

If you’re hitting this for a second round in the middle of your build up, be more aggressive in your pacing and hold a steadier pace for the recovery. If you’re early in the season, take the static rest and try to progress reps. With 3.5 -4.5 miles of intensity, you can jump to 4-5 miles of marathon work without overextending. This gives you enough rest while still allowing for enough lactic build up so that you can use this as a jumping off point for longer tempo efforts. The generous amount of rest allows you to nail the goal of the workout, and the reps are longer so even if you haven’t done much speed work yet, you’re unlikely to overdo it. The workout provides enough volume to put a moderate load of fatigue in the legs while also giving you enough rest that the paces should be manageable. This is the perfect workout for early in the season to test your current fitness and measure your ability to pace yourself. Early Phase Marathon Workouts Photo: Andrew Simmons Workout: 1200m Repeatsĥ-6x 1200m 10K-5K pace 2:00 static / jog recoveries. These eight workouts test every aspect of a marathoner’s ability and, when executed correctly, highlight a marathoner’s skill while exposing their vulnerabilities.

The workouts below require mastery of many unique properties of a skilled marathoner: from pacing, to testing nutrition and hydration plans, to tackling big hills without breaking form. However, a race performance isn’t determined by a single workout in the athlete’s build up, but the accumulation of their efforts. Achieving a level of mastery in running has always been measured by an athlete’s achievement on a single day. Marathoners looking to achieve their best need more than miles: they need a quiver of key marathon workouts to hone every system and all the skills required to run strong for 26.2 miles.
