Anyone have any success with 9 or 10 Day Training Cycles? 7 Days is not great.

I say go for it.

I did the exact thing during the winter building up for and training for a marathon. I went into the race feeling amazing and ran a 13 minute PR. I did this for only 16 weeks.

Interesting. Would you be willing to paste an example of a 10 day block?

ALH359 wrote:

I say go for it.

I did the exact thing during the winter building up for and training for a marathon. I went into the race feeling amazing and ran a 13 minute PR. I did this for only 16 weeks.

Bump

What are you training for? With the marathon and the workouts being so long its a great idea and more the Hansons approach if you want to check out their book. With three hard days a week I like this pattern: intervals, easy, easy, tempo, short recovery run, LR, easy.

I'm pretty sure meb Keflezighi uses a 9 day training cycle. You can look up what he does and model your training off of that.

I recently completed a 15-week half-marathon program that I set up on a nine-day cycle:

Long run, Off, Easy, VO2max repeats, Easy, Secondary long run, Easy, Lactate threshold workout (repeats or tempo run), Easy.

During the training, I set an age-graded 5K PR and at the end, reached my Half Marathon goal (a modest 1:28 ... but I am 57 years old). I am working up a similar schedule now, looking toward an age-graded Marathon PR attempt in October.

Tries New Things wrote:

Will probably just do a double on days when the long run falls on a weekday.

That's not a long run. I did 5 workouts in 14 day cycles. I had to fit my running around my life, instead of my life around running.

Hi Allen, could you give a little more detail about your half marathon plan, I have just started to experiment with a 9 day training cycle and would also like to improve my half time, although if I could get your modest 1:28 plus 10 I would be a happy man, I will be 50 near year, thanks

Dave, my half-marathon training plan was based on this nine-day cycle:

Day 1: Long Run

Day 2: Off

Day 3: VO2-max workout

Day 4: Easy/Recovery

Day 5: Secondary Long Run

Day 6: Off

Day 7: Easy/Recovery w/strides

Day 8: Lactate Threshold workout

Day 9: Easy/Recovery

This is how it worked out in real life:

JAN 9-15

VO2max: 2-mi warmup; 5 x 880y w/2 min walk/jog recoveries: 3:10, 3:09, 3:06, 3:08, 3:06; 2-mi cooldown

Off: Off

LR2: 10.0 miles @ 8:11/mi, finishing with 7:58, 7:20, 7:16, 7:04

Easy: 5.0 miles @ 9:10/mi

Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:56 w/6 x 100y strides

LT: 1-mi warmup; 3.6 miles @ 6:55/mi; .5-mi cooldown

Easy: 5.0 miles @ 8:50/mi

.

JAN 16-22

LR: 13.5 miles @ 7:56/mi

Off

Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:37/mi

VO2max: 2.6-mi warmup; 5 x 2:50 hill w/4:50 jog recoveries; 1.5-mi cooldown

Easy: 5.0 miles @ 8:50/mi

LR2: 10.0 miles @ 7:25/mi

Easy: 5.0 miles @ 8:50/mi

.

JAN 23-29

LT: 1.5-mi warmup; 2 x 2 miles w/3 min jog recovery: @ 6:58/mi, @ 6:48/mi; 1.5-mi cooldown

Easy: 5.0 miles @ 8:44/mi

LR: 13.7 miles @ 8:12/mi

Off

Easy: 3.1 miles @ 8:10/mi w/2 x 60y strides

Easy: 2.0 miles @ 9:15/mi w/2 x 60y strides

VO2max: 2 mile warmup; 5K race @ 6:26/mi (19:48)

.

JAN 30 - FEB 5

LR: 12.0 miles @ 7:48/mi

Off

Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:23/mi w/3 x 100y strides

Easy: 4.0 miles @ 8:24/mi w/2 x 100y strides

Easy: 3.0 miles @ 8:48/mi w/1 x 100y strides

LT: 1.5-mile warmup; 10-mile race @ 6:45/mi (1:07:27)

Easy 4.0 miles @ 8:31/mi

.

FEB 6-12

Off

VO2max: 1.5-mi warmup; 6 x 880y w/2:20 walk/jog recoveries: 3:15, 3:13, 3:12, 3:11, 3:12, 3:10; 1.5-mi cooldown

Easy: 7.0 miles @ 9:02/mi

Off

LR: 15.2 miles @ 7:49/mi (Miles 11-14: 7:27, 7:22, 7:16, 6:50)

Easy: 4.0 miles @ 9:00/mi

Easy: Bike 23.1 miles @ 17.4 mph

.

FEB 13-19

LT:1.5 mi warmup; 2 x 2 miles w/3 min jog recovery: 6:39 avg, 6:25 avg; 1.5 mi cooldown

Easy: 4.6 miles @ 8:08 w/1-min uphill stride

LR2: 12.0 miles @ 7:34/mi (Miles 8-14: 7:07, 6:44, 6:44, 6:31)

Easy: Bike 24 miles @ 18.4 mph

VO2max: 1.5 mi warmup; 3 x 1 mile w/4min walk/jog recoveries: 6:24, 6:24, 6:17; 2.5 mi cooldown

Off

Easy: 4.6 miles @ 8:32/mi

.

FEB 20-26

LR:15.2 miles @ 7:57/mi (even pace)

Off

Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:51/mi

VO2max: 2 mile warmup; 5 x 3min hill w/4:20 jog recoveries; 1.5 mile cooldown

Off

LR2: 12.0 miles @ 7:57/mi (even pace)

Easy: 4.0 miles @ 9:45/mi

.

FEB 27 - MAR 5

LT: 1.5 mile warmup; 4.0 miles @ 6:40/mi; 1.9 mile cooldown

Easy: 4.5 miles @ 8:38/mi

Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:51/mi

LR: 2 mile warmup; 5 x 3min hill w/4:20 jog recoveries; 1.5 mile cooldown

Off

LR2: 12.0 miles @ 7:57/mi (even pace)

Easy: 4.0 miles @ 9:45/mi

.

MAR 6-12

LR2: 13.5 mi @ 7:48/mi

Off

Off

LT: 1 mile warmup; 5 x 5min @ threshold w/90sec jog recoveries; 1.6 mile cooldown

LR: 16.9 mi @ 7:50/mi

Off

Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:25/mi w/6 x 100y strides

.

MARCH 13-19

VO2max: 2 mile warmup; 3 x 1 mile @ 6:32, 6:28, 6:20 with 5min walk/jog recoveries

Off

Off

LT: 1 mile warmup; 5 x 5min @ threshold w/90sec jog recoveries; 1.6 mile cooldown

LR: 16.9 mi @ 7:50/mi

Off

Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:25/mi w/6 x 100y strides

.

MARCH 20-26

VO2max: 2 mile warmup; 3 x 1 mile @ 6:32, 6:28, 6:20 with 5min walk/jog recoveries

Easy: Bike 25.0 miles @ 17.8 mph

LR2: 15.2 miles @ 8:28/mi

Easy: 5.0 miles @ 8:07/mi

LT: 2 miles warmup; 5.0 miles @6:58 mi; 2 miles cooldown

Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:30/mi

Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:22/mi w/5 x 100y strides

.

MARCH 27-APRIL 2

LR: 20.0 miles @ 7:49/mi

Off

LT: 1.5-mi warmup; 3 x 1.5 miles w/2min recoveries: 10:08, 9:45, 9:38; 2-mi cooldown

Easy: 4.0 miles @ 8:21/mi w/3 x 1min @ 5K race pace

Easy: 3.0 miles @ 9:23/mi w/2 x 1min @ 5K race pace

Easy: 3.0 miles @ 11:10/mi w/1 min @ 5K race pace

VO2max: 2.1-mi warmup; 5K Race - 18:57(6:06/mi)

.

APRIL 3-9

Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:24/mi

Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:19/mi w/6 x 100y strides

LR: 20.0 miles @ 7:41/mi (7:27/mi 11-20)

Off

LT: 2-mi warmup; 5 miles @ 6:55/mi; 2-mi cooldown

Easy: 8.4 miles @ 9:30/mi

LR2: 12.0 miles @ 7:19/mi

.

APRIL 10-16

Easy: Bike 23.8 miles @ 18.8 mph

Easy: 5.8 miles @ 9:08/mi

VO2max: 1.6-mi warmup; 4 x 1 mile w/4min recoveries @ 6:19, 6:15, 6:12, 6:07; 1.6-mi cooldown

Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:43/mi

LR: 17.9 miles @ 7:39/mi (last 7mi @ 7:09/mi)

Easy: Bike 13.9 miles @ 19.8 mph

Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:31/mi

.

APRIL 17-23

Off

LT: 1.5-mi warmup; 3 x 2 miles w/2min recoveries @ (6:39-6:36), (6:31-6:28), (6:28-6:25); 1.5-mi cooldown

Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:01/mi

LR: 12.0 miles @ 7:42/mi

Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:58/mi

VO2max: 3-mi warmup; 3 x 1 mile w/3min recoveries @ 6:18, 6:16, 6:00; 2-mi cooldown

Easy: 4.0 miles @ 8:14/mi

.

APRIL 23-30

Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:06

LR: 7.8 miles @ 7:27/mi

Easy: 4.0 miles @ 9:35/mi

Offknee pain

Easy: 3.0 miles @ 8:46/mi w/2 x 1min @ 10K pace

Easy:knee pain

Race: Half Marathon - 1:28:41 (6:46/mi)

The half-marathon included a 52-second potty break at 7 miles ... and that knee pain noted in the last week never went away. Training the rest of the season suffered. Still, I ran 59:59 15K (6:26/mi) during the summer, and 3:07:23 marathon (7:08/mile) in the autumn (Age 58).

Have fun! Best wishes.

Thank you Allen, great detail, much appreciated Sir!!