24 Week Marathon Training Plan

* WU/CD. Warm up and cool down. 10-15min easy pace running followed by dynamic stretching, usually 15-25min total. I highly recommend doing at least the 10-15min easy running if you’re short on time. This is meant to get you ready for a run at faster than your easy pace. It increases blood flow to muscles and as I like to say “primes the system for hard work.“

* Tempo Run Guidelines. A tempo run is meant to get you close to your lactate threshold but not go over. It should be a comfortably hard effort that you could maintain for 10-20min past the end of the run. You should not be straining to achieve the desired effort. This run is best done by monitoring your heart rate to 87-92% of your maximum heart rate. These should be done on a flat course.

* Easy Hilly Run. I’m a huge proponent of adding a lot of hill running into a marathon training plan. It helps give you the strength you need to finish out a successful marathon. Easy means easy. Keeping your heart rate or effort in the easy range while running significant elevation gain. You may have to re-calibrate what you think is a hill. If possible, you would achieve 1,000-1,500ft of elevation gain with an 8-10 mile run.

* Progression Runs. A progression run starts out easy and progressively gets faster until you finish the last few miles at about tempo effort. Usually broken down to 1/3 easy pace, 1/3 progression dropping about 10-15sec/mi, 1/3 at tempo effort. These can be done on flat to rolling courses.

* Easy Runs. Easy runs are meant to be EASY. Yes, they feel slow. Yes, I know you can go faster. That’s not the point. Take your time. Run for time if that helps you slow down. Keep these to 65-75% of your maximum heart rate and very conversational. Most in this chart do not have mileage because you’ll fill in your weekly mileage using easy runs of varying distance based on how much your target weekly mileage is.

* 1st Target Race. Half Marathon. As we progress through the 6 month marathon training plan it is often a good idea to test your fitness using a race. The half marathon at the 12-week point is meant to help you stay motivated and on target with your training. It can also help you to figure out your current training paces as it gives you a training marker to start from.

* MP (Marathon Pace) Workout. This workout is to get you familiar with your marathon pace. It will be similar to your tempo effort +5-10sec. You should feel pretty comfortable for the full 2 miles but it will start to get tough on the last interval. Keep an even pace and do this on a course similar in profile to your target marathon.

* Structured Long Runs. These are long runs that have a specific purpose and structure to the mileage, pace, or both. They are meant to not just get you to the finish line of a marathon but to adapt your body to some of the discomfort you will feel later in the race by having to push your body when it is already tired.

* Target Marathon Race. At this point, you’ve put in the work and you’re ready for your race. Preparing correctly does not guarantee that the race will go well or that it will be easy. Races are never easy and never get easier. They only get faster. Hopefully the training has been hard but rewarding in prepping your body to go the distance and that it will result in a performance that you are happy with.