Length. The longer the plan, the more time you have to adjust to the training load. However, a longer plan also requires a greater time commitment.

This tapering programme is taken from Advanced Marathoning, 3rd Edition. By following this schedule, your mileage would have peaked at 70m per week. And you would have run your last 20 miles on the Sunday before the start of the taper. You can find a more detailed look at the programme in Advanced Marathoning, 3rd Edition.Thursday – Standard warm up. Run 30 minutes, alternating between 30 seconds at 20 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace and 30 seconds at goal marathon race pace. Cool down with 5 minutes at an easy pace.

Sunday – Standard warm up. Run 60 minutes at a pace that is about 15 seconds per mile slower than your 10K pace. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging. Week 5 Tuesday – Standard warm up. Run 1 mile at an easy pace, 6 miles at goal marathon race pace and 3 miles at 10K pace with no rest between distances. Cool down with 1 mile at an easy pace. They are split into 3 phases. The first phase is the Endurance phase, the second phase is the Lactate Threshold and Endurance and the third phase the Race Preparation stage. P+D runs

Large time commitments. Overall, the plans require a lot of time. The Sunday long runs can get pretty long, and you might find yourself out there for three hours. Finding time for a 15 mile run on a Wednesday morning might be tough, too. And compressing the mileage over fewer days means that each run is going to be longer. You might have several runs during the week that exceed an hour. Thursday – Standard warm up. Run 20 minutes, alternating between 30 seconds at 20 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace and 30 seconds at an easy pace.

Runs 16+. I consider that the 16 mile mark defines the beginning of "the long run". While this is somewhat arbitrary on my part, I believe that counting the number of long runs that are 16 miles or more is a useful metric. The first run the diesel 16 miles or more is highlighted in green in the weekly section. If you read about these plans online, they are usually referred to by a shorthand method that starts with the number of weeks and is followed by the peak mileage. For example, the Pfitz 18/55 plan is the 18 week plan peaking at 55mpw. Pfitz 18/55 and Pfitz 18/70 are probably the most popular versions of the plan. One of the easiest ways to increase mileage is with the medium long run. Obviously you can’t add another day to your week, and I don’t personally recommend running every single day (as I discuss here). The length of your long runs is probably set already, too. Bumping up easy runs by a mile or 2, and then adding a good amount of mileage to another to make a medium long run is the simplest way to get more week-to-week mileage.Tuesday – Standard warm up. Run 3 miles at 10K pace, 6 miles at goal marathon race pace and 1 mile at 5K pace, with no rest between distances. Cool down with 800 meter at an easy pace. The bottom line is that these Pete Pfitzinger marathon training plans work – but they are not for everyone. Days/Week and Easy Days. To keep Training Monotony low and get the best recovery, running 3-4 days/week is probably optimal. If you prefer to run more frequently, then it is critical to keep the easy days as easy as possible. Initial Ramp (mileage increase/week from start to 16): You need to be doing 16+ mile plans regularly before considering this plan.

This is the book that taught me the science and training necessary to run faster marathons. It’s clear, smart, precise, and full of terrific advice. My first edition is full of scribbles, underlines, and notes, marking a progression from 3:18 to 3:06 to 2:43—and, more important, to a true love of the sport. This edition is even better. Read it and run.” Tuesday – Standard warm up. Run 1 mile at an easy pace, 6 miles at goal marathon race pace and 1 more mile at an easy pace, with no rest between distances. The Hanson plan has found success with runners who have previously burned out on other plans, but it's unclear if it would be viable to swap that Hanson plan part way through a training cycle.

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The long run will take up the highest percentage of your weekly mileage, and your medium long run will come second. Long runs often take up too high of a percentage of a runner’s total mileage, however, and it’s better if you can space out the mileage over the course of the week a bit better.