Marathon training, Cadence and Training Plan

180 cadence is just great. Definitely not too fast. I just did a marathon and that was my avg cadence. Most of my runs are around 175 or 176, though the faster sessions are around 180-182. It is a preference thing, more than anything, but if you're in the range of around 170 to 185 you are just fine.

If you're consistent over the next few months, sub 3:30 is probably doable.

As for that plan, I'm not personally a fan. I don't like the minimal approach and doing almost all your runs as workouts (save the early portion of the long run). There are so many aerobic and strength adaptations with running slow on the off days. And while some people are successful with those kinds of plans, they usually could be far more successful with a different plan.

For me, a minimum of 5 days a week is necessary to be strong enough late in the marathon. 6 is better. If you want a slightly minimal approach but still like the idea of the workouts in that blog (but with more thoughtful progression), check out the Hanson's Marathon plan.

Out of curiosity, what was your 1:35 half training like ? How many days a week? Miles per week?

Did you read a single post on this site? Are you insane?

rufingkidding me wrote:

Did you read a single post on this site? Are you insane?

Hi Keepgoing.

Thanks for the reply. My work colleague recommended this for me although I was dubious looking at the forums online. I was going to go for this + a bit:

http://www.petewilcock.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/ASICS_TRAININGPLANS_Sub-3.30.pdf

I'll take on board what you have said and push for more. I'll probably go for something like this for next week:

Monday: REST

Tuesday: 6-8 miles tempo run. Running at 7:45Miles/Min

Wednesday: 6-10 miles slow run 150-160 HR

Thursday: Yaso 800 around 4 Miles at 7:00 Miles/Min

Friday: REST

Saturday: Park Run

Sunday: Long run 2+ hrs slowly, I'll aim to keep my heart rate 150-160.

I'll do this and slowly increase the mileage from 35 miles to 55 slowly over the next 10 weeks so i add 2 miles per week onto various stuff.

Does this sound a better and is there anything you would change?

For my 1:35 I had done the London marathon about 3 months before, I was under trained but pushed through (very painful and i gave it 100%). I then joined the running club and would run 6-8 miles 3 times a week. We did some speed work mixed in. So tbh not as much as I should have. Another goal I would love to do is break 1:30.

Btw thanks for all the replies it means alot :)

Well, I'm happy to think about training like this, but don't put too much stock into what I think. I'm just a dude on the internet. But over the years of training and reading about training I've come to gravitate towards two main principles. 1. Do the training that makes you happiest and that you believe is making you better. 2. Run as many miles as your mind and body want to and are capable of handling (that second part is really important to pay attention to).

With that in mind, the Asics plan looks quite good. It has you running about 5 days a week, there is a mix of intervals, tempos, lots of easy pace runs and some MP runs. It's the kind of plan that should get most people to the start line in good shape but not overly beat up. If you are feeling like you're doing too much, drop an interval day from any given week. If you want to do a little more, add a couple easy miles onto those warmups and cooldowns, or just easy miles to the easy days.

I personally like it better than the Sub-3 blog post plan because that one has you running only 3 days a week but they're kind of all hard(ish) runs. But that works for some people. That is partly why programs like Run Less Run Faster are popular. But these plans can be really hard on the body. Since you didn't train all that hard leading up to your 1:35 half and London Marathon, I think it would be better to just run more miles and get more time on your feet than it would be to do more workouts and more fast miles.

And that brings me back to point 1 above. Settle on a program or training philosophy that sounds good to you. Stick to it through this marathon buildup and believe in it. After that, you can make subtle tweaks or try something totally different.

As for next week, that looks pretty decent. How did you determine your HR zone for those slow runs? Do you know your max? To me those seems moderately high, but HR can vary from person to person a little bit.

Hi Keepgoing,

Sorry for the late reply.

I thought the Asics plan looked good but my work colleague was pushing me towards the other plan and i thought it seemed a bit low on mileage from reading forums. Thanks for giving me the confidence and i'm happy with how things are going already (just got back from a 11 mile run).

My HR does tend to be on the higher side, I did some tempo work a week ago it got up to 200 just. And when i'm running easy 150-160 is my sweet spot.

Thanks for all your help and giving me the confidence with my plan. I'll reply to you in 6 months when the marathon is done to let you know :)