Marathon Training: XT days

[WhoIsRunnerGirl]

I just started training for the Chicago Marathon and it's my first so I'm not sure what is the best day to handle my off days. You can see my training schedule here http://whoisrunnergirl.com/?page_id=12

Right now, I do 25 min of yoga before or after a run and I'm thinking of doing an hour and 15 minutes of yoga on days that I don't run since it's less intense than a different cardio that would take 45 min for a good workout. Should I only do yoga on off days or should i find a different XT that raises my heart rate more?

Thanks for your advice!
whoisrunnergirl.com

[Sasha Pachev]

I noticed something odd about the plan. There is a lot of high intensity running and not nearly enough aerobic conditioning. This is a good training plan for a 5 K for a runner than responds to speed work. It may also work well for a triathlete that is training for the Olympic distance. But it is a less than ideal program for a marathon for any runner, well aerobically conditioned or not. 

The ideal plan would depend on what your best times are in shorter distances, whether you've run a marathon before, and what you have done in the last 6 months. For the overwhelming majority of runners aerobic conditioning is what is lacking. Their dream goals can be easily reached if they ran 6 days a week at a comfortable pace for as long as their body can handle it on that schedule with a gradual increase as the fitness improves. After that some additional fitness can be gained by incorporating tempo runs and even shorter intervals to push the neurological limits up. The faster work becomes of interest only when you are able to race a marathon within no more than 30 seconds per mile slower than your 10 K race pace. If your 10 K and the marathon are apart by more than that, you are not limited by your 10 K speed, and therefore your energy and time would be better spent running base mileage.

Even though the above works like magic, unfortunately it appears too simple for the general public to buy and the numerous publication authors need to get their money's worth out of their plans. So you will not read about it in books or magazines, but will see less effective overcomplicated plans instead.

[WhoIsRunnerGirl]

I guess I'm kind of confused by what you mean. My routine is a mix between the veteran plan and the two key workouts for marathon training that I pulled from Runner's World. What specifically would you change in the schedule?

[Sasha Pachev]

It would depend on your best 5 K, best 10 K, best half and best marathon, and your past training history. Making a wild guess I would assume that your 5 K is a notably better quality performance than your marathon, that you have not run more than 50 miles a week consistently throughout the year in the past, but are comfortable running 10 miles at once at an easy pace. If my assumptions are correct, I would suggest the following:

5 days a week jog 10 miles. The day before the rest day warm up 2-3 miles, run 10-12 hard, cool down to get to the total of 20. If that is something you are sure you can do with ease, then up your daily run to 12 miles.

The reasoning behind the above is that most runners that have not run 80 miles a week for a few years will have much more room for improvement in the area of aerobic base than anywhere else. So if you are in that category, a focus on aerobic base will get you the biggest bang for the buck in the marathon.