Intermediate Marathon Training Schedule

Prepping for the next Marathon

You have finished several full marathon races and are looking for a more intense training program. This intermediate training schedule helps you improve marathon finish time and shorten recovery time. By now your body has experienced a lot of long runs and can recover in less time, allowing you get ready for the next race within six to eight weeks.

Coming from the beginner schedule

Also, there is a slight step backward in the weekly total distance. And a shorter long run until week 6. These schedules have been made for those athletes who run 2 to 4 full marathons a year,

Intermediate Marathon Training Schedule in miles

(mileage buildup)

Week Sun. Mon. Tue. Wed. Thu. Fri. Sat. Total
1 8 Cross 3 5 3 0 4 23
2 8 Cross 3 5 3 0 5 24
3 9 Cross 3 5 3 0 5 25
4 6 Cross 3 4 3 0 6 22
5 11 Cross 3 6 3 0 6 29
6 12 Cross 3 6 3 0 6 30
7 9 Cross 3 5 3 0 7 27
8 14 Cross 3 7 3 0 7 34
9 15 Cross 3 7 4 0 7 36
10 11 Cross 3 6 4 0 8 32
11 17 Cross 3 8 4 0 8 40
12 18 Cross 3 8 5 0 8 42
13 13 Cross 3 7 5 0 5 33
14 20 Cross 3 5 5 0 8 41
15 12 Cross 3 8 5 0 5 33
16 20 Cross 3 6 4 0 4 37
17 12 Cross 3 5 3 0 3 26
18 8 Cross 3 4 0 0 2 17
19 Race 0 0 Cross 0 2 0 28.2

Intermediate Marathon Training Schedule in Kilometers

(metric buildup)

Week Sun. Mon. Tue. Wed. Thu. Fri. Sat. Total
1 13 Cross 5 8 5 0 6.5 37.5
2 13 Cross 5 8 5 0 8 39
3 14.5 Cross 5 8 5 0 8 40.5
4 9.5 Cross 5 6.5 5 0 9.5 35.5
5 17.5 Cross 5 9.5 5 0 9.5 46.5
6 19 Cross 5 9.5 5 0 9.5 48
7 14.5 Cross 5 8 5 0 11 43.5
8 22.5 Cross 5 11 5 0 11 54.5
9 24 Cross 5 11 6.5 0 11 57
10 17.5 Cross 5 9.5 6.5 0 13 51.5
11 27.5 Cross 5 13 6.5 0 13 65
12 29 Cross 5 13 8 0 13 68
13 21 Cross 5 11 8 0 8 56
14 32 Cross 5 8 8 0 13 67
15 19 Cross 5 13 8 0 8 56
16 32 Cross 5 9.5 6.5 0 6.5 49.5
17 19 Cross 5 8 5 0 5 42
18 13 Cross 5 6.5 0 0 3 27.5
19 Race 0 0 0 0 3 0 45.195

Intermediate Marathon Training Schedule Guide Lines

Compared to the novice/ beginner training schedules, this intermediate schedule requires you to run a fast-run on the day before the long-run. At first this might be hard on your legs but after a few weeks you will learn to run in fatigue which will be helpful in preparation of your marathon race. Read the following points.

  • Make sure that Friday is a complete rest days without intense exercising or other physical activities. Especially doing other sports should be avoided to provide healing and recovery time to the exhausted muscles.
  • Run the long-run at a comfortable pace, about three to five percent above your targeted pace. As a more experienced marathon runner, set your finish target time between 3 and 5 hours. As a more experienced runner you are expected to be able to keep a constant pace throughout the race. This constant pacing is something you have to work on during your training. This can be established by knowing most kilometer or mile locations on your running route (outside the track).
  • If the long-run turns out to be a tough apple to bite, please consider walking breaks of about one to two minutes before you start to feel tired. This might help relaxing and re-charging the muscles.
  • Cross training on Mondays is strongly suggested for recovery after your long-run on Sunday. Riding a stationary bike, swimming or walking are excellent exercises to increase blood-flow of other muscle groups. Aim for about 30 minutes light aerobic workout excluding the warm-up and cool-down. As the long-run distance reaches the 20 Kilometer mark, take cross-training really easy, just do it because it is better than sitting on the sofa resting (however tempting that might be).
  • Proper warming-up before your training-run, long-run, and marathon race will be extremely advantageous for your physical health. For more information please refer to marathon running warm-up guide for suggested warm-up routines.
  • Food is fuel for your training and race. Failure to eat properly will result in under-performance, fatigue, and injury. Please visit marathon running nutrition page for more information.

 
 

Site Search

Monthly Poll

World Marathon Majors

Boston Marathon
( April 18, 2011 )

New York Marathon
November 6, 2011

Chicago Marathon
October 9, 2011

London Marathon
April 17, 2011

Berlin Marathon
September 25, 2011

Bookmark, Share, Tweet.


Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Stumble It Blog This Share to Delicious Digg It Add to Google Bookmarks Send to Linkedin Send to Netvibes Send to Yahoo Send to Newsvine Send to Reddit Send to Technorati Send to yahoobuzz Email This More...