Training for a marathon is an intricate balance between building mileage, increasing speed, strengthening the body, and ensuring adequate recovery. After refining my initial training schedule, I developed this alternate version—tailored to fit my lifestyle better while still targeting performance gains for a sub-3-hour marathon. As a father of two young active kids, I often have to sneak in my runs around their schedule, so there are some split running sessions and some very early weekend runs.

My issues in my marathon runs have been around the 20-mile mark in most of my races so I try to focus on longer runs to get over that hump and become comfortable at that mileage. I also try to incorporate active rest days with no leg work 2-3 days a week so my legs can recover, but the downside to this training method is that I train my legs the same days that I run. I prioritize weights over running to “tire” my legs out for the running portion (I hate these days the most). Many runners or trainers don’t include their pacing goals in their training plans, so I included some rough estimations for my pacing based on my last race prep.

Guidelines

1. Weekly Mileage: 50-70 miles depending on my family schedule, weather, and overall feeling.
2. Weight Progression: Use progressive overload for strength exercises; focus on form and single-leg training specific to running to help prevent injuries.
3. Fueling: Practice race-day fueling during long runs (gels, hydration). On all my long runs I try to practice eating while running and closer to race days I will incorporate gels into my tempo runs.
4. Recovery: Ensure adequate sleep, nutrition, and stretching to optimize performance and minimize injury risks.

Weekly Schedule

Monday: Recovery and Strength

Focus: Running Recovery + Upper Body Strength

• AM: 15-20min yoga for flexibility and recovery
• PM: Back, Chest, and Abs Strength Training
• Goal: Recovery from the weekend’s long run while strengthening the upper body

Tuesday: Hills + Leg Strength

Focus: Power and Endurance

• AM: 40-minute Hill Run (8.5 mph) with varying inclines on a treadmill
• PM: Leg Workout: Squats, Romanian Deadlifts, Bulgarian Split Squats, Curls, Extensions
• Mileage: 60 min rolling hills or Hill intervals 8.5 mph (incline 1-7% on a treadmill)
• Goal: Develop hill strength and integrate active recovery into hill intervals

Wednesday: Pace Run + Active Recovery

Focus: Sustained Speed

• AM: Peloton or Yoga
• PM: Outdoor Pace Run (10-14 miles)
• Pace Progression:
  • February: 8.4 MPH
  • March: 8.6 MPH
  • April: 8.8 MPH
• Goal: Build speed endurance over longer distances

Thursday: Rest from Running + Upper Body

Focus: Recovery + Strength

• PM: Shoulders, Arms, and Abs
• Goal: Allow running muscles to recover while developing upper body strength

Friday: Speed Intervals + Lower Body

Focus: Speed Development

• AM: Mobility Work – Specifically working on previous injuries
• PM: Track Mile Repeats or Sprint Intervals
  • 2-mile warmup
  • 5 – 11 sets of 1-mile repeats or 40 min of sprint intervals
  • 1-2 -mile cool down
• Pace Progression:
  • February: 9.0 MPH
  • March: 9.2 MPH
  • April: 9.4 MPH
• Weights: Legs focusing on smaller stabilizing muscles, hips, glutes, and calves if I do sprint intervals over mile repeats
• Goal: Improve top-end speed, with mile repeats exceeding marathon pace

Saturday: Recovery & Mobility

Focus: Active Recovery

• Optional AM: Yoga, Mobility, and Peloton Ride
• Optional PM: Sauna, Mobility Work, or Upper Body Circuit
• Goal: Facilitate recovery, stay mobile, and prepare for the long run

Sunday: Long Run

Focus: Endurance Base Building

• AM: Long Run (20-24 miles), gradually increasing pace:
  • February: 7.5-8.0 MPH
  • March: 7.8-8.2 MPH
  • April: 8.0-8.8 MPH
• Goal: Build an aerobic base and marathon pace familiarity; 75% easy effort, 25% goal marathon pace moving towards a split of 25% easy effort, 25% goal marathon pace

Key Takeaways

• Balanced Approach: Combining running, strength training, and cross-training for performance and injury prevention
• Pace Progression: Increasing speed and distances over weeks to peak for race day
• Recovery Focus: Active recovery and rest to maintain consistency and avoid overtraining
• Weight Training: As races draw nearer, I reduce my focus on weights and shift the priority to running, especially my upper body movements.
• Flexibility and Mobility: To prevent injuries, I tend to ramp up injury prevention and flexibility as the mileage increases

This more realistic split allows me to balance my work-life commitments while staying on track toward my marathon goal. The emphasis on both strength and pace work helps me build resilience and confidence with each training week.

This plan is my simplified blueprint for my May 2025 marathon. Due to my obsessive tendencies, I track every workout to ensure that I stay on track and can revisit my previous training blocks and I try to identify where I can improve for any future events. It might be a bit over the top but it works for me.

Happy Running!