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Beginning Marathon Program
Well, the fall marathons
are fast approaching and time is of the essence. We promised
to have some basic programs up on the site, and asked for your
feedback. The majority of responses that we got were from people
who currently run around 9-10 minute miles, and hope to finish
a marathon in under 5 hours or 4:30 minutes. So since time is
short this fall, that is the only marathon program we will be
having, unless a whole bunch of people fill out the forms in
the next week.
We decided that instead of presenting
a canned program that it would be best to design the program
for one individual in mind. Thus, this program is specifically
being designed for Nicole, a 30 year-old, who has been running
for 2 years. She did last year's Marine Corps Marathon, but "did
everything wrong". This year she wants to finish under 5
hours. We think that's reasonable, although time is important
since Marine Corps is only 11 weeks away.
Although this program is being designed
for Nicole, we will make the version we put on the web general
enough for everyone who is similar to her. Nicole runs 3-4 days
a week for about 45 minutes, and has been doing long runs of
10 miles. If you can not do this comfortably, we recommend you
wait until the spring to do a marathon.
So, week by week we will put up a
schedule here. Soon (next week) we'll have it so you can put
in how many weeks away your marathon is and get the proper week.
If you send us an email at letsrun@letsrun.com, we might be able
email you the schedule. Be sure to include, the date of your
marathon.
The basics of the program, are running
3-4 days a week with one longer run every week, and one run at
a slightly faster pace than you usually jog. Generally, every
other week will have the longest long run, with the long run
in the weeks between being shorter.The longest runs will grow
from 12-13 miles to 20-21 miles or (3 hour s and 30 minutes which
ever comes first.
Week 1 of 11
| Day |
Training |
Total mileage |
| 1 |
Light cross-training (20 minutes). It is good
to do something after a longer run to shakeout the body. |
0 |
| 2 |
Easy run of 4.5 miles or 45 minutes. If you're
feeling up to it, put in 4 to 6 strides at the end of the run
when you're done or near the end. Strides are when you pick up
the pace to a speed that is faster, but comfortable and you can
hold for 20-30 seconds. Rest (walk or jog) between each one until
you're comfortable. Strides are an wasy way for your body to
run at a faster speed. |
4.5 |
| 3 |
Off |
0 |
| 4 |
45 minutes total. This will be our one
day of running with an emphasis on running at a faster pace for
a longer length of time. Do about a 8-10 minute warm up. Then
do 6 * 3 minutes at a pace about a minute faster than you usually
jog. Jog at a very slow pace (or walk between each one) for 2
minutes. You don't have to exactly time these intervals, just
go at a pace faster than you normally jog and what you feel you
can hold for 3 minutes. If you can only do 4 of these, it means
you ran to fast. Don't force the last 2, just jog the rest of
the time. Do a 7-9 minute cooldown. |
4-5 |
| 5 |
Optional run (30-45 minutes) or cross train |
3-5 optional |
| 6 |
Off (if you like to run on both days on the weekend,
you could move day 5 here). Then, it might be best to only run
20 minutes with 4-6 strides since you should rest up for the
long run tomorrow. |
optional |
| 7 |
Long run. 12-13 miles. The key here is to get
in the distance. Don't go at a pace that will prevent you from
going the full distance. Try and drink water or a sports drink
every few miles, especially if its hot. You need to the fluids
and need to get used to drinking while excercising. You can walk
while you drink if you want. |
12-13 |
Click here for Week2
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