A training schedule is a key part of achieving success in marathon running.
It’s your map of how to get from
- Where you are now
- …to where you want to be
So clearly you need to establish:
- Where you really are now
- and where you want to be when your marathon takes place
Be realistic about your current capabilities. If you haven’t run in years, you’ll probably find it helpful to do some gentle running for a few weeks or months before diving into a marathon training schedule.
Are your trying to achieve a certain time, or will finishing the marathon be enough for you?
What a well designed training schedule should contain
- Plenty of rest
- A variety of types of training
- A practice race or two
- A gradual build up
- Two to three weeks of tapering
Training is where you test your body, recovery is where your body improves its capabilities.
This is as much for the mind as the body. A good programme will involve cross training, some hill running, speed work and any other relevant training that you enjoy.
Even if you’re an experienced marathon runner, including a couple of shorter races gives you short term targets to look forward to and an enjoyable experience as well.
When marathon runners get injured, it’s often because they’ve over-trained. A gentle increase over a sustained period of training is nearly always more effective than thrashing your body to breaking point.
This is where your body builds up its reserves so that you start the marathon as fresh as you can possibly be.
A 16 week marathon training programme
You can see an example of a 16 week marathon training programme for beginners here.
This shows that applying the above principles isn’t rocket science – although it gets much more tricky for elite marathon runners.
