Marathon Training Guide  

Marathon Training Guide

Week # 6

Steve:  veteran - 57 marathons

This weekly marathon guide is designed for marathon runners from the beginner to experienced levels.

Mike - marathon runner & author

Beginner Program:                     Week 6:

This will be your second week of 5 days of training and you may be wondering how you are going to be able to manage an ever increasing workload. Now is time to take stock of your family commitments, job and other important things in you life. As for family, try and do most of your workouts at a time when they do not interfere or try to integrate them, like take the kids to soccer, hockey, basketball, dancing class or whatever and do the workout while they are doing theirs. As for long runs, find a route that is bicycle friendly (weather permitting) and use them as support staff. They get a workout and you all have some quality time.
 

Daily Training schedule

The beginner training schedules follow the hard day / easy day approach. if you have to modify this week's training for any reason, try to stick to this basic principle.

Day 1:
This will be a 6 mile hard run, you remember the run that begins with an easy mile followed by a good hard pace above your aerobic threshold and finally a cool down of about one mile. Please stretch lightly.

Day 2
Five miles at an easy pace today as you may be a bit tired from yesterday.

Day 3
This is a rest day and should be used for some stretching as usual and some easy cross-training activity if you can spare the time.

Day 4
A tempo run of 4 miles is scheduled for today. Remember, with tempo, warmup for a mile, do the middle part at pace and then cool down for the last mile.

Day 5
Rest (see earlier rest day). If you did not cross-train on your previous rest day, make sure that you do something today. Non-weight bearing like biking or swimming.

Day 6
Long slow distance run of 12 mile to be conducted at an easy pace. Warm-up will consist of 15%, easy 70% run and cool down 15%. Stretching after is mandatory.

Day 7
Today is a recovery run of 3 easy miles to get some of the soreness out of your body.

Marathon Guide's Training Tips:

• Avoiding injuries is key to the success of your marathon training. Always be aware of the surface you are running on, from concrete sidewalks to forest trails. Concrete is definitely the worst, so try and stay away from this kind of surface. Forest trails and woodchip paths are great for reducing the pounding on your legs, so whenever you get a chance to run off the road – take it! In winter, a couple inches of fresh snow provides excellent cushioning!

• Your pulse rate is an excellent indicator of your overall condition. Measure your resting pulse rate once or twice a week at the same time of day to establish your ‘normal’ rate. As you get in better shape, your pulse rate should decrease. Any increase over your normal rate could mean your body is fighting an infection.

Intermediate Program

  Week 6:

With your mileage increasing to 40 miles and 6 days of training this week it is time to be very mindful of injuries and their management. Pay attention to your body and take the time to do your stretching daily, as it is one of the keys to your staying on the roads and on course for your upcoming marathon. Review relevant literature on running related injuries and govern yourself accordingly.
 

Day 1:

Let us start the week with a good hard run of 5 miles. As usual get warmed up and then put the hammer down. You should be OD (in oxygen debt) for the middle part of the workout. Enjoy your cool down and stretch lightly after.

Day 2:
In keeping with hard/easy, today is a 5 mile run at a comfortable pace. Relax and enjoy.

Day 3:
The workout today is a 6 mile Tempo Run, consisting of a warmup period at easy pace (1 mile) then pick a pace, say 8 min/mile for the middle 3 miles and finish easy for the last mile of the workout.

Day 4:
This is an easy run day; 6 miles on easy terrain. Reminder that stretching after all runs is mandatory and before a run, optional.

Day 5:
Rest day. Stretching and/or Cross Training. Also carbo loading day like a nice pasta dinner with family and/or friends.

Day 6:
Long Slow Distance Run of 14 miles. This run is very important and should not be missed. Furthermore, remember to keep it slow on this run as it is meant to get your body acclimatized to the time and distance that you will be on your feet running.

Day 7:
Today is a recovery day of 4 easy miles to get the crap, etc out of your muscles from yesterdays LSD run.
 

• Feeling tired all the time? Long training runs or too frequent training can weaken your immune system, making you more susceptible to catching colds and contributing to a general fatigue. If you see this happening you know you are trying to do too much. The remedy is to simply cut back, and reduce, or even skip, your long run that week.

• Your pulse rate is an excellent indicator of your overall condition. Measure your resting pulse rate once or twice a week at the same time of day to establish your ‘normal’ rate. As you get in better shape, your pulse rate should decrease. Any increase over your normal rate could mean your body is fighting an infection.

Experienced Program

Week 6:

As you may be aware by now, this is a fairly structured marathon training program based on the hard/easy approach utilizing the elements of pacing like hill workouts and long slow runs to help with your endurance; tempo runs and speed/interval workouts to target your strength and commitment to pace at the level required to meet your marathon goal and easy paced workouts to help with recovery. Understanding these concepts and applying them are paramount for success at this level.
 

Daily Training schedule

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