marathon training plan — Blog — Just Keep Running Blog

It's FRIYAY! I hope you have a weekend full of fun scheduled. I know one thing that we will definitely be doing come Sunday July 1st- eating pizza! We made a pact this month to not eat any pizza (it got to be to the point where we were having it at least once a week and that's just a lot of pizza/ kinda being a bit too lazy with meals I felt like (which is fine every once and a while, but I don't think every week is the best habit)) and it's finally almost over! YUM.

I wanted to share with you the training plan I put together for the Vegas Rock 'n Roll Marathon (November)! I'm SO excited to be running this race again and can't wait to crush some goals along the way of my training! Like I said before, I melded two different training programs together to form my own plan (based off of my past experiences with training cycles/ what I thought I needed to really hit upcoming BQ goals in 2019).

Here are some things that I knew I wanted in my training program:

Several 20 mile long runs with marathon-based miles in the middle
Peaking in the high 60s for several training weeks
Doing 2 longer runs (over 11 miles) each week
Giving me room in my schedule to still fit-in strength training 3x/ week
Sundays off
Half Marathon in the late Fall with a PR of 1:50 or better in mind
Marathon PR hitting below 3:40

So, with these in mind here are what my calendars look like! I added in both my 50k & Lake Powell Half in October and also have rest included surrounding those races. I used my "goal" marathon time as a 3:35 to ensure that I would get under my 3:40 time goal that I set for 2018. I wanted to set myself up to obtain a 3:30 marathon BQ in late Spring 2019 (my big goal is to run Boston in 2020 before I turn 30)! Yes, I plan that far in advance ; )

July includes my first Ultra and I'll peak in the mid-to-upper 40s later in the month, along with plenty of rest days built in after my race (and a taper beforehand).

August stays mainly in the low 50s with the last week of the month peeking into the upper 50s. I will increase my long runs to 14/15 miles with some middle tempo (marathon paced) miles in the middle.

September includes 2 x 20 mile long runs and I'll start dipping into the low/ mid 60 mile weeks (every other). My long run goals will be to do a progression run (to work on negative-splitting) and also hit some marathon/ faster than marathon-paced m… — September includes 2 x 20 mile long runs and I'll start dipping into the low/ mid 60 mile weeks (every other). My long run goals will be to do a progression run (to work on negative-splitting) and also hit some marathon/ faster than marathon-paced miles. That is where I would most struggle in the marathon-> when I would get "tired" my legs would revert back to my "easier paced" long run times versus stay with my "marathon paced" times. I wanted to be sure my body could still hang on to those paces even when I was exhausted.

October I begin to taper a bit and also include my Lake Powell Half Marathon, where I'll try to sustain my tempo miles for 10.5 miles. I think this plan will get me under 1:50 for the half, but no matter what- it will be great practice for race day!

Race month! I really only have a week and a half of running before my race, so it is mainly just filled with easy runs and one last track workout on Thursday.

What would your ideal training plan or schedule look like?

My hope is to do my longer runs on Tuesdays after work to simulate the later start of the Vegas Marathon (as well as just give me more time to get it done). I also hope to do strength training on my harder workout days to really fatigue my legs and keep my easy days truly "easy". It will be hard (somedays it will be really hard), but I'm ready for the challenge. I also hope to do Yoga on Sundays to recover. Tues/ Thurs/ Sat. will be my strength training days.

What are you up to this weekend?!? --> Hoping to explore a new trail and possibly go camping! We will see...