Ogden Marathon Training Plan

Congratulations it’s RACE WEEK!!! 5/14

It’s week 17 and you should feel pretty excited to get after your goal this Saturday. You might feel that after a three week taper, you are super energetic and ready to tackle the race you have been training for all winter. On marathon morning, make sure you don’t change anything you did to prepare for you previous long runs. Any change in your diet, clothing, shoes, or other items you haven’t used before could be trouble. Stick with what you have done for the past 17 weeks and have the time of your life. The work has been done. You’re ready. Now go get it!!

Here is this week’s plan: 

Monday: Easy cross training session of biking or rowing or swimming

Tuesday: 5 miles at about your predicted marathon pace

Wednesday: Easy cross training session of biking or rowing or swimming

Thursday: Three miles at your predicted marathon pace

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday, May 19, 2018: RACE DAY!!!

Sunday: Rest Day. As much as your legs will protest, a lot of walking around today will help your them loosen up and recover. Trust me on this one.

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Ogden Marathon Lodging Special

Week Sixteen Training Schedule 5/7

It’s week 16 and you should feel pretty well recovered from any of the long runs you’ve done. The weekly miles are more for maintenance and to keep you loose for race day. Your runs should feel fairly easy and give you confidence in how far you’ve come since you began this journey.

Here is this week’s plan: 

Monday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Tuesday: After a ten minute warm up, run four to five half mile repeats with a 1:30 minute recovery run between each one, then a 10 minute cool down run.

Wednesday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Thursday: The Tempo Run – Two miles easy, then three miles at tempo pace, then one mile easy

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: The Long Run – 8-10 miles near your predicted marathon pace. Another teaser to get you comfortable with what it will feel like on race day.

Sunday: Rest Day

Week Fifteen Training Schedule 4/30

It’s week 15 and its time to start tapering down your training leading up to marathon weekend. Congratulations!! As of your last long run, you are now ready to run a full marathon distance! The miles for the next few weeks are mainly recovery and maintenance miles to keep you ready for race day.

Here is this week’s plan: 

Monday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Tuesday: After a ten minute warm up, run six ½ mile repeats with a 1:30 minute recovery run between each one, then a 10 minute cool down run.

Wednesday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Thursday: The Tempo Run – One mile easy, then five miles at tempo pace

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: The Long Run – Go for a 13 mile run near your predicted marathon pace. That will give your legs a feeling of what it will be like on race day.

Sunday: Rest Day

Week Fourteen Training Schedule 4/23

It’s week fourteen and we’re coming down to the wire on marathon training. This is when it starts to get very exciting because all your hard work is about to pay off. With three weeks left, this marks the last long run in training before the big day! The Striders Winter Race Circuit 30K Race is this Saturday, and you can use this as your long run training and not worry about bringing your own water! Just try and get two or three miles in before or after the race starts for a total of 20-21 miles.

Here is the week's plan: 

Monday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Tuesday: After a ten minute warm up, run five repeats of 2 minutes fast  then two minutes slow, then a 10 minute cool down run.

Wednesday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Thursday: The Tempo Run – This week calls for 8 miles at 10k pace plus 30 seconds per mile.

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: The Long Run – Last long run of the training plan at 20-21 miles and about 30-45 seconds slower than your predicted marathon pace.

Sunday: Rest Day

Week Thirteen Training Schedule 4/16

It’s week thirteen and there’s only one month to go before the marathon! This Saturday is one of the recovery long runs and you’ll need that down time to stay prepped for race day.

Here is this week’s plan: 

Monday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Tuesday: After a ten minute warm up, the goal is ten 400 meter repeats at a pace faster than your 5k pace, with 400 meter recovery between, then a 10 minute cool down run.

Wednesday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Thursday: The Tempo Run – The tempo run this week is 1 mile easy, then 5 miles at a 10k pace.

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: The Long Run – Much shorter than last week, but try for 10 miles right at your predicted marathon pace. This will be a good tune up to see what your marathon pace feels like.

Sunday: Rest Day

Week Twelve Training Schedule 4/9

Photo by Rick Danger-Admiral Beverage Corporation

It’s week twelve and there’s only five left until marathon week! This Saturday’s long run will be the longest yet at 18 miles but you should be adequately trained to handle that many miles. It’s really only two more than the run two weeks ago.

The Striders Winter Race Circuit Half Marathon was a blast and the rain didn’t really start until most of the runners had finished. There’s one more race in the circuit on April 28 with the 30K distance (18.3 miles).

Here is this week’s plan:

Monday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Tuesday: This week’s plan calls for a ten minute warm up, followed by three one mile repeats with a 400 meter recovery interval between them. Follow those up with a 10 minute cool down run.

Wednesday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Thursday: The Tempo Run – The tempo run this week is 1 mile easy, than 4 miles at a 10k pace, then a one mile cool down.

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: The Long Run – This long run is your longest yet at 18 miles at a pace of 1 minute per mile slower than your predicted marathon pace.

Sunday: Rest Day

Week Eleven Training Schedule 4/2

It’s week eleven your Saturday long runs begin to alternate. This Saturday long run will be more of a recovery run at 13 miles. Research has shown that you don’t glean tons of benefit of runs longer than 16 miles until two weeks later. When we get closer to 20 miles, they only happen every three weeks.

This Saturday also corresponds with the Striders Winter Race Circuit Half Marathon on April 7, if you decide you’d like to take a running tour of the first half of the Ogden Marathon and finish off with a medal and a sweet running shirt. There are still spots available for this amazing spring half marathon.

Here is this week’s plan:

Monday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Tuesday: This week’s plan calls for a ten minute warm up, then some half mile intervals with half mile recovery. Try as many as 5 of these, with a 10 minute cool down run.

Wednesday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Thursday: The Tempo Run – This week calls for a 9 mile run at 10k pace plus 30 seconds per mile.

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: The Long Run – This long run is 13 miles at about 30 seconds per mile slower than predicted marathon pace.

Sunday: Rest Day

Week Ten Training Schedule 3/26 

It’s Week Ten and this will be the week when your Saturday long runs begin to alternate. The Saturday long run calls for a 16 miler, but next week you can use as a recovery long run at only 13 miles. That corresponds with the Striders Winter Race Circuit Half Marathon on April 7, if you decide you’d like to take a running tour of the first half of the Ogden Marathon and finish off with a medal and a sweet running shirt. There are still spots available for this amazing spring half marathon.

Here is this week’s plan:

Monday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Tuesday: This week’s plan calls for a ten minute warm up, followed by several speed intervals at about your 5k pace or faster. Those intervals are in this order, one mile fast, ¼ mile recovery – 2 miles fast, ½ mile recovery – half mile fast, ¼ mile recovery – half mile fast, 10 minute cool down run.

Wednesday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Thursday: The Tempo Run – This week calls for a 7 mile run with the three miles in the middle at 10k pace or slightly faster.

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: The Long Run – This long run is 16 miles, the longest so far, at a slow pace. Keep it about a minute slower than your predicted marathon pace. Don’t worry though, these long runs will begin to alternate every other Saturday.

Sunday: Rest Day

Week Nine Training Schedule 3/19

It’s week nine and if you missed the Striders Winter Race Circuit 10 mile on Saturday, you missed a wet and snowy party! This coming week, the Tuesday run includes some hill repeats. Just take any hill you encounter at a fast sprint, then a recovery pace coming back down the hill. These will increase your cardio fitness and are actually better for your legs and joints than sprints on flat ground, since you will naturally shorten your stride going uphill. 

Here is this week’s plan:

Monday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Tuesday: This week you’ll need to run a course with a few hills and use them to sprint up and run a slow pace back down. Do at least 3 and as many as 6.

Wednesday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Thursday: The Tempo Run – This week calls for a 7 mile run at your 10K pace plus 10-20 seconds per mile.

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: The Long Run – This long run is 15 miles at a slow-ish pace. Keep it about a minute slower than your predicted marathon pace.

Sunday: Rest Day

Week Eight Training Schedule 3/12

It’s week eight and you should feel like this is becoming more routine, like an awesome new habit for you. The weather is warming and you should be feeling more comfortable on each of your runs. The photo above is taken at about mile 15 of the Ogden Marathon course. This week, the GOAL Foundation is hosting the Striders Winter Race Circuit 10 mile on Saturday. It’s a tough course but will give you some nice hill repeats. If you do this run, just add in the other 4 miles to complete 14.

Here is this week’s plan:

Monday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Tuesday: This week after the 10 minute warm up run, we’ll run 4x800 meter repeats with a 90 second recovery run in between

Wednesday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Thursday: The Tempo Run – This is an easier week with a 1 mile warm up and a 5 mile tempo

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: The Long Run – This long run will be the longest so far at 14 miles. Your pace should be about 30 seconds per mile slower than your predicted marathon pace.

Sunday: Rest Day

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Ogden Marathon Lodging Special

Week Seven Training Schedule 3/5 

It’s week seven and the Striders Winter Race Circuit 10k is in the books. This week the speed training is similar to other speed workouts but the Saturday long run will increase in intensity.

As a side note, the Striders Winter Race Circuit races are a great way to learn how it feels to run in a race situation. I would highly recommend that you participate in the Striders Half Marathon on April 7th. Starts at the same place as the Ogden Marathon and gives you a live preview of the first half of the course you’ll be running in May.

Here is this week’s plan:

Monday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Tuesday: This week after the 10 minute warm up run, try two minute intervals with a two minute slow, recovery run between. Try 4-6 of these intervals.

Wednesday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Thursday: The Tempo Run – Today calls for a 6 mile run with the 2 or 3 miles at your tempo pace.

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: The Long Run – This long run is planned for 13 miles but this week, the difference will be speed. Try running this one faster than the previous long runs but going 15 seconds per mile slower than your predicted marathon pace.

Sunday: Rest Day

Week Six Training Schedule 2/26

It’s week six and marathon training is starting to get really exciting! The Striders Winter Race Circuit is off to a good start and Saturday long run mileage is now all in the double digits. Winter finally arrived but with March approaching the days are getting longer and warmer. 

Here’s how your week should be structured: 

Monday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Tuesday: The word of the day for your speed session this week is “Fartlek,” and it has nothing to do with your intestinal tract! :-) Fartlek is Swedish for “speed play” and mixes in any number of speed sets into your daily 5-6 mile work out. Sometimes they are referred to as “strides.” It basically involves short bursts of speed during your regular run. It’s fun to do with friends or alone. You could pick a stop sign ahead, or a short hill, or one block at a time and give it an all out effort. You’ll be much faster than your 5k pace. Between these strides, take another block or two to recover. The intention is to make running a fun and unpredictable experience, keeping it fresh and lively.

Wednesday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Thursday: The Tempo Run – Today calls for a 6 mile run with the 2 or 3 miles at your tempo pace.

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: The Long Run – The long runs are getting longer and this week, go for a 12 mile run at a pace equal to your predicted marathon pace, plus about a 45 seconds per mile.

Week Five Training Schedule 2/19

It’s week five and this week we will be adding some miles to the Thursday run and doing some more speed work on Tuesday.

Here’s how your week should be structured:

Monday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles 

Tuesday: After warming up for a mile or two, the goal is to run some 800 meter repeats. That’s two laps around the track or a half mile. Take these repeats at your 5K pace or slightly faster if you feel good. Then run a recovery interval in between. 3-5 of these for beginners, or as many as 8 for advanced runners. 

Wednesday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Thursday: The Tempo Run – Today calls for a 7 mile run with the middle three miles at your tempo pace. 

Friday: Rest Day 

Saturday: The Long Run – The long runs are getting longer and this week, go for a 10 mile run at a pace equal to your predicted marathon pace, plus about a minute per mile. 

Sunday: Rest day

Week Four Training Schedule 02/12

It’s week four and after about a month of speed training, this week will be a bit of a recovery running with no real intensity. Recovery is just as important in a marathon training plan as hard workouts, giving your muscles a little break gets them ready for the harder training ahead.

Here’s how your week should be structured:

Monday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Tuesday: An easy run of 4-5 miles without adding any speed work. This session is mostly geared toward keeping in a rhythm and logging miles. 

Wednesday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Thursday: The Tempo Run – Today calls for a longer run at a nice comfortable pace. Try for 5-8 miles, whatever you have time for. 

Friday: Rest Day 

Saturday: The Long Run – The long runs are getting longer and this week, go for a 12-13 mile run at a pace equal to your predicted marathon pace, plus about a minute per mile.

Sunday: Rest day

Week Three Training Schedule 02/05

It’s week three and you’re probably starting to get into a rhythm with your running routine. By the end of this process, it will be very automatic. One thing I want to emphasize is the cross training on days when you’re not running. Those sessions really help your fitness and keep your activity level up so you can continue to increase your levels on run days.

Here’s how your week should be structured:

Monday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Tuesday: 800s Speed Run - Start out with a nice slow run of about a mile or two to get your legs warmed up. After you’ve warmed up, run between 2 and 5 sets of about a half mile (800 Meters) at your 5K race pace. Between each 800 meters, take a minute or two of recovery time running a nice easy jog. Following the 800 intervals, cool down with a nice easy 5-8 minute jog. 

Wednesday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Thursday: The Tempo Run - which means the pace is slightly slower than your 10K race pace but faster than your average training pace. Start out with a warm up mile, then eventually speed up to a pace about 15-30 seconds slower than your 10K race pace. Try to hold this until about mile five, then cool down during your last mile or two.

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: The Long Run – This week is all about adding endurance, not speed to your training plan. This run calls for another 10-11 miles at a pace equal to your predicted marathon pace, plus about a minute per mile. 

Sunday: Rest day  

Week Two Training Schedule 01/29

It’s week two and as you might notice, it’s very similar to week one, with a little variation on the week day runs, and we added a mile or two to the Saturday run. 

Here’s how your week should be structured:

Monday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles 

Tuesday: Moderate Speed Run - Start out with a nice slow run of about a mile or two to get your legs warmed up. After you’ve warmed up, run about two miles at about 15-30 seconds per mile slower than your 5K race pace. After that, run a nice easy 10 minute cool down.

Wednesday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles.

Thursday: The Tempo Run - which means the pace is slightly slower than your 10K race pace but faster than your average training pace. Start out with a little warm up mile or two, then eventually speed up to a pace about 15-30 seconds slower than your 10K race pace. Try to hold this until about mile five, then cool down during your last mile or two. 

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: The Long Run – This week is all about adding some endurance, not speed to your training plan. This run calls for 10-11 miles at a pace equal to your predicted marathon pace, plus about a minute per mile.

Sunday: Rest day 

Week 1 Training Schedule 01/22

The trick behind any marathon training program is to slowly increase your distance each week, and particularly with the long run on Saturdays. This first week is mostly designed to bring you up to a starting level and then we’ll increase each week as the sun stays in the sky longer and longer. Last week's group run was a success as we explored Wheeler Canyon, to Icebox, then back down Wheeler. Aside from a brief encounter with an angry moose, we all finished up a great run!

Here’s how your week should be structured:

Monday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Tuesday: Speed Run - Start out with a nice slow run of about a mile or two to get your legs warmed up. After you’ve warmed up, run one minute at a fast pace then two minutes at an easy pace. Repeat this 5-6 times, then run about a 10 minute cool down. 

Wednesday: Cross Training session of biking, rowing, weights, or any other activity that doesn’t involve your running muscles

Thursday: The Tempo Run - which means the pace is slightly slower than your 10K race pace but faster than your average training pace. Start out with 2 miles easy, 2-3 miles at tempo pace, then 2 miles of easy running.

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: The Long Run – The pace of your long run is determined by your predicted marathon pace, which should be calculated by adding 45 seconds per mile to your 10K race pace. This first Saturday, run 8-9 miles at your predicted marathon pace, plus 15 seconds per mile. For example, if your 10K race pace is 8:00 per mile, your predicted marathon race pace should be 8:45, and this week’s pace should be 9:00 per mile.

And I always recommend taking Sunday off after your long run.

Good luck! And we’ll see you next week!

Training for the Ogden Marathon with Brian Nicholson

Many people, both runners and non-runners alike have considered the possibility of running a marathon. For whatever reason, this particular race distance has etched itself in the minds of the human spirit as a challenge to be conquered. It could be a bucket list item, a tangible goal to promote an active and healthy lifestyle, or a way to prove one’s mettle in the face of something difficult. I get it, the drive to accomplish something as difficult as running a full marathon is very real. I have completed 41 of them.

Ranked by both Runner’s World and Shape.com as one of the best for first time marathon runners, the Ogden Marathon is also a qualifier for the Boston Marathon. And as the official Ogden Marathon Real Estate sponsor, we truly believe this is not only one of the most beautiful local races around, but one of the best marathons in the Western United States. This will be my 12th time running this course and it’s one of my favorites.

Mountain Luxury Ogden Marathon Training Plan

There are tons of different training plan out there. Some are for folks who have never run, not even a block or two. With this plan (which is totally free) I have to assume if you’re considering a marathon, you probably have at least some very basic running experience. Maybe you’re hitting the track for a couple miles for a cardio addition to your gym workout. Perhaps you are just trying to shed a few pounds after the holidays and have run a few miles on the weekend. But this plan is best if you have at least a minimal amount of running under your belt.

Given those assumptions, I would recommend a 16-20 week training program to prepare for race day. A few years back, I discovered a program designed for first time marathoners called the FIRST program. I have modeled this program loosely on that one, which involves running three days each week, with a day or two mixed in of cross-training on a bicycle, in the pool, on a rowing machine, or anything that doesn’t involve your running muscles.

There are currently 17 weeks left to prepare for the Ogden Marathon on May 19th. Each week, we will update this blog and share it on our social media channels. You can also choose to receive updates in your inbox by subscribing to our training plan email. If you are a wolf and like to be part of a pack you are more than welcome to join our running group. 

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