
race are the critical ones for tapering)
11 May 2008.
The start of the real
taper. Anything after Wed.
of this week is for the next race -- not the one on 5/18. Goal is just to keep the wheels
turning. Easy running at lunch each
day, with 4x800 workout pace on Wed. and easy 10 mile long run. 30-35 miles total for the week.
18 May 2008. Taper week, with 5 easy on Mon., 4 easy on
Tue., 3 easy on Wed. (with middle mile at marathon race pace), 3 easy on Thr.,
rest on Fri., and 2 miles easy on Sat.
More on tapering and carbo loading later. 12-15 miles total for the week, not counting the goal race. We'll talk more about carbo loading as the
time approaches.
Goal Race:
(show time!)
18 May 2008. GOAL MARATHON 26.219
miles. More on race strategy as we get there. In general, the approach will be to use mile
1 as a warm up, miles 2-3 to settle into goal marathon race pace, to then hold
that pace through mile 20, and to manage a fade of ~3 minutes over the last
10K. Hydration and fueling will be key
topics, taking in gels with water at miles 8, 14 and 20 – and drinking water
prior to the first gel, and much Gatorade after that (when not taking gels).
Recovery:
(move slow, but keep moving)
25 May 2008. If
you keep moving, there's nothing to recover from
.... walk/jog ~2 miles in ~25 minutes on Mon.
Walk 2 miles on Tue. Slow jog 3
miles on Wed. Walk/jog 2-3 miles on
Thr. Rest on Fri. Slow run 5-10 miles on Sat. Rest on Sun.
Discussion: (you gotta run ….)
This
is just a draft outline, and we'll add specifics and adjustments as we go (you
can provide me with as much or as little feedback as you wish, with regards to
your weekly progress).
Consistency is the key
– 90+% compliance is likely to yield a successful marathon – less than 90%
compliance will yield, well, less (in fact, much less). Having blazingly fast
times for any one workout does little good.
Please look at this and give me your reactions. This is a long term commitment, and the
choice is yours. Hopefully you can view
it as a positive life style, as opposed to a burden .... weekend long runs and
week day runs will be available, but the choice to run is entirely yours. History says that approximately 30% of the
folks who receive a training plan from me actually put it to use …. I hope that
you prove to be one of that minority.
The
long runs come first .... the "work outs" (hill repeats, intervals)
second .... the easy bulk miles third,
the “special” long runs are fourth .... all are needed ..... this plan is
simple in structure, and is designed (hopefully) to allow you to fit it in with
the other more important aspects of your life .... that is, running at lunch
while at work (or before/after work) plus the early AM weekend long run ....
This is fairly similar to the way I
train, with the primary difference being volume (mileage in the 50-90 per week
range) and that the fact that a lot of my “training races” are marathons and/or
ultras.
A more experienced marathoner could
use the training outline above by simply skipping directly to the point where
40 miles a week with a 14 mile long run is assumed, resetting the dates to the
correct goal race date and by increasing the weekly mileage a bit (from 40-55 a
week to something like 55-70 a week).
Steve Richey