NY Marathon Training Plan Weeks 5-9

Now that I am about halfway through my training for the New York Marathon, I thought I'd better work back from the date of the race on the 4th of November, to make sure that I can fit in the key workouts I want to get in before then, in particular, the long runs.

The big picture is to build up over this week and next week to a peak of 800 ECOs (which measure volume x intensity) before tapering over three weeks all the while keeping the intensity up and extending the long runs to a maximum of 35 kilometres. Although it is not ideal that it should be the weekend immediately before, I'm planning to run the Half Marathon in Fuenlabrada at Marathon pace: this should give me a good idea as to what to expect on the day.

For each week I have decided how long the long run is (the first column), what "hard workouts" or series to run (the second column), what kind of weights session to do if any (the third column) and what "fillers" are necessary to make up the required number of ECOs for that week. There is more room for manoeuvre when it comes to the the fillers although I would like to try to maintain the same mix between running and cycling if possible.

In case it is of interest or use to you, here is the translation of my hand scribbled note:

Week #5 (Build) Target ECOs 700. Long run of 30 km (140-150 minutes). One session of 8 series of 5 minutes at AnT (Anareobic Threshold). Another session of 3 lots of 15 minutes progressing from over Aerobic Threshold (AT) to AnT. Weights: 3 sets of 8 lifts at 70% of maximum weight (100% being what I would be able to lift just once before failure, so even only 70% = 243 kg on the leg press for example!) lifting explosively and setting down in one second. One commute there and back to work on the bike, another running (although, as one of our cars has to be repaired this week, I suspect I may have to commute in every day). One 60 minute run.

Week #6 (Peak) Target ECOs 800. Long run of 32 km (150-160 minutes). One session of 2 lots of series of 8 minutes, 7 minutes and 5 minutes at AnT. Another session of 3 lots of 20 minutes at a few heart beats below AnT. Weights: 3 sets of 8 lifts at 75%, lifting explosively and setting down in one second. One commute there and back to work on the bike, another running. One 60 minute run.

Week #7 (Taper) Target ECOs 600. Long run of 35 km (165-175 minutes). One session of 8 series of 5 minutes at AnT. Another session of 2 lots of 20 minutes at medium intensity (halfway between AT and AnT). Weights: 2 sets of 4 lifts at 85% of maximum weight (this is a lot!) lifting in one second and setting down in one second. One commute there and back to work on the bike. One 60 minute run.

Week #8 (Taper) Target ECOs 400. Half Marathon at Marathon pace. One session of 10 series of 1 kilometre above AnT. No weights (not sure whether to or not). One commute there and back to work on the bike. One 30 minute run.

Week #9 (Taper and race) One session of 2 series of 10 minutes at Marathon pace followed by 2 series of 1 kilometre above AnT. No weights. One 40 minute run, one 30 minute run and one 20 minute run (probably the day before the Marathon).