Monday: This marathon training schedule is for Intermediate-II runners, those individuals seeking to improve their Personal Records. It is similar to the schedule designed for Intermediate-I runners, but it features somewhat more mileage and three 20-milers toward the end of the program instead of two. Use each Monday as a day of comparative rest to recuperate from the long runs you will be doing on Sundays under this training program. Notice that I said "comparative" rest. As an Intermediate-II runner, you don't get Mondays off as do the Novice runners. Mondays are reserved for cross-training. Swimming, cycling, walking: The choice is up to you. But make this an easy day. Don't turn this into an intensive workout under the mistaken belief that it will make you more fit; the opposite may prove true if you overtrain.  As you cross-train for about a half hour today, contemplate the 18 weeks of running ahead of you.

Tuesday: Run 3 miles at a comfortable pace. Over the next 18 weeks, you will add only a few miles to your Tuesday workouts. In Week 7, you'll move up to 4 miles. In week 11, you'll be up to 5 miles. By that time, you'll be so used to doing much longer runs on Wednesdays and Saturdays that a run of that distance will seem easy. It's all part of the progressive buildup of total mileage designed to get you ready to run 26 miles. Don't be tempted to push the pace. Undertraining is often better than Overtraining.

Wednesday: Five miles, a couple of miles more than yesterday. As the countdown continues, your Wednesday mileage will increase gradually from 5 miles in Week 18 to 10 miles in Week 8. This midweek workout is what I call a "sorta long" run, done midweek at longer distances than usual, but not as long as the weekend long runs. Feel free to punch the acceleration button if you're feeling good, particularly toward the end of the workout. 

Thursday: Run the same workout that you did on Tuesday: 3 miles, comfortable pace. Follow the run by doing some stretching and strength training for about 15-30 minutes. Go to my web site, where Olympic Trails qualifier Cathy Vasto offers Six Spectacular Strength Exercises and Physical Therapist Debbie Pitchford provides Five Fantastic Stretching Exercises. This might be a good workout to do in a health club, since you can do your 3-miler on a treadmill before heading to the weight room. 

Friday: A day of rest to get ready for the weekend. Each Friday, as the marathon countdown continues, you will be asked to rest. Notice I said "rest," not cross-train or play a pickup basketball game or do something else that might get you injured. In this training schedule, the Saturday/Sunday combination will test your body's reserves, so you need to be well rested going into the weekend. By the way, in the Novice schedules for this day, I libeled Intermediate runners saying that being compulsive, not all of you listen to my advice. So prove me a liar: Do listen! 

Saturday: Five miles at marathon pace. You need to implant in your mind what it feels like to run the exact pace needed to meet your goal on marathon day. Pick a measured course where you can catch your time each mile. Measure the course yourself or run on a track if necessary. Or enter a 10-K road race with the intention of ignoring the competition and running 5 of its miles at what will seem like a slow (marathon) pace. Revisit the introductory screen for Intermediate runners for more directions on how to do "Pace" workouts.

Sunday: In the Intermediate-II schedule, the long runs are on Sundays. If necessary, you can flip-flop your workouts and run long on Saturdays, but it's usually easier to go from fast to long than the other way around. If your work schedule dictates, you can do your long runs on any day of the week. In general, however, I would rather see you do pace work Saturdays followed by the long run on Sundays. Run 10 miles today. Over a period of weeks, you will build to the point where you will run three 20-milers over a period of five weeks at the peak of your training.

 

Running Tips: With the marathon 18 weeks away, plan the training now that will permit you success. Marathon training works best if you start easy and build gradually: A long run of 10 miles in June becomes 20 miles in September. Most important at this time is to establish a goal, whether that goal is to finish or to run fast. Once that goal is chosen, everything else will fall in place.

How to Improve: Hal Higdon's Smart Running is a collections of questions and answers from his on-line Ask The Expert column. It covers everything you wanted to know about running, but were afraid to ask. To order an autographed copy of this and other books by Runner's World's best writer go to Books by Hal Higdon.

Copyright © 2000 by Hal Higdon. All rights reserved.