Marathon Training (Read 705 times)

I am guessing it's your first. Just run lots. Run slowly, save speed for race day. You can work on other things after you get your first one under your belt. If you are new to the running thing, the first marathon should be for fun. You can do a medium long run in the middle of the week if you want to, you also don't have to take days off unless you want to. Marathon training is really flexible.

The most common theme would be to do consistent miles every week at a pace that your body can deal with. I think you may gain some training advantage by doing a few more miles per week and this could quite easily be achieved by gradually increasing some of those shorter runs to 6 miles. Settle on a plan that works for you, your body and your lifestyle/circumstances. That will only become obvious after some experience of training. Having peeked at your log I don't think you are going to have any trouble doing a marathon - you've already done an 18 miler at 9.45 pace. Doing what feels right for you is the most important thing but you might also want to check out your suggested training paces by putting a recent race time into this calculator - http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/Running%20University/Article%201/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm Advise alert - I will not be doing my first Marathon until 2009 but after some consistent training this is what I have currently settled on - Day 1 - 7 miles (easy) Day 2 - 10 miles (inc. 4-6 @ tempo - rest easy) Day 3 - 7 miles (easy) Day 4 - 13 miles (easy) Day 5 - 7 miles (easy) Day 6 - 16 miles - building up to 20 (easy) Day 7 - Day Off This is tailored to me of course based on some experience of what I can handle. I may take an easier week if my body complains too much. Best of luck with your goals.

It sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what's required. One thing I would do differently is use the hard week/easy week approach and do a long run every other week rather than every week. The extra recovery time will be very helpful when your long runs get over 20 miles. I also agree with Willamona that high week mileage is key. Your peak weekly mileage should be at least 50 mpw even for a first marathon. I would also suggest at least three 20-22 mile long runs to get your body burning more fat and less glycogen. Tom

I wouldn't kill myself on getting X amount of milage per week. Find a plan (it sounds like this may be your 1st) for novices and use it as a guideline. Your body will repsond tro proper training. Do your LONG runs. Runners world did an articla recently on amout of mileage needed for "mortals" at differnt races. 30-50 was average for marathon.