Sunday, April 13, 2008

The San Francisco Marathon 16 Week Marathon Training Plan

Exclusively for the San Francisco Marathon August 3, 2008 Adapted from the FIRST Training Plan www.furman.edu/FIRST further details are available on the website

WEEK 1 April 14 - 20
MONDAY REST*, TUESDAY 400 meter warm-up, 8X400 at 15 seconds below your 10K race pace or 2’15”/lap (if you don’t know your 10 K pace), 400 meter cool-down between laps and at the end of the session, WEDNESDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool down, THURSDAY 5 minute warm-up, Tempo Run 3 miles, 5 minute cool-down,
FRIDAY 5 minute warm-up, Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool down, SATURDAY REST*, SUNDAY Warm up 5 minutes, Run 10 miles at 10K pace plus 60 – 75 seconds. (i.e. 9 minute 10K pace run 10 – 10’15” long run, cool-down 5 minutes

WEEK 2 April 21 - 27
MONDAY REST, TUESDAY 400 meter warm-up, 4X1200 at 10 seconds below your 10K race pace or 2’20”/lap (if you don’t know your 10 K pace), 400 meter cool-down between each 1200
WEDNESDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool down, THURSDAY 5 minute warm-up, Tempo Run 5 miles, 5 minute cool-down, FRIDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool down, SATURDAY REST*, SUNDAY Warm up 5 minutes, Run 12 miles at 10K pace plus 60 – 75 seconds. (i.e. 9 minute 10K pace run 10 – 10’15” long run, cool-down 5 minutes

WEEK 3 April 28 - May 4
MONDAY REST, TUESDAY 400 meter warm-up, 6X800 (at 10 seconds below your 10K race pace as explained above), WEDNESDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool down, THURSDAY 5 minute warm-up, Tempo Run 7 miles, 5 minute cool-down, FRIDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool-down, SATURDAY REST, SUNDAY Warm-up 5 minutes, Run 13 miles at 10K pace (as described above)cool-down 5 minutes

WEEK 4 May 5 - 11
MONDAY REST, TUESDAY 400 meter warm-up, 3X1600 (at 10 seconds below your 10K race pace as explained above), WEDNESDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool down, THURSDAY 5 minute warm-up, Tempo Run 3 miles, 5 minute cool-down, FRIDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool-down, SATURDAY REST, SUNDAY Warm-up 5 minutes, Run 10 miles at 10K pace (as described above)cool-down 5 minutes

WEEK 5 May 12 - 18
MONDAY REST, TUESDAY 400 meter warm-up, 10X400 (at 10 seconds below your 10K race pace as explained above), WEDNESDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool down, THURSDAY 5 minute warm-up, Tempo Run 5 miles, 5 minute cool-down, FRIDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool-down, SATURDAY REST, SUNDAY Warm-up 5 minutes, Run 14 miles at 10K pace (as described above)cool-down 5 minutes

WEEK 6 May 19 - 25
MONDAY REST, TUESDAY 400 meter warm-up, 5X1200 (at 10 seconds below your 10K race pace as explained above), WEDNESDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool down, THURSDAY 5 minute warm-up, Tempo Run 5 miles, 5 minute cool-down, FRIDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool-down, SATURDAY REST, SUNDAY Warm-up 5 minutes, Run 15 miles at 10K pace (as described above)cool-down 5 minutes

WEEK 7 May 26 - June 1
MONDAY REST, TUESDAY 400 meter warm-up, 7X800 (at 10 seconds below your 10K race pace as explained above), WEDNESDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool down, THURSDAY 5 minute warm-up, Tempo Run 8 miles, 5 minute cool-down, FRIDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool-down, SATURDAY REST, SUNDAY Warm-up 5 minutes, Run 17 miles at 10K pace (as described above)cool-down 5 minutes

WEEK 8 June 2 - 8
MONDAY REST, TUESDAY 400 meter warm-up, 3X1600 (at 10 seconds below your 10K race pace as explained above), WEDNESDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool down, THURSDAY 5 minute warm-up, Tempo Run 10 miles, 5 minute cool-down, FRIDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool-down, SATURDAY REST, SUNDAY Warm-up 5 minutes, Run 13 miles at 10K pace (as described above)cool-down 5 minutes

WEEK 9 June 9 - 15
MONDAY REST, TUESDAY 400 meter warm-up, 12X400 (at 10 seconds below your 10K race pace as explained above), WEDNESDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool down, THURSDAY 5 minute warm-up, Tempo Run 3 miles, 5 minute cool-down, FRIDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool-down, SATURDAY REST, SUNDAY Warm-up 5 minutes, Run 18 miles at 10K pace (as described above)cool-down 5 minutes

WEEK 10 June 16 - 22
MONDAY REST, TUESDAY 400 meter warm-up, 8X800 (at 10 seconds below your 10K race pace as explained above), WEDNESDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool down, THURSDAY 5 minute warm-up, Tempo Run 5 miles, 5 minute cool-down, FRIDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool-down, SATURDAY REST, SUNDAY Warm-up 5 minutes, Run 15 miles at 10K pace (as described above)cool-down 5 minutes

WEEK 11 June 23 - 29
MONDAY REST, TUESDAY 400 meter warm-up, 4X1600 (at 10 seconds below your 10K race pace as explained above), WEDNESDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool down, THURSDAY 5 minute warm-up, Tempo Run 8 miles, 5 minute cool-down, FRIDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool-down, SATURDAY REST, SUNDAY Warm-up 5 minutes, Run 20 miles at 10K pace (as described above)cool-down 5 minutes

WEEK 12 June 30 - July 6
MONDAY REST, TUESDAY 400 meter warm-up, 12X400 (at 10 seconds below your 10K race pace as explained above), WEDNESDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool down, THURSDAY 5 minute warm-up, Tempo Run 5 miles, 5 minute cool-down, FRIDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool-down, SATURDAY REST, SUNDAY Warm-up 5 minutes, Run 15 miles at 10K pace (as described above) cool-down 5 minutes

WEEK 13 July 7 - 13
MONDAY REST, TUESDAY 400 meter warm-up, 6X1200 (at 10 seconds below your 10K race pace as explained above), WEDNESDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool down, THURSDAY 5 minute warm-up, Tempo Run 5 miles, 5 minute cool-down, FRIDAY 5 minute warm-up Cross Train hard 40-45 minutes, 5 minute cool-down, SATURDAY REST, SUNDAY Warm-up 5 minutes, Run 20 miles at 10K pace (as described above) cool-down 5 minutes

* The days of the schedule can be moved around to fit YOUR SCHEDULE

For the complete training schedule with details contact Stephanie@AskAboutRunning.com

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Training Details and Explanations

Details
Saturday/Sunday Reversal - Most weeks you may reverse Saturday/Sunday workouts depending on your personal schedule.

*Max means the maximum number of minutes you should be running. If you run 3 miles faster than 30 minutes, keep going for 30 minutes. If you run 3 miles slower than 30 minutes, stop at 30 minutes.

**Cross-Training refers to other kinds of exercise. This could be biking, hiking, swimming, yoga, gym workouts, etc. One of the benefits of cross training is that it uses different muscle groups and provides a change of “pace”.

***Maximum Effort refers to your personal maximum level of effort. You should be going “all-out” for the time described. This means running (sprinting) as hard as you can while allowing yourself to finish the duration of time described. The purpose is to strengthen your muscles and increase your ability to run fast.

****Tempo Runs push you to run at a pace that’s close to your race pace, not the long slow distance that we often hear about. During the tempo portion of your training run, run hard as if you were running a short race. To be able to finish several miles at tempo pace you need to try it to see what it feels like. You’re simulating a race so it should feel difficult!

Stretching - Always allow time for stretching after you run or walk.

This training schedule is courtesy of Ask About Running (ALTB International, Inc.). Copyright and all rights reserved 2008.