USA FIT Marathon
| Full Training Schedule - Week 21 | ||||||||||
| Color Group | Start Time | Sat Dec 14 | Sun Dec 15 | Mon Dec 16 | Tue Dec 17 | Wed Dec 18 | Thu Dec 19 | Fri Dec 20 | Start Time | Sat Dec 21 |
| Note: Monday through Friday run is expressed in minutes. | ||||||||||
| Blue | 8:00am | 11 MILES | OFF | 40/e | 5x400m/400m | OFF | 40/e | OFF | 8:00am | 18 MILES |
| Green | 8:00am | 11 MILES | OFF | 35/e | 5x400m/400m | OFF | 35/e | OFF | 8:00am | 18 MILES |
| Yellow | 8:00am | 11 MILES | OFF | 35/e | 5x400m/400m | OFF | 30/e | OFF | 8:00am | 18 MILES |
| Red | 8:00am | 11 MILES | OFF | 30/e | 4x400m/400m | OFF | 30/e | OFF | 8:00am | 18 MILES |
| Half Training Schedule - Week 21 | ||||||||||
| Color Group | Start Time | Sat Dec 14 | Sun Dec 15 | Mon Dec 16 | Tue Dec 17 | Wed Dec 18 | Thu Dec 19 | Fri Dec 20 | Start Time | Sat Dec 21 |
| Note: Monday through Friday run is expressed in minutes. | ||||||||||
| Blue | 8:00am | 10 MILES | OFF | 40/e | 5x400m/400m | OFF | 40/e | OFF | 8:00am | 10 MILES |
| Green | 8:00am | 9 MILES | OFF | 35/e | 5x400m/400m | OFF | 35/e | OFF | 8:00am | 10 MILES |
| Yellow | 8:00am | 9 MILES | OFF | 35/e | 5x400m/400m | OFF | 30/e | OFF | 8:00am | 10 MILES |
| Red | 8:00am | 9 MILES | OFF | 30/e | 4x400m/400m | OFF | 30/e | OFF | 8:00am | 10 MILES |
Color Group Training Pace:
| Blue | 7 to 8 min/mile pace |
| Green | 8 to 9 min pace |
| Yellow | 9 to 10 min/mile pace |
| Red | 10 min + pace |
Glossary
Speed Work
"8x30-30" means "30 seconds fast, 30 seconds slow, eight times in a row."
After a thorough warm-up, run for 30 seconds at about 90-95% intensity, then do a 30-second recovery jog. Make sure that you don't slow down during the workout, so you are running your last 30 seconds about as fast or even a little faster than your first 30 seconds. Run on a soft surface if you can, rather than on concrete or asphalt. When you are done, jog or walk slowly for a while to cool-down. Both the number of repeats, and the duration of the fast and slow intervals, will change from week to week.
Tempo
After a warm up for about 5 - 10 minutes, maintain a pace about 10 to 15 seconds per mile slower than 10-K race pace. The last 5 to 10 minutes should be a cool down period. Another way to gauge the pace of tempo runs: a pace about midway between short-interval training speed and your easy running pace.
Easy (e)
A slow run done at a conversational pace.
Hillwork
Hills prepare the muscles for faster running without going anaerobic. Hill training will enable you to run better on all types of terrain. Find a hill with a moderate grade, about 10-15%. Run at about 85% effort and jog slowly down to recover. Start with about 4 hills and increase by 1 a week until you can run 8-12 hills.