It's Christmas Eve and that can only mean one thing... yes, Santa is on his way to Rosie's house with a marathon training schedule! 
Training starts Boxing Day, so here's the plan for the first week, and a bit of explanation to go with it.
I've used the sub 3.30 plan as the basis for Rosie's training. However, Rosie is already covering considerably more miles than what is suggested as a starting point on a weekly basis. The challenge for her is to introduce more structure and variety to her training, and some faster running.
She also does a lot of her training on hilly terrain, so I have indicated some runs that I’d like her to do on flat, even surfaces so she can monitor and maintain pace more easily.
I’ve increased the weekly mileage a little on some weeks, added in twice-weekly strength training and ensured she has a mix of the ‘switch off’ runs that she loves and more focused work. You’ll notice some days are Compulsory No Running Days. This is because Rosie basically never takes rest days (as you'll probably be gathering by now if you follow her thread!) and I want to make sure she gets at least ONE a week. The other ‘Rest day’ could be an alternative activity day or a very easy-paced run, if she can’t resist.
A 3:30 marathon is approximately 8:00 per mile. To break 3:30, you should eventually be capable of a sub-1:37 half-marathon (7:20 per mile) and sub- 43:00 10K (7:00 per mile). Right now, you should be running at least 25-30 miles per week, and be able to run for 1:30 non-stop.
PACE GUIDELINES
Slow = 9.15Easy = 9Steady = 8Brisk = 7.30-7.40Fast = 7 (For 800s or shorter, I want Rosie to try slightly quicker – 6.50-6.55)
Rosie’s current paces
5km pace @7 mins per mile
10k pace @ 7.05 per mile
Half mara pace @ 7.25 per mile
Mara pace @ 8.10 per mile
ROSIE’S PLAN
Week One w/c 26/12/11 (29M)
Mon 6M (miles) easy plus strength training
Tue Rest
Wed 5M slow
Thu 3M of 1M jog, 2M brisk, then 1M jog (try to do this on flat, even surface)
Fri Rest COMPULSORY NO RUNNING DAY!
Sat 4M easy plus strength training plus 4 x acceleration strides*
Sun 10M slow
*Acceleration strides - I use these quite a lot in my coaching to add an element of faster running to easy/steady runs. They help you focus on running with good technique - try to turn your feet over quickly (high cadence) but stay relaxed and fluid. Start by running at a comfortable pace, counting 8 strides, then speed up a little for the next 8 strides, accelerate again for the next 8 strides and once more for the final 8 strides (the final effort should be swift, but not an all-out sprint). So each effort is 32 strides, or steps, in total. Walk back to your start point to recover and repeat.
