Fresh from two weeks of transition and maintenance from my Faster Road Running: 5K Schedule 2 plan, it was time to start with the marathon training as my number one running goal this year. I know that I liked the intensity and inclusion of mid-week long runs by Pfitzinger and Latter so it wasn’t a hard decision to proceed with Advanced Marathoning plans.
In terms of choosing, the 18/70 plan was too much for me in terms of total weekly mileage and the first Sunday long run of 24.1 km was something I never did this year so the next best thing was the 18/55.
Schedule
- Goal Race: 3:30-4:00 Berlin
- Plan: Pfitz 18/55
| Date | Day | Workout | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-05-19 | Monday | Rest or cross-training | Yoga and mobility drills |
| 2025-05-20 | Tuesday | Lactate threshold 12.9 km w/ 6.4 km @ 15K to half marathon pace (4:16-4:22/km) | 6.4 km LT @ 4:20/km Total: 13.02 km @ 5:27/km |
| 2025-05-21 | Wednesday | Rest of cross-training | Recovery 12.09 km @ 6:42/km |
| 2025-05-22 | Thursday | General aerobic 14.5 km | 15.10 km @ 6:31/km |
| 2025-05-23 | Friday | Rest of cross-training | Recovery 12.18 km @ 7:04/km |
| 2025-05-24 | Saturday | Recovery 6.4 km | 12.30 km @ 7:07/km |
| 2025-05-25 | Sunday | Medium-long run 19.3 km | 20.01 km @ 6:19/km |
- Totals:
- Expected: 53.1 km
- Actual: 84.60 km
Thoughts
In the first week there were only four days of specific workouts. I found this too boring coming from six days of regular running so I decided to do recovery runs on the non-Monday easy days as shared by a user in reddit. Unfortunately I can’t find that specific comment anymore but thank you for this tip. The main reason was to keep the mileage going but to make sure I am not exerting too much effort to cause injuries due to overtraining.
Tuesday
A lactate threshold (LT) run as a welcome set the tone for how challenging the plan will be. I made sure to carefully check my target paces and according to my recent 5 km personal record of 19:54, my LT target range should be between 4:16 to 4:22 per kilometer.
Again I used my Asics Magic Speed 3s for the 800m track and hoped for the best. The book recommended a warm-up of at least 3.2 km and I used this to do some 500-meter strides before the main block started.
During the LT run I just made sure to relax and maintain the intensity to the upper range of the target pace to not burn out early. By the second kilometer I had to be faster than the first. I was not planning to do negative splits but to keep the rest of the paces below the first kilometer as another layer of challenge. I had chewable gels that were easy to consume every after lap and I was able to get through it with a total of 6.44 km @ 4:20/km which was a success.
After that, as stated as well in the book, to do a cool down of 3.2 km.
Since there will be multiple quality sessions per week I started to do simple foam roller exercises to my legs to help them loosen up and recover faster for the next workout. This day I did it at night, eight hours after the LT run.
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
This recovery workouts’ length was based on my favourite accessible route where I can run without too much car and pedestrian interference. My settings during this time was to stay at lower end of my Zone 2 and I made sure to keep it that way.
On Thursday, I had the chance to go faster because the target range was my Zone 3. It was short and sweet for what it was and I used my trusted Puma Deviate NITRO 3s which were still alive from all the winter and spring running.
Thursday
I already did two medium-long runs (from my understanding is a run that is more than 10km but less than half-marathon distance) in the “taper week” leading this marathon plan in the southeastern part of my town which I enjoyed. For this day, I made sure to cross six different bridges from my street up to the end and back based from both my previous runs and Komoot.
This workout, as suggested in the book, has two main blocks based from my target marathon pace (MP) of 5:30/km:
- 1/4 spent in the range of 20% less than MP: 6:18-6:32/km
- the rest in the range of 10% less than MP: 6:00-6:18/km
I bought some gummy bears and a pack of chewable gels to keep me going and I enjoyed all the nature and quietness of the city just before 6:00AM on a Sunday morning.
When I got home, as stated before, I immediately did foam roller massages on my legs during the post-workout stretching. I think it really helped with the recovery and keeping any sore muscles at bay in preparation for next week!
Overall
It was a surprisingly doable but challenging week. Right now I am terrified of the LT days even though it will be once every two weeks but the intensity and need to focus to achieve the fast paces is still intimidating.
On the bright side, I enjoyed the two the long runs and I am looking forward to these for the rest of the plan. These will increase in target distance in the future but as of the moment I look forward to these the most because I believe the benefits from these are the ones I easily observe in a few days in terms of better stamina and quicker recovery time.