Marathon Training for Advanced Runners
If you're accustomed to running 35-40 miles a week and
are looking to qualify for the Boston marathon, this is
the training plan for you.
What makes you a competitive runner? Is it your devotion
to pre-dawn or post-work training runs, no matter what
the weather conditions are? Or perhaps it's more an
attitude, or the fact that you strive to place at the
top of your age group.
No matter how you size it up, competitive runners wear a
stopwatch with a different set of goals and
expectations. Sometimes it's a PR (personal best) or
age-group win; or maybe even a combination of the two.
One thing we know for sure is that the competitor
approaches the start line with a mission.
The following official Runner's World Marathon Training
Program has been designed specifically for the
competitive runner. This program makes it easy to see
how many miles you need to run--and how hard you need
to run them--week by week. As your goal time becomes
faster, the more variables like weather and proper
nutrition can have an impact on the outcome of your
marathon. But there's no guesswork in your day to day
training here. If you follow the program, you should
arrive at the start line well prepared marathon morning.
At the end of this "Marathon Training for Advanced
Runners" program you will find a simple glossary that
explains basic terms used in the program. Be sure to
review the glossary before you start, as it will answer
many of your questions.
Week - 1 = 40 MILES MEDIUM
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
5-EZ6-T7-EZ6-T6-EZR10-LSD
Week - 2 = 44 MILESHARD
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
5-EZ6-T7-EZ6-T8-EZR12-LSD
Week - 3 = 48 MILESHARD
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
5-EZ8-EZ5-EZ8-T8-EZR14-LSD
Week - 4 = 40 MILESMEDIUM
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
4-EZ7-EZ5-RE6-EZ7-TR11-LSD
Week - 5 = 45-50 MILESHARD
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
5-EZ6-RE5-EZ8-T5-EZ5-EZ/R16-LSD
Week - 6 = 49-54 MILESHARD
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
5-EZ6-RE5-EZ9-T6-EZ5-EZ/R18-LSD
Week - 7 = 52-57 MILESHARD
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
5-EZ6-RE5-EZ10-T6-EZ5-EZ/R20-LSD
Week - 8 = 48 MILESMEDIUM
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
4-EZ8-EZ12-T6-EZ8-EZR10-RACE
Week - 9 = 51-56 MILESHARD
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
4-EZ7-EZ12-T5-EZ/R7-EZ3-EZ18-LSD
Week - 10 = 56-60 MILESHARD
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
4-EZ7-RE4-EZ13-T7-EZ4-EZ/R21-LSD
Week - 11 = 55-60 MILESHARD
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
5-EZ7-RE6-EZ13-T6-EZ5-EZ/R18-LSD
Week - 12 = 48 MILESMEDIUM
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
5-EZ7-RE7-EZ10-T6-EZR13-RACE
Week - 13 - 57-60 MILESHARD
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
3-EZ8-EZ7-REP8-EZ10-T3-EZ/R21-LSD
Week - 14 = 39-43 MILESMEDIUM
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri. Sat. Sun.
R 6-EZ 6-REP 5-EZ 8-T 4-EZ/R 14-LSD
Week - 15 = 31-35 MILESMEDIUM
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
4-EZ5-REP8-EZ5-REPR5-RACE4-8-EZ
Week - 16 = 15 MILES (41 WITH MARATHON)EASY
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
R 4-REp 5-EZ 4-EZ R 2-EZ 26.2-RACE
Glossary of Training Terms and Symbols
R: Rest day. Do no running or other strenuous physical
activity.
EZ: An easy or recovery run done at a comfortable
pace.
XT: Cross training that can include any one of a
number of low-impact sports (i.e. bicycling, swimming,
hiking, exercise machines, weight training) that burn
calories and provide cardiovascular benefits while
giving you a physical and mental break from running.
LSD: Long slow distance runs of 1 to 3 hours in
duration. These runs may include brief breaks for
walking, stretching, rehydration, and bathroom visits.
Beginners often cover these runs at their goal
marathon pace. Intermediate and Advanced runners
often start at a pace slower than their goal marathon
pace and finish at slightly faster than goal marathon pace.
T: Tempo runs of 15-25 minutes at a pace that's 10-20
seconds slower per mile than your 10-K race pace.
Warmup and cooldown distances are included in daily
mileage.
RE: Repeats of 400 meters to 1600 meters at your 5-K
race pace. You should run your repeats on a 400-meter
track, a grassy field, a smooth path, or a
traffic-free stretch of road. Between repeats, jog
half the distance covered during the repeat. Repeat
day distances include warmup, cooldown, and recovery
mileage.
RACE: Occasional racing improves your fitness and
accustoms you to the stresses of racing.
If you're accustomed to running 35-40 miles a week and
are looking to qualify for the Boston marathon, this is
the training plan for you.
What makes you a competitive runner? Is it your devotion
to pre-dawn or post-work training runs, no matter what
the weather conditions are? Or perhaps it's more an
attitude, or the fact that you strive to place at the
top of your age group.
No matter how you size it up, competitive runners wear a
stopwatch with a different set of goals and
expectations. Sometimes it's a PR (personal best) or
age-group win; or maybe even a combination of the two.
One thing we know for sure is that the competitor
approaches the start line with a mission.
The following official Runner's World Marathon Training
Program has been designed specifically for the
competitive runner. This program makes it easy to see
how many miles you need to run--and how hard you need
to run them--week by week. As your goal time becomes
faster, the more variables like weather and proper
nutrition can have an impact on the outcome of your
marathon. But there's no guesswork in your day to day
training here. If you follow the program, you should
arrive at the start line well prepared marathon morning.
At the end of this "Marathon Training for Advanced
Runners" program you will find a simple glossary that
explains basic terms used in the program. Be sure to
review the glossary before you start, as it will answer
many of your questions.
Week - 1 = 40 MILES MEDIUM
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
5-EZ6-T7-EZ6-T6-EZR10-LSD
Week - 2 = 44 MILESHARD
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
5-EZ6-T7-EZ6-T8-EZR12-LSD
Week - 3 = 48 MILESHARD
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
5-EZ8-EZ5-EZ8-T8-EZR14-LSD
Week - 4 = 40 MILESMEDIUM
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
4-EZ7-EZ5-RE6-EZ7-TR11-LSD
Week - 5 = 45-50 MILESHARD
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
5-EZ6-RE5-EZ8-T5-EZ5-EZ/R16-LSD
Week - 6 = 49-54 MILESHARD
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
5-EZ6-RE5-EZ9-T6-EZ5-EZ/R18-LSD
Week - 7 = 52-57 MILESHARD
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
5-EZ6-RE5-EZ10-T6-EZ5-EZ/R20-LSD
Week - 8 = 48 MILESMEDIUM
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
4-EZ8-EZ12-T6-EZ8-EZR10-RACE
Week - 9 = 51-56 MILESHARD
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
4-EZ7-EZ12-T5-EZ/R7-EZ3-EZ18-LSD
Week - 10 = 56-60 MILESHARD
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
4-EZ7-RE4-EZ13-T7-EZ4-EZ/R21-LSD
Week - 11 = 55-60 MILESHARD
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
5-EZ7-RE6-EZ13-T6-EZ5-EZ/R18-LSD
Week - 12 = 48 MILESMEDIUM
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
5-EZ7-RE7-EZ10-T6-EZR13-RACE
Week - 13 - 57-60 MILESHARD
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
3-EZ8-EZ7-REP8-EZ10-T3-EZ/R21-LSD
Week - 14 = 39-43 MILESMEDIUM
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri. Sat. Sun.
R 6-EZ 6-REP 5-EZ 8-T 4-EZ/R 14-LSD
Week - 15 = 31-35 MILESMEDIUM
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
4-EZ5-REP8-EZ5-REPR5-RACE4-8-EZ
Week - 16 = 15 MILES (41 WITH MARATHON)EASY
Mon.Tues.Weds.Thur.Fri.Sat.Sun.
R 4-REp 5-EZ 4-EZ R 2-EZ 26.2-RACE
Glossary of Training Terms and Symbols
R: Rest day. Do no running or other strenuous physical
activity.
EZ: An easy or recovery run done at a comfortable
pace.
XT: Cross training that can include any one of a
number of low-impact sports (i.e. bicycling, swimming,
hiking, exercise machines, weight training) that burn
calories and provide cardiovascular benefits while
giving you a physical and mental break from running.
LSD: Long slow distance runs of 1 to 3 hours in
duration. These runs may include brief breaks for
walking, stretching, rehydration, and bathroom visits.
Beginners often cover these runs at their goal
marathon pace. Intermediate and Advanced runners
often start at a pace slower than their goal marathon
pace and finish at slightly faster than goal marathon pace.
T: Tempo runs of 15-25 minutes at a pace that's 10-20
seconds slower per mile than your 10-K race pace.
Warmup and cooldown distances are included in daily
mileage.
RE: Repeats of 400 meters to 1600 meters at your 5-K
race pace. You should run your repeats on a 400-meter
track, a grassy field, a smooth path, or a
traffic-free stretch of road. Between repeats, jog
half the distance covered during the repeat. Repeat
day distances include warmup, cooldown, and recovery
mileage.
RACE: Occasional racing improves your fitness and
accustoms you to the stresses of racing.
| This training program and more at: www.runnersworld.com |
| "I've used this program and thought that it included all the elements for success!" Dennis K. |