HOME arrow TRAINING arrow 20 Weeks to Your First Marathon
19
Nov
6:41 PM

20 Weeks to Your First Marathon

Written by Jim Vance
Posted Aug 25, 2008

Can you hear it? That voice in your head, telling you to give the marathon a try....

You’ve been trying to silence it for months, saying you wouldn’t know how to train for it, or even where to begin. But now, with the following 20-week training program, you’ve got no excuses! If you’re in the three-to-five hour range for the marathon, this program is for you.

Click on the image and scroll down!

 

Your biggest challenge is choosing which race to do. So pick one, and get running!

Click Here to download a marathon analysis chart... use it after the race to see how well you did at pacing yourself on the course - the better to assess your performance and step it up at the NEXT marathon!

Jim Vance is a USAT Level 2, and USATF Level 1 Certified Coach for TrainingBible Coaching,
and a professional triathlete. Questions or comments can be sent to jvance@trainingbible.com.  
   

Comments & Feedback
Anonymous  - Key |Posted on: 08.27.2008
Could you provide a key? I've recently started running again and don't remember
what they all mean.
Anonymous  - Key   |Posted on: 09.08.2008
Sure thing, sorry it wasn't included.

E - Easy jog
A - Accelerations of 15-20
seconds to high speed, with quick turnover, plenty of recovery between each
S -
Steady paced run - not easy, not hard
F - Fartlek - speed bursts as you like,
from 1 to 3 mins in length, unstructured. Allow time for warm-up and
cooldown.
MGP - Marathon Goal Pace - time spent running at goal pace for the
marathon is in parenthesis, (MGP 90) means 90 mins of your run at marathon goal
pace
T - Tempo Run - Hard effort at faster than marathon pace, around 10K to
half-marathon intensity, (T 30) means 30 mins tempo
TT - Time Trial test - 30
mins HARD, with average pace and HR measured for the last 20 mins. These should
improve over course of the program.
XT - Cross Training - Your choice of
elliptical, cycling, stairmaster or swimming, as well as any weight training you
may be doing
Off - Rest day, focus on recovery techinques, (hydration,
stretching, ma...
Leave a Comment
Name:
Email:
 
Title:
Comment:
Code:
Please input the code from the image above (case sensitive).
Click image to generate new code.

3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

advertisement

this month's magazine

Sweet Agony

The agony and ecstasy of the chase.

The Road Less Traveled… Isn't Paved

Maybe it's about time you got out of your comfort zone and tried an XTERRA trail run.

Let it Snow!

Check out these hot, er, cold spots for winter fun!

Rock 'n' Roll Runner

Seattlite Kim Smith loves to rock, roll and run.

competitor tv

best of

other features

Mondays with Marty

Award winning author of Chasing Lance, Martin Dugard shares his weekly musings exclusively online.

also on competitor

advertisement