Marathon Training Schedule - Beginner

Week  #  4

  

 

Marathon Training Tip Of The Week: - Drink Water!

We often forget about the importance of keeping hydrated on our training runs, especially on cooler days. Always have some water available on the longer runs over 45 minutes.

Drinking plenty of water every day will help to keep you in good health. The recommended amount is to take1/2 your body weight in lbs and use this as the number of ozs. of water. For example a 140 lb person should consume 70 ozs or almost 9 cups per day.

I know this is really hard to do, - carrying a bottle of water around with you during the day helps a lot...

 

 
 

Click to download our Free Marathon Race Strategies guide to running a successful marathon

 

Marathon Training Schedule: Week 4

After three weeks you should be settling into the routine of regular training. This is also a good time to assess your progress. If you have selected the right training level, and have the appropriate running base, then you should be comfortable with the demands of the schedule. Your biggest problem might be in finding the time for your training runs!

 

 
 

 

Beginner Level: Week 4 Mileage Chart
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Total Miles
5 E 6 HD Rest 6 E   Rest 10 L Rest 27

E - Easy Pace; HD - Hard Pace; HL - Hills; L - Long Slow Run; M - Marathon Pace; T - Tempo

 

 

 

 

 

Yet another cornerstone of your training involves your personal safety on the road. We cannot emphasis this aspect too much because bikes, cars, trucks and other assorted conveyances will not only hurt you but ruin your marathon training. We will mention several 'no-brainers' just to give you some food for thought:

  • Always run facing traffic;

  • Wear a reflective safety vest after dusk and before dawn;

  • Always give bikes and vehicles the right of way even if it is yours;

  • On cooler days try to run into the wind at the beginning of your run

  • Always hydrate before, during and after a run.

There are many more of these little bits of wisdom, but you get the idea, right?

The beginner training schedules follow the hard day / easy day approach. if you have to modify this week's training for any reason, try to stick to this basic principle.

Week 4 Daily Training Schedule

 

 

Day 1:

Start the week with another Easy 5 miles.

Day 2:

This is your fourth week of training, time for a Hard 6 miler. The pace should be such that you are fatigued by the last half of the run. You will be breathing heavily by the time you begin your cool down during the last mile. Do some light stretching after.

Day 3:

Rest day. An easy walk and some stretching.

Day 4:

An easy 6 miles today.

Day 5:

Rest day again. You will need it.

Day 6:

LSD run of 10 miles. This is your longest run to date, keep it slow.

Day 7:

Rest day. Try an easy workout on an exercise bike to get the lactic acid out of your body and get ready to bump up your training to 5 days a week.

 

Marathon Program Training Tips

  • Get enough sleep!
    You body re-generates itself during sleep, so you need to make sure you are getting your full quotient while you are training. Do not cut back on your sleep to squeeze an extra hour into the day, as this will catch up to you as the time goes by.

  • Cross training and weight lifting help to counteract the imbalance in your muscular development that comes from doing only running. If you are cutting back on your mileage due to a minor injury, add a bike ride to your schedule.

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