Full Marathon is the pinnacle/niravan for all runners. Considered as one of the toughest sport in the world, participating and running a Half Marathon is considered to be one of the ultimate glory for any sports or fitness enthusiasts. Our plans are tailored based on where you stand today. Choose the option that is closest to your objective for running the FM.
Some key terms used in the plan that you should know about:
1) Rest : Rest means just what it is Rest. It means doing nothing in particular and going through your usual day routine. Rest is very critical yet often ignored part of training plan. Rest allows your muscle to recover and every time that happens your muscles get stronger.
2) Run :Run means business. It means you are on the move, putting one step after another. The thumb rule about the running pace is that you should run a 'conversational pace'; which means you should be able to talk while running.
3) Run/Walk :This means you can do a mix of running and walking. Ideally, you run till you are tired and then switch to walking. Repeat this routine again.
4) Walk : Well, this is easy. It means you have to walk.
5) Cross : Cross means cross training. It is any aerobic activity other than running. It can be cycling, swiming, session in the gym etc. This is to give your muscle a different form of movement and break the potential boredom.
6) Strength :Strenght means strenght training. It means exercises designed to improve the flexibility and strenght of your key muscles. It could be acitivites like push-ups, pull-ups, planks, squats and any other form of Plyometric exercise. This clearly does not mean pumping irons in the gym.
7) Tempo Runs:A continuous run with an easy beginning, a buildup in the middle to near 10-K race pace, then ease back and cruise to the finish. A typical tempo run would begin with 5-10 minutes easy running, continue with 10-15 faster running, and finish with 5-10 minutes cooling down. You can't figure out your pace on a watch doing this workout; you need to listen to your body. Tempo runs are very useful for developing anaerobic threshold, essential for fast 5-K racing
Marathon: 18 week training schedule (By Hal Higdon)
Training for your first Full Marathon
| Week | Monday | Tueday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | rest | 4.8km | 4.8km | 4.8km | rest | 9.5km | Cross Training |
| 2 | rest | 4.8km | 4.8km | 4.8km | rest | 11 km | Cross Training |
| 3 | rest | 4.8km | 6.5km | 4.8km | rest | 8km | Cross Training |
| 4 | rest | 4.8km | 6.5km | 4.8km | rest | 14.5 km | Cross Training |
| 5 | rest | 4.8km | 8 km | 4.8km | rest | 16 km | Cross Training |
| 6 | rest | 4.8km | 8km | 4.8km | rest | 11km | Cross Training |
| 7 | rest | 4.8km | 9.5km | 4.8km | rest | 19km | Cross Training |
| 8 | rest | 4.8km | 9.5 km | 4.8km | rest | 21km | Cross Training |
| 9 | rest | 4.8km | 11km | 6.5km | rest | 16 km | Cross Training |
| 10 | rest | 4.8km | 11 km | 6.5km | rest | 24km | Cross Training |
| 11 | rest | 6.5km | 8 m | 6.5km | rest | 25.5km | Cross Training |
| 12 | rest | 6.5km | 13 km | 8km | rest | 19km | Cross Training |
| 13 | rest | 6.5km | 14.5km | 8km | rest | 29km | Cross Training |
| 14 | rest | 8km | 9 m | 8km | rest | 23km | Cross Training |
| 15 | rest | 8km | 16 km | 8km | rest | 32 km | Cross Training |
| 16 | rest | 8km | 21k m | 6.5km | rest | 20km | Cross Training |
| 17 | rest | 6.4km | 9.5 km | 4.8km | rest | 13km | Cross Training |
| 18 | rest | 4.8 km | 6.5km | 3.2km | rest | rest | race |
Intermediate – wanting to improve your time (1mile =1.6km)
Advanced – looking for peak performance in the race (1mile =1.6km)
Bill Rodgers, winner of four Boston and four NYC marathons: “The marathon can humble you.”
In case you have any questions and need to consider hills, humidity, cold, heat, jet lag or other conditions, drop us a line at [email protected]
Rest well and do not exert yourself in this week – your body needs to build reserves rather than deplete them at this time. Think positive and reflect on the good runs and training you have had, rather on the training that you missed. Stretch.
Eat more carbs – rice, pasta etc and cut out snacks, deep fried foods, and tea, coffee and alcohol, while you drink more water and juices – build the body’s energy reserves and hydration levels
Wear the gear you are going to run in – shoes, socks, undergarments, shorts and T shirt – and sunglasses or cap, headband etc over the course of this week and make sure you are comfortable in them
Have the same breakfast you are planning to have on Sunday, on Thursday and go for a 4-5km easy run
Try to ensure that you are sleeping enough, as also well. Especially Thursday to Saturday – you need it
Study the route map of what you are going to run on Sunday and IF possible, travel along the route to get familiar with it – bridges, open hot or cold strteches, cheering points, hills, isolated sections…
DO NOT exert yourself on Saturday and try and stay off your feet as much as you can. Go to the expo on Friday.
Have an early and a heavy carbohydrate lunch and dinner on Saturday to finish around 7-8pm at the latest, to allow a couple hours for it to settle, before you sleep Do not think of work and your life’s worries. Think of the course and the fun and excitement you are going to have. Sleep early on Saturday and get up refreshed and excited on Sunday. Don’t be anxious if you have not been able to sleep well on Saturday due to pre race excitement. You should have had a good sleep on each of Thursday and Friday (assuming the run is on a Sunday)
Drink a couple of glasses of water as soon as you wake up. Stay hydrated.
Have a light breakfast of orange juice, and a couple of bananas (just as you did on Thursday) 2 hours before the start of the run. No milk or anything else that is heavy or may cause your stomach to go for a toss. Nothing new today.
Put on your running gear, (cut your toe nails and check your shoe soles and inners for any small stones, socks for any wrinkles) race bib, and get to the start point at least an hour before the start – this will make sure there is no last minute anxiety of getting stuck on the way, or reaching late, not finding the start line. Have a few sips of water 10 minutes before the start, and loosen up a bit. Think of all the runs and the training you have put in, in the last few weeks and treat this as your victory lap.
Look around you as you see people who are older, younger, fatter, thinner, stronger, weaker than you, and take in all the energy and excitement and do some loosening up.
If it’s going to be warm, try and run in the shade, try to find someone you can chat with so that you can lighten the start, if it’s going to be cold, make sure you are warmly clad before you reach the start, BUT shed those layers before you start the run, or have a friend meet you after the 1st km to take the extra layers back home.
Try and keep slow in the first 5-7 km. We often get carried away by the excitement and run faster than we have planned. Stop at EVERY water stop, even if you are not thirsty and take in a few sips and pour some water over your head to cool you down, especially if it is warm.
Smile and cheer other runners and spectators as you run. It adds to the fun, and keeps you focused on positive thoughts.
Take a couple of sips at each water point, catch your breath, walk 25 metres, and then resume.
Try and put in all you have, in the last 500m when the finish line is in sight, and pass the runner in front of you.
Drink some water and do some gentle loose stretches once you finish.
Do some brisk walking for around 10-15 minutes at least and follow that up with dunking your legs in a cold tub. Works wonders for making sure you are not sore and aching the rest of the week. Read more about starting running in your forties and older at Forty plus
Read up more about post marathon recovery at Wishing you a speedy recovery
“I ran my 2nd marathon a year after my first. And then the next 2 within 5 months of that. The max I have done is 7 marathons in a year.”
Rahul Verghese
And then there is this Partner in a Law firm who ran 105 marathons in 2008!!
So if you are bitten and smitten by the bug and want to check out multiple marathons, look no further than this great set of schedules by Hal Higdon which I have followed on several occasions – to ‘train’ for a marathon you want to do 2 weeks after one, or perhaps 8 weeks after one.
Ideally IF you are training for bettering your time and peak performance, then 2 to a max of 3 marathons a year is what I would suggest, with proper strength and speed training thrown into the training schedule. If you are either planning to run more in a year or running some close to each other, either take each of them ‘easy’ so that you do not strain yourself, or, fix on one that you plan to go flat out for and train for that, and use the others as long runs, in your training. Have fun, and stay injury free.
Check out Hal’s schedules for multiple marathons
An Ultra marathon is any distance beyond a marathon.
I have run a 45km ultra on the Great Ocean Road in Australia – probably the most scenic run I have ever participated in. Here is where you need to go if you want to push yourself beyond a marathon distance. The 2 Oceans marathon in Cape Town is a 56 km visual delight – and rated as one of the prettiest Ultra Marathons in the World. I did that in April ’09. The Comrades Marathon in Durban – also South Africa, is the grand daddy of them all – with a 54mile course AND AROUND 15000 -20000 participants – uphill one year and downhill the next – both are tough, and unlike what the uninitiated think, running downhill, takes a greater toll on the knees and thighs and the down run has more folks injured and more DNF’s. I was apparently the 2nd ever Indian Finisher in the Comrades Marathon – 89km of it from Pietermaritzburg to Durban in 2010. I was told there were a few Indians – NRI’s and those of Indian origin who had finished in earlier years. That was an interesting tidbit.
For a great training program – click here