The Most Simple Training Plan

I've been running for about a year and a half and apart from c25k I've never had a training plan. I'm doing the Berlin Marathon in September so though I'd start to take a look at the plans on the net. My aim is for a result of under 4 hours.

They all looked a bit complicated for me, so I've come up with the exact opposite just to see if it will work. The idea is I do the same runs throughout the week (time constraints in the morning come into play here!) just increasing the mileage a bit on my very slow long run every weekend. I'll time my long runs and races only.

Plan:

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday - 7 miles

Sunday (May) - 13m

Sunday (June) - 15m

Sunday (July) - 18m

Sunday(August) - 20m

Sunday(September) - 20+ miles for a couple of weeks then rest and race (28th)

 

Benchmark times are 47mins for 10k and I'll get a good hm time on monday in Milton Keynes. (If anyone cares I'm male, almost 30, 6ft2" and 12st).

Experiment starts tomorrow!

Comments

  • MillsyMillsy ✭✭✭
    What are you currently doing on a weekly basis at the moment?

    I find the Hal Higdon plans very easy to understand and enabled me to go sub 4 in my first marathon.
  • I'll leave the expert analysis to people far more qualified than me.

    Are the long runs every Sunday?

    I would not be able to do a couple of twenty plus mile runs in the first couple of weeks of September then recover and do myself justice in the race.

    Plus I think 20 miles every weekend for a month would be too much for me, obviously I don't know what you're physically capable of.

    Matt

  • Looks fine to me. No need to be complicated. 

  • Millsy, Over - I'm currently doing the three midweek 7 milers and a 10 mile sunday run so it's starting off from where I am now. I'm not sure if I will be able to do the 20 miles each weekend but I've always just thought the more you practice the better you get, plus by then I'll be pretty much used to it.

  • MadbeeMadbee ✭✭✭

    I would suggest the odd cutback week in there - sticking with the simple principal, your midweek 7 miles are fine, but for the long run I would do 3 Sundays of your determined length, then cut the fourth by 3-4 miles so you recover a little.  

    Again, no expert, but it sounds like it'll get you round fine, and judging by your 10K speed, you're probably fast enough naturally to go sub 4 with the appropriate endurance that the long runs give you.

  • literatinliteratin ✭✭✭

    It looks similar to what some of the runners in my club do if they aren't following a plan. They do tend to build up the distance of the Wednesday run a bit too in the lead-up to a marathon though, so it becomes the second-longest run of the week, 8-14 miles.

  • NayanNayan ✭✭✭

    what paces are you going to do these runs at?

    I'd do the Wednesday run as 1mi easy pace, 5 mi at 9:15/mi goal pace and then 1mio easy pace cooldown.

    And the rest at your easy pace (Im guessing thats like  10:30 /mile).

  • Der mann.... you're getting the wrong end of the stick! I don't have a clue about my pace, only that I'll be going alot slower on sunday.

    mad Bee, literatin. I'm sure adding a bit or taking a little away every so often will happen, life will get in the way and I'll have to miss a few runs, make up for some.

  • NayanNayan ✭✭✭

    Ahh right. You'll need some pace awareness so that you don't set off too fast on race day, and your body has some idea what to expect. . A good way to do this is to get some practice running at that speed as part of your plan. No need to go too nuts about it, but you need a little bit.

    For the rest yeah its about time on your feet so a nice slow pace that would allow you to chat without getting out of breath is perfect.

  • Der mann, I think I do usually go out pretty fast during the week tbh, definatly faster than I probably should. I just go at how fast my legs want to take me! One of the things that made me start thinking about what I was doing was a thread on here where lots of people were explaining the purpose of the long but slow runs, of which I really haven't done many this year.

  • So benchmark times to compare progress to are 47 mins for 10k and 1:53 for half marathon.

    Feels like I'm at the bottom of the mountain right now with a lot of climbing to do!

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