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Workout #1 : Day Off

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Planned Time: 0:00:00
Week 1: Do not start training yet! Welcome to Marathon 3, a marathon training program that fits conveniently between Novice 2 and Intermediate 1. As such, it is for experienced runners, those individuals who have been running at least a year or two and who have raced at various distances between 5-K and the marathon. Marathon 3 is unique in that it offers 3 days of running instead of the 4, 5 or 6 days featured in my other plans. But that does not make Marathon 3 an easier training program, because it also offers a fair dose of mileage, including three 20-milers at peak training. Today, your first day of marathon training, take a day off. Rest is as important as long runs if you want to achieve success in the marathon.

Workout #2 : Run

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Planned Time: 0:30:00
Run 3 easy miles today! Tuesdays in my Novice 3 program feature a day of easy running, similar to the Sorta-Long runs in my other marathon programs. You begin this week with 3 miles and peak in Weeks 17, 19 and 21 with 10 miles. Run at a comfortable pace, slow enough so that you can hold a conversation with a training partner without getting too out of breath. Don’t force the pace on these Tuesday workouts under the mistaken belief that this will make you a better runner. It may not. You dramatically increase your risk of injury when you overtrain. Make Tuesday the fun running day of the week. Tip of the Day: Exercise scientists like to use the term economy when they describe fast runners. You have seen economical runners; they skim over the ground and seem to waste little energy as they fly past you at a speed you can barely imagine.

Workout #3 : Bike

Planned Time: 0:30:00
Bike for half an hour! In this Novice 3 program, I prescribe bicycle riding for Wednesdays, because most runners enjoy getting out on their bikes. But you could just as easily pick another aerobic discipline: walking, swimming, cross-country skiing. If you enjoy strength training, this might be a good day to pump some iron. If you want a fourth day of running, do it today. Because of the variability of various exercises, I prescribe this workout in minutes, not miles. Note that there is a gradual increase in time as the program continues: 30 minutes increasing to 60 minutes. Tip of the Day: Do you like to cross-train? Not all runners do, particularly the more experienced runners who think it may get in the way of what they love to do best: run. But for many of us, cross-training is a handy way of getting an aerobic buzz on days when running more miles might lead to injury.

Workout #4 : Run

Planned Time: 0:30:00
Run 3 miles at your marathon pace! Novice 3 features three days of running a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Thursday is the hard workout of the week, because you run somewhat faster. On Thursdays, you alternate pace runs, tempo runs and regular runs. A pace run is one where you run at your marathon pace. I will tell you how to do tempo runs next week, but for today run 3 miles at your goal pace for the marathon. Hopefully that should be easy, or you may have picked too ambitious a goal pace. Tip of the day: Some runners can train or race in lighter shoes than others. This relates usually to how much they weigh and whether or not they possess good biomechanics, what might be called a smooth stride. Coach Jeff Johnson once suggested that you wear the lightest shoes you can without getting injured. That means in training as well as in racing.

Workout #5 : Day Off

Planned Time: 0:00:00
Rest today! Friday is a day of rest in all my programs. This is because runners train hardest on the weekends when they have more time. Don’t compromise your weekend workouts by thinking you have to do something extra on Friday. Tip of the Day: Strength training is good for runners, but what do you do? You could do push-ups or pull-ups, use free weights, or work out with various machines at a Fitness Center. Runners generally benefit if they combine light weights with a high number of repetitions, rather than pumping very heavy iron. I suggest you do some strength training at least twice a week, preferably after a short and easy run, although you can strength train on any days convenient for your business and personal schedule.

Workout #6 : Run

Planned Time: 1:00:00
Run 6 miles today at an easy pace. Saturdays in this Novice 3 program are dedicated to long runs. If you’re training for a marathon, long runs are obviously the most important workout of the week. The progression begins with a 6-mile workout today and increases roughly 1 mile a week to peak at 20 miles on Weeks 17, 19 and 21. Long runs should be conducted at a pace slower than you plan to run in a marathon. Running too long and too fast and too often will simply wear you out and prevent you from achieving your goals. Tip of the Day: It takes a high degree of endurance to succeed as a long distance runner. Fortunately, endurance is a skill that responds to intelligent training. The best way to increase endurance is to increase volume.

Workout #7 : X-Train

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Planned Time: 1:00:00
Cross Train today for 60 minutes! If you enjoy biking on Wednesdays, you may want to climb back on your bike on Sundays too. Nothing wrong with that. But consider other aerobic exercises: walking, swimming, cross-country skiing (in season). Given the variety of different exercises, the prescription is in time, not distance. You cross-train an hour in Week 1 and progress to 90 minutes for Weeks 19 and 21. If you want to flipflop workouts (cross-training on Saturdays and running on Sundays), that is okay too. Comment: Congratulations on finishing the first week of my 24-week Novice 3 Marathon Training Program. Only 23 weeks (gulp!) to go before your goal marathon. Have faith, I will get you there.

Workout #8 : Day Off

Planned Time: 0:00:00
Week 2: And like Week 1 and the remaining 22 weeks in this Novice 3 program, you begin by doing--nothing! If you are an experienced runner, running 6 miles on Saturday and following up with an hour of cross-training on Sunday probably was not that hard, but it won't take too long before the mileages start to climb. Then you'll be happy I gave you a day off to prepare for the rest of the week's workouts. Tip of the Day: Training too hard can drain energy. Even though you get through your daily workouts and complete the miles prescribed in your training program, you may feel fatigued both before and after workouts. You may also need more sleep, yet at the same time you will have trouble getting to sleep. To conserve energy, choose a sensible training program, eat a diet with plenty of carbohydrates, and get to bed early each night.

Workout #9 : Run

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Planned Time: 0:40:00
Run 4 miles at an easy pace. In this second week of the Novice 3 program, the distance of the Tuesday sorta-long run nudges upwards from 3 to 4 miles. You should be able to cruise through this workout, but if you are looking to add to your mileage totals for the program and for the year, be warned that I will have you up to a 10-miler on Tuesday of Week 17, the same week during which you will run the first of your three 20-milers. Have patience! Tip of the Day: Whether you train or race on flat or hilly courses, you still need to condition your legs for the stress of running. Days when you run easy would be good days to do some stretching and strength training. Do a total body workout.