Training for a marathon

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Mon

Wed

Fri

Rest

Sun

10m

12m

14m

16m

18m

14m

10m

RACE

Simple training schedule, for anyone with enough time to train 4 days a week. Rest days have been built in after each run, with the exception of the long run on a Sunday, followed by a short recovery run on the Monday. The distance builds gradually, giving you three long runs of 18 miles to emulate the race, without overdoing it and “hitting the wall”. Anything longer than 21 miles requires about 4000 calories, which your body cannot store as glycogen – you have to accustom your muscles to burning fat stores in order to run further. After a peak 4 weeks before the race, the training tapers down, to allow you to be fresh and ready for the big day.

I would recommend listening to your body as you run. You do not need a heart rate monitor to tell you if you are going too fast – a simple rule of thumb is if you can speak, then you are not out of breath. A companion to run with is also a great motivational aid. In my case, my bicycle was recently stolen, so running to work is a good way of getting the miles under my belt, and also perks me up for the day ahead. The long runs should be run at a slow pace, and the shorter runs at the speed you are aiming to go in the race.

I am running the Belvoir Challenge 26 in February, in order to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support, as a close family member is unwell. This is an off-road race, so trail shoes will be required, and I will need to break them in well before the race itself.

If you can, please give something to the appeal on my justgiving page – all support will go to this worthy cause, which offers counselling, advice and support for families going through the ordeal of cancer.

Tags: Belvoir Challenge, cancer, macmillan, marathon, running, training

This entry was posted on December 27, 2016 at 1:56 pm and is filed under 1, cancer, fitness, marathon, running. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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