Marathon Training Program                                                               

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A few years ago I ran the Chicago Marathon. What a great time!! And what a great feeling when I crossed that finish line!!! If you haven't completed a marathon yet  you have no idea of the high you get when you cross that finish line for the first time. All the pain, and fatigue vanish for a short time and if you were like me, you stood there with a little tear in your eye,  and said "s#@t!!! I just ran 26.2 miles!!! WOW!!" I've done triathlons, competed in High School and College sports but nothing compared to the way I felt after I completed my first marathon ( the 1st time I soloed in a plane came close).   Its a high you just can't describe, you've got to do one to know. My first attempt at running a marathon was a complete bust. Training for triathlons and trying to train for a marathon took up a lot of time. Too much time! Then I came across this program and I worked it in to my triathlon training schedule and it worked. I completed my 1st marathon in a little under 4 hours. Its a 18 week schedule. You should be running 20-25 miles a week before you start and be able to run a 10 k comfortably.  So here we go!!! Good Luck!!!

Week Mon Tues Wed Thur Fri Sat* Sun
1 0 easy 3 med 3 easy 3 0 0 long 6
2 0 easy 3 med 3 easy 3 0 0 long 7
3 0 easy 3 med 4 easy 3 0 0 long 5
4 0 easy3 med 4 easy 3 0 0 long 9
5 0 easy 3 med 5 easy 3 0 0 long 10
6 0 easy 3 med 5 easy 3 0 0 10-15k race
7 0 easy 3 med 6 easy 3 0 0 long 12
8 0 easy 3 med 6 easy 4 0 0 long 13
9 0 easy 3 med 7 easy 4 0 0 long 10
10 0 easy 3 med 7 easy 4 0 0 long 15
11 0 easy 4 med 8 easy 4 0 0 long 16
12 0 easy 4 med 8 easy 5 0 0 race 20-25K
13 0 easy 4 med 9 easy 5 0 0 long 18
14 0 easy 5 med 9 easy 5 0 0 long 14
15 0 easy 5 med 10  easy 5 0 0 long 20
16 0 easy 5 med 8 easy 5 0 0 10k race
17 0 easy 4 med 6 easy 4 0 0 long 8
18 0 easy 3 easy 4 0 0 easy 1-3 MARATHON

     * If your just training for the marathon on Saturday throw in 1 hour of cross training.

 Some things to keep in mind:

  1. Long Runs get you to the finish line
  2. Rest Days prevent injury
  3. Cross Training lets you work while you rest
  4. Pace Training. Take your best 10k time multiply it by 4.65 to predict your marathon time. Then divide that by 26.2 miles. That should be your marathon pace. Do your long runs at that pace, NO FASTER.. 
  5. Do a little speed training. 
  6. Total weekly mileage for 1st timers should be about double the length of your long run. Be careful not to over train. 
  7. Racing build experience
  8. The taper is the time to recover and refuel for peak performance.
  9. The last and most important thing , HAVE FUN!!!! 
 

 

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Last modified: May 19, 2000