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TRAINING GUIDE
Your BestMarathon
There are countless marathon plans,ranging rom low-mileage beginner pro-grams to super-tough elite schedules. Eachhas virtues and drawbacks, but i you tookthe time to compare them, you wouldnt have time to
train. So we did the work or you. Here youll fnd a
complete marathon training guideincluding 16-
week plans or rookies and veteransbased on the
collective wisdom o leading coaches and the experts
oRunners World. So whether youre a frst-timer or a
seasoned runner hoping to qualiy or Boston, youll
fnd everything you need to run your best race ever.
Rules OfThe RoadBUILD GRADUALLY Increase your
mileage by no more than 10 percent ea
week to let your body adapt to the tra
Doing too much too soon can lead to i
GO LONG Do a long run each week
build your endurance, including three t
ve runs o 16 miles to 20 miles. Main
a conversational pacearound marathgoal pace or newer runners; seasoned
runners should take it between their g
pace and two minutes slower. Every o
week, try picking up the pace slightly
the last two to three miles o your lon
This will help you hit goal pace on race
even when youre atigued.
STAY FOCUSED Hal the battle o
ing isnt the running itsel; its nding
resolve to run day aer day. Set a rea
goal, post your plan where youll see i
train with a partner or a group, and tre
workouts as meetings you cant miss.
CROSS-TRAIN Activities like cyclin
and swimming on nonrunning days ca
help you stay t and injury-ree. Just k
the workouts short (less than an hour
low-intensity. Save your energy or ru
LOG QUALITY MILES I youre
shooting or a time goal, do quality
workouts once or twice a week. Tempo
runs, speedwork, and hills will help yo
develop your VO2 max, lactate thresh
and running economy.
ADD MILES ON EASY DAYS I yo
want to run longer than whats on the
plan, add miles on your easy days, not
days. You need rest days to recover a
quality workouts like long runs and sp
sessions, and to avoid injury and burn
TAPER Drop your mileage in the tw
our weeks beore the race so you can
your legs. Keep up the aster workout
you dont eel stale on race day.
THE TOP STRATEGIES,
TIPS, AND TRAININGPLANS TO PREPAREYOU FOR YOUR FIRSTOR FASTEST26.2 MILER
TRAINING PLANS INSIDE
r
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The Rookie PlanThis plan was designed by Dan Finanger, a marathon coach and national director o the Lie Time Fitness Running Club(lietimeftness.com). It is geared or frst-time marathoners and beginners who seldom run or race beyond six miles.
M T W T F S S TOTAL
1 XT up to 30 min Easy 3-4 miles Easy 2-3 miles Easy 3-4 miles Rest Easy 4-5 miles Easy 2-3 miles 14-19 miles
2 XT up to 30 min Easy 3-4 miles Easy 2-3 miles Easy 3-4 miles Rest Easy 5-6 miles Easy 2-3 miles 15-20 miles
3 XT up to 30 min Quality 4-5 miles Easy 2-3 miles Tempo 3-4 miles Rest Easy 6-7 miles Easy 2-3 miles 17-22 miles
4 XT up to 45 min Quality 4-5 miles Easy 3-4 miles Tempo 4-5 miles Rest Easy 7-8 miles Easy 2-3 miles 20-25 miles
5 XT up to 45 min Quality 5-6 miles Easy 3-4 miles Tempo 4-5 miles Rest Easy 8-9 miles Easy 2-3 miles 22-27 miles
6 XT up to 45 min Quality 5-6 miles Easy 3-4 miles Tempo 5-6 miles Rest Easy 10-11 miles Easy 2-3 miles 25-30 miles
7 XT up to 60 min Quality 6-7 miles Easy 3-4 miles Tempo 5-6 miles Rest Easy 11-12 miles Easy 3-4 miles 28-33 miles
8 XT up to 60 min Quality 7-8 miles Easy 3-4 miles Tempo 6-7 miles Rest Easy 13-14 miles Easy 3-4 miles 32-37 miles
9 XT up to 60 min Quality 7-8 miles Easy 4-5 miles Tempo 6-7 miles Rest Easy 10-11 miles Easy 3-4 miles 30-35 miles
10 XT up to 90 min Quality 7-8 miles Easy 4-5 miles Tempo 7-8 miles Rest Easy 15-16 miles Easy 2-3 miles 35-40 miles
11 XT up to 90 min Quality 6-7 miles Easy 4-5 miles Tempo 6-7 miles Rest Easy 17-18 miles Easy 2-3 miles 35-40 miles
12 XT up to 90 min Quality 7-8 miles Easy 4-5 miles Tempo 7-8 miles Rest Easy 14-15 miles Easy 3-4 miles 35-40 miles
13 XT up to 90 min Quality 7-8 miles Easy 3-4 miles Tempo 6-7 miles Rest Easy 20 miles Easy 2-3 miles 38-42 miles
14 XT up to 60 min Quality 6-7 miles Easy 3-4 miles Tempo 5-6 miles Rest Easy 14-15 miles Rest 28-32 miles
15 XT up to 45 min Quality 5-6 miles Easy 3-4 miles Tempo 4-5 miles Rest Easy 10-11 miles Rest 22-26 miles
16 XT up to 30 min Easy 4 miles Easy 3-4 miles Easy 3-4 miles Rest Rest MARATHON 36-38 miles
CROSS-TRAIN (XT)Swim, bike, or use an elliptical trainer;
do anything but run. Maintain an easy
to moderate eort in these activities or
the same time youd spend running.
EASYThis is a comortable, conversational pace
thats best or short, easy runs; long, slow
runs; and warmups and cooldowns.TRAININGTERMS
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QUALITY WORKOUTSMix and match rom these workouts.
Always start with a warmup and end with
a cooldown. FARTLEK Pick up the pace
or 30 seconds to our minutes; recover
with easy running or the same duration.
YASSO 800S Run six 800-meter repeats
with 400-meter recovery jogs. Build up to
10 repeats during the peak o your training.
TRACK LADDER Do a track workout
up and down the distance ladder. Run 200,
400, 800, 400, and 200 meters. Do an
equal amount o slow jogging to recover
between each aster repeat.
TEMPOThis is an even-paced, moderately hard
eort. The distances shown include a
1.5-mile warmup jog and 1-mile cooldown.
TRAINING GUIDE
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PACE Start 45 seconds per mile slower than goalrace pace and gradually speed up to end at goal pace.
PACE-PLUS Run 20 to 50 seconds slower permile than marathon goal pace.
HILLS Do 6 to 8 repeats up a 200- to 400-meterhill at a tempo eort. Jog down to recover.
QUALITY 1 5 x 1000 meters at 5-K race pacewith a 2-minute recovery jog.
QUALITY 2 6 x 800 meters at 10-K race pacewith a 90-second recovery jog.
QUALITY 3 1 x 1200 meters at 10-K race pacewith a 1-minute recovery jog; 1 x 400 meters at 5-Krace pace with a 3-minute recovery jog. Repeat thiscycle two more times or a total o three sets.
QUALITY 4 4 x 1600 meters at 10-K race pacewith a 3-minute recovery jog.
QUALITY 5 8 x 800 meters at 10-K pacewith a 90-second recovery jog.
QUALITY 6 1 x 400 at 5-K pace, 30-secondrecovery; 1 x 800 at 10-K pace, 90-second recovery;1 x 1200 at 10-K pace, 2-minute recovery; 1 x 1600 at10-K pace, 3-minute recovery; 1 x 1200 at 10-K pace,2-minute recovery; 1 x 800 at 10-K pace, 90-secondrecovery; 1 x 400 at 5-K pace.
The Veteran PlanThis plan, created by exercise physiologist and coach Susan Paul, is designed or runners who have completed at leasta hal-marathon and can easily run 13 miles. Sandwich each workout with a warmup and cooldown o easy running.
M T W T F S SWEEKLY TOTA
1 XT 45 min Quality 1 Easy 5 miles Tempo 6.5 miles Rest Pace 14 miles XT 45 min or easy 5 miles 31.5-36.5 mile
2 XT 45 min Quality 2 Easy 5 milesTempo 7.5 milesor Hills
Rest Pace 16 miles XT 45 min or easy 5 miles 31-39.5 miles
3 XT 45 min Quality 3 Easy 5 milesTempo 8.5 milesor Hills
Rest Pace-Plus 18 miles XT 45 min or easy 5 miles 37.5-42.5 mile
4 XT 45 min Quality 4 Easy 6 miles Tempo 6.5 miles Rest Pace-Plus 20 miles XT 45 min or easy 5 miles 39.5-44.5 mile
5 XT 45 min Quality 5 Easy 6 milesTempo 8.5 milesor Hills
Rest Pace 14 miles XT 45 min or easy 5 miles 31-40.5 miles
6 XT 45 min Quality 6 Easy 6 miles Tempo 8.5 miles Rest Pace 18 miles XT 45 min or easy 5 miles 39.5-44.5 mile
7 XT 45 min Quality 3 Easy 6 miles Tempo 8.5 miles Rest Pace-Plus 20 miles XT 45 min or easy 5 miles 40.5-45.5 mil
8 XT 45 min Quality 5 Easy 6 milesTempo 8.5 milesor Hills
Rest Pace 16 miles XT 45 min or easy 5 miles 33-42.5 miles
9 XT 45 min Quality 6 Easy 6 miles Tempo 8.5 miles Rest Pace 18 miles XT 45 min or easy 5 miles 39.5-44.5 mile
10 XT 45 min Quality 4 Easy 6 miles Tempo 8.5 miles Rest Pace-Plus 22 miles XT 45 min or easy 5 miles 43.5-48.5 mil
11 XT 45 min Quality 5 Easy 6 miles
Tempo 8.5 miles
or HillsRest Pace-Plus 16 miles XT 45 min or easy 5 miles 33-42.5 miles
12 XT 45 min Quality 6 Easy 6 miles Tempo 8.5 miles Rest Pace 18 miles XT 45 min or easy 5 miles 39.5-44.5 mile
13 XT 45 min Quality 3 Easy 6 miles Tempo 8.5 miles Rest Pace-Plus 20 miles XT 45 min or easy 5 miles 40.5-44.5 mil
14 XT 45 min Quality 5 Easy 5 miles Tempo 8.5 miles Rest Pace 14 miles XT 45 min 34.5 miles
15 XT 45 min Quality 1 Easy 5 miles Tempo 6.5 miles Rest Pace 10 miles XT 45 min 27.5 miles
16 XT 45 minPace 2miles
Rest Pace 3 miles Rest Jog 2 miles MARATHON 33.2 miles
WORKOUTS
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*See The Rookie Plan (page 2) for explanations of XT, Easy, and Tempo workouts.
TRAINING GUIDE
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IF YOU MISS IT, MAKE IT UPWhen you have to skip a day or two, just get
back on schedule. I you miss a week, backtrack a
week; then later on in training, nd a convenient sp
to jump ahead. I youre o or longer than two we
adjust your race goals or switch to a later marathon
ALWAYS BE READY TO RUNI youre jamming training into an already-
packed schedule, keep a bag with clothes, shoes,
and anything else you need or your workout at
work or in the car. Then, i you get time to break
away, all you have to do is get dressed and go.
STRIKE A BALANCEWhile youre training, theres no need to
overload on carbs. About hal o your daily calories
should come rom carbs and one-quarter rom
lean proteins. The remaining calories should come
rom healthy, unsaturated at.
WRITE IT DOWNKeep a detailed training log. Record your we
mileage, notes about your routes, and how you ee
aer your workouts. This will help you track your
progress, and identiy the culprit i you get injured.
FINDTHE TIMEHow to pick your
perfect pace
Setting doable training and
racing goals is an important
part o marathon preparation.
Goals will help you fgure out
how high to aim on race day,
and how ast you should train.
Here are three ways to choose
a realistic race goal.
1TUNE-UP RACESIn the weeks beore the taper,race a 5-K in the place o trackwork or do a hal-marathon as
a long-run substitute. Your time
can help you set a sensible mara-
thon goal. Use our training
calculator at runnersworld.com/
tools to convert your race times
to marathon-equivalents. The
longer the race, the more
accurate the conversion.
2YASSO 800sDo this workout three toour weeks beore the marathon.
Run 10 x 800 meters with a
400-meter jog. You should bespent aer the last repeat. The
average o your 800 times is a
good indicator o how ast you
can run the marathonbut in
hours and minutes instead o
minutes and seconds.
3TIME TRIALSAer a warmup, run an all-out mile on the track. Plug your
pace into the training calculator
at runnersworld.com/tools. Do
this once every three or our
weeks to gauge your tness.
FIND THE RIGHT SHOESWorn out running shoes can lead to injuries;
replace yours every 300 to 500 miles. Go to a
specialty running shop to get help nding a shoe
that oers the t and support your eet need.
WEAR TECHNICAL GEARInvest in shorts, socks, and shirts that are made
o technical bers and wick away moisture. They will
keep you cool, dry, and comortable during your runs.
Break in your gear during training.
GET SPECIFIC
Make sure that some o your runs mimic theterrain that youll ace in the race. Look at the course
map or the marathon and gure out what kind o
hills, altitude, and average temperature youre likely
to ace. Then do some training in similar conditions.
GET SOME SLEEPAim or at least eight hours o shuteye per
night. Lack o sleep can compromise perormance
and interere with muscle recovery. It can also turn
an ordinarily easy run into a struggle. Try to maintain
a consistent routine. Try to go to bed and wake up at
the same time each day, even on weekends.
Street SmartsMaking the most out o your marathon training plan
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TRAINING GUIDE
THE RIGHT MOVES
Get plenty o practicerunning at your goal pace.
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sports drinks; the body cant absorb so many
carbs at once, and could leave you with GI
distress. Practice with dierent brands to test out
which ones taste good and sit best in your gut.
AFTER YOURE DONE
Aer any run longer than an hour, you need
to reuel right away in order to restock your spent
glycogen stores and kick-start muscle repair.Immediately aer your run, have
a snack that combines a 4:1 ratio o
carbohydrates to protein. The mix speeds
recovery, especially i consumed within
30 minutes o your workout. I you eel
queasy aer your run, try chocolate milk
it provides that 4:1 ratio but wont strain
your stomach. One to two hours later,
have a ull meal. Try pasta with meat
sauce, or a chicken sandwich on whole
wheat. Have veggies, which are rich in
antioxidants, to help reduce soreness.
LOAD IT UP
Get 60% o yourcalories each day
rom carbs.
STAY ONCOURSEFollow these ve rules
to get to the starting linehealthy and injury-ree
1GO HARD, TAKE IT EASYTake at least a day o rest in betweenhard or long eorts, and allow at least
seven days in between long runs. The
body needs time to recover and adapt
to jumps in mileage or intensity. I you
rush it, you could break down your body
rather than build it up.
2CHILL OUTRICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, andElevation) is a proven way to relieve pain,reduce swelling, and protect damaged
tissues to speed healing. Its most eective
when done right aer an injury or a run.
BEFORE YOU GO
On any run less than an hour, you can probably
get by without lling up rst. But on any run
thats longer, uel up beorehand. Two to three
hours beore you go, have at least 200 to 300
calories, and make sure its primarily carbs. I
youre heading out or a long run, bump up the
prerun meal to 400 to 500 calories. Try a banana,
a slice o toast, or hal a bagel with nut butterand jam. I you cant stomach solid ood,
try a smoothie or sports drink.
Test out which oods sit best in
your stomach, and how much time
you need to digest beore you go.
WHILE YOU RUN
For any run thats longer than 75
minutes, youll need to uel up while
youre out. Aim to get 25 to 60 grams
o carbs per hour while youre on the
road. Wash down gels with water, not
3WORK YOUR COREStrong abs provide the stability,power, and endurance you need to run
eciently and injury-ree. Do core work
at least three times a week.
4LOOSEN UP
Warm up with easy running, and dodynamic stretching drills that loosen the
muscles while youre moving. Try squats,
lunges, and high kicks.
5LISTEN TO YOUR BODYYoull have to push through atiguewhile you train, but i you eel pain that
persists or worsens as you run, stop right
away. Take three days o and cross-train
with cycling, swimming, or walking.
Fuel EfficiencyYou can get energized throughout training with high-carb, low-ber, low-at oods that are easy to digest and oer ast energy
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25Percentage oaverage weeklypremarathonmiles that youshould run inthe two weeksafer the race.
On Your
Mark
BEFORE THE STARTING GUN
SET THREE GOALS Set one goal ora perect race, but have a backup plan (or two) in
case the weather is bad or its just not your day.
I something goes wrong in the early miles, youll
need a ew more goals to keep you motivated to
make a strong nish.DONT TRY ANYTHING NEW Map out whatyoull wear, eat, and do beore race week, and
review it oen. This is not the time to try new
shoes and gear, sample new ood or drinks, or use
anything else you havent tried on several training
runs. Stick with the routine that works or you.
STAY OFF YOUR FEET Dont overdo the expo.Pick up your race number, but give yoursel a time
limit and stick to it. You need time to relax beore
your big event.
DRESS THE PART Check the weather, and onrace day, dress or 20 degrees warmer than it is
outside. To stay warm at the start, bring clothes
that you can throw o aer the rst ew miles.
GRAZE, DONT CHOW DOWN Dont devoura big bowl o pasta the night beore the race; you
risk an upset stomach and a sleepless night. Eat
moderate amounts throughout the day and nish
dinner early so you have plenty o time to digest.
ON THE RUN
KEEP IT STEADY Dont try to banktime by going out aster than goal pace; you risk
burning out later. Instead, take the rst two to
three miles 10 to 15 seconds slower than goal
pace. Save your energy or the nal miles.
DRINK EARLY, DRINK OFTEN Take sportsdrink and water at the rst aid station and at each
one aerward. Sipping carbs and fuids beore
you need them will help you postpone dehydration
and keep your energy levels steady.
STAY FOCUSED When youre running elbowto elbow with thousands o other runners,
anything could happen: You could trip, get
bumped, or accidentally spill sports drink all over
yoursel. Give yoursel ve seconds to regroup,
then get back on track. Count ootalls or repeat amantra to help you stay in the moment. Dont let
rustration burn energy you need to run strong.
AFTER YOURE DONE
KEEP MOVING Aer you nish, keepwalking or at least 10 minutes to end o
stiness, then stretch and ice any sore spots.
Change out o your sweaty clothes and get warm.
Within 30 minutes, reuel with carbs and lean
protein to aid muscle repair and restock glycogen
stores, or have a recovery drink. A ew hours later,
try to eat a ull meal to aid muscle repair.
FINISH
Follow this game plan toguarantee good times atyour marathon and beyond
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STRONG SUIT
Wear gear and shoes thatworked or you in training.
SIPPING POINTS
Staying well hydrated willhelp you go the distance.
TRAINING GUIDE
THE NEXT DAY, GET GOING As sore as yomight eel the day aer your race, its importan
to do light, no-impact activity, such as swimmor cycling, to increase circulation to sore musc
This will help you bounce back quicker.
TAKE A BREAK Aer the marathon, be surto take a vacation, try a new sport, or make da
with riends who you havent seen while youve
been training. Whether the race was a big succ
or a bit o a letdown, its tempting to register
another one right away. Its best to take at leas
ew weeks o, rst. Even i you dont eel like y
need a break, taking one aer the long buildup
the race will help stave o burnout and injury,
help your love o running last or the long term