12-Week Marathon Training Plan for Experienced Runners

Are you an experienced runner who needs a tune-up before your next marathon? Here’s a plan to get you ready for 26.2 miles in 3 months. How long is it? 12 weeks minimum How many days per week will I run? 5-6 How many miles each week? Peak week is 55 What’s my longest long run? 20-22 miles Will there be speedwork? Yes What’s my race plan/goal? To run faster

• HMP = Half-marathon pace
• MP = Marathon pace
• Strides are 75-150 meters

Week	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
1	8 miles & 10 strides	Rest	9 miles	Rest	5 miles	13 miles
2	11 miles	Rest	8 miles	Rest	5 miles	15 miles
3	8 miles & 10 strides	4 miles	11 miles	Rest	4 miles	16 miles
4	5 miles	10 miles	11 miles	Rest	5 miles	17 miles
5	Rest	12 miles	Rest	9 miles	5 miles	16 miles
6	5 miles	10 miles	12 miles	Rest	6 miles & 6 strides	15 miles
7	6 miles & 6 strides	12 miles	REst	12 miles	5 miles	20 miles
8	8 miles	11 miles	Rest	4 miles & 6 strides	13 miles	17 miles
9	7 miles & 6 strides	10 miles	Rest	11 miles	4 miles	20 miles
10	8 miles	6 miles	Rest	4 miles & 6 strides	11 miles	16 miles
11	7 miles & 8 strides	8 miles	Rest	5 miles & 6 strides	Rest	12 miles
12	6 miles	7 miles	Rest	7 miles & 6 strides	2 miles	Race Day!

Here are five adages to live by during training:

Bigger base, bigger mileage

Experienced runners will benefit from more quality miles. Run longer and more often than before to see changes on race day.

Pace workouts

Experienced runners no longer run to log miles at an easy pace. You should be incorporating speed, hills, tempos, and recovery paces into runs.

Be confident, be cautious

Because you’ve done it before, you know you can do it again. But remember that you will have to work harder to see results.

Don’t forget rest

Easy days and/or rest are crucial. Every day of running shouldn’t be at race pace. Incorporate a recovery week every 3-4 weeks in the cycle with reduced mileage and easier workouts.

Race with a plan

Have your goal pace mapped out by mile or at regular intervals such as every 5K. But allow for flexibility in that plan so that if you aren’t exactly on target, you won’t feel frustrated in the early stages of the race. Carissa Liebowitz has run the Boston Marathon as well as dozens of marathons and half marathons. You can follow her running adventures on Strava, Instagram and her blog.