Are you seeking a marathon training plan 24 weeks long? If so, welcome to RunDreamAchieve. I am glad you have made it here. I always tell my athletes that a longer build up is always better than a shorter one. The reason for this is that you will not be rushing your fitness. It takes between 3 to 4 weeks for the body to adapt to any stress load being placed on it. So, trying to prepare for a marathon in a matter of 4 to 8 weeks is very difficult.
The marathon is a highly aerobic event. It will take time and patience on your part to train strategically and to prepare properly. I have created resources here that will help speed up your learning curve. One of the biggest mistakes runners make is running too fast on easy days. In addition, running too much of their mileage too easy. Remember, to race 26.2 miles or 42.2 kilometers quickly, you need to train faster and more often.
Also, you need to make sure you are paying attention to your recovery as well. The real benefits of your hard training comes from within the rest period. So, you have to stress the energy systems of the body but also have to run easy enough so that you adapt. One of the best tools you can use to train at the right intensities is a heart rate monitor. I regularly use the Garmin 245. I highly recommend it and it helps me to run at the properly paces.
Is 24 Weeks Enough to Train for a Marathon?
Yes, a marathon training plan 24 weeks long is the perfect time frame to train properly for this event. A 6 month marathon training plan will ensure that you are not rushing your fitness. I would first recommend running for at least 4 weeks nice and easy. In addition, doing strides twice per week. Strides are too short to build up any lactic acid. So, you can do these 5 to 6x100m strides without causing any additional fatigue. The real benefit of these is to help improve your acceleration and form, over time.
Running easy for a month will build your general fitness. Also, you will strengthen your tendons, ligaments and joints for the faster workouts. I definitely recommend a marathon training plan 24 weeks long. Again, you want to always focus on using leverage. How can I get better results by training smarter rather than harder. Would you rather run 60 miles a week and get a 10 minute PR or 100 miles a week and miss your goal time by 10 minutes? I'd rather run less and get better results.
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR TRAINING PLANSHow Long Does it Take to Get in Shape for a Marathon?
Time frame will vary from athlete to athlete. That being said, 12 to 24 weeks is a legitimate time frame to get in great shape. Again, a marathon training plan 24 weeks is optimal. The longer you prepare for this race the higher your chances of success. I have created 24 week marathon training plans here at RunDreamAchieve to help athletes such as yourself get a new personal best. Of course, I do have training plans here that also range from 8 to 20 weeks as well.
So, there are numerous options available to you here at RunDreamAchieve. I have also created running courses for athletes seeking to break the 2:30, sub 3, 3:30, 4 hour marathon and 5 hour marathon barriers as well. Remember, great success in this event comes from paying attention to all the fundamentals. You need to focus on proper pacing as well. I have seen far too many runners go out too fast and ruin their times in the second half of the race.
The better way to run this event is running a negative split. So, focus on running the second half of the race faster than you run the first half. It is much more fun to finish strong that to be forced to slow down to a jog or worse, have to walk or drop out of the race.
24 Week Marathon Training Plan Tips
A marathon training plan 24 weeks long has to focus on speed development. In addition, longer tempo runs longer than 8 miles in length. Remember, the longer we can spend training at the anaerobic threshold, the better. The overall goal here is to improve the athlete's lactate tolerance. So, we want to sustain race pace longer than our competition. In addition, slow down less. Easy running is great and has its own purpose. That being said, pace sustainment is the goal.
Easy running, by itself, will not help you to race faster over 26.2 miles. So, a 24-week marathon training plan should encompass more running at faster paces. The world's top runners are running between 35 to 40 percent of their weekly volume at or below their anaerobic threshold. We are running between 85 to 89 percent of our maximum heart rate at this effort. So, the goal is to first adapt to a 3 mile tempo before moving toward 10 miles (16km).
CHECK OUT OUR RUNNING COURSESHow Many Weeks Before a Marathon Should You Run 20 Miles?
I would focus on running my last long run around 3 weeks out from the main event. Remember, don't run long and slow every single weekend. A common mistake runners make is running their long runs too slow, too often. I teach a different method. I have my athlete's run faster, varied paced long runs every other weekend.
In addition, have them always run the following week's long run nice and easy. Again, recovery is key. There is only so many times you can push the body hard before you start to see diminished returns on your time investment. So, focus on quality over quantity. Higher mileage is not a guarantee that you will set a new personal best for the marathon.
You should be doing 1, vo2 max workout per week as well. Your vo2 max is your body's maximum oxygen uptake. It is running at speeds between 95 to 105% of your max heart rate. Again, the goal of proper marathon training is to get your goal marathon race pace to feel easier. The only way to do this is to spend a higher percentage of your weekly volume at a higher heart rate. Examples of vo2 max workouts are hill repetitions, track and road intervals.
Closing Thoughts
Yes, a marathon training plan 24 weeks long is the most optimal time frame to train properly for the marathon. It is a much wiser move to not be in a rush. Would you like to keep in touch? If so, make sure to subscribe to the RunDreamAchieve YouTube channel. I create new training and racing videos there weekly to help runners such as yourself get to the next level.
I also highly recommend you to start taking mental training more seriously. Also, I credit mental training and rehearsal in aiding me to lower my marathon best from 2:43:36 to 2:19:35. So, start spending 10 minutes daily to visualizing yourself getting across that finish line in your goal time. It has to happen in the mind before it will ever become a reality in real life.
The world's top runners combine both mental as well as physical training to get superior results. The problem for most runners is they only focus on physical preparation. My hope is that you will start utilizing this tactic to distance yourself from your competition. I write that because I know the vast majority of runners neglect this part of preparation.
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