12-Week Marathon Training Plan for Triathletes

When most people think of an athlete’s off-season, they think of sunny vacations and lots of naps. But triathletes aren’t most people, which is why so many of us Google “winter marathon” around this time of year. For some, training for a marathon is a way to build run speed and endurance for next year’s races; for others, it’s a goal to focus on when triathlon pickings are lean in the northern hemisphere. Whatever your motivation, this marathon training plan for triathletes can help you prepare.

Though there are a variety of marathon training plans available to anyone who wishes to cover the 26.2-mile distance, most of them are focused on the run; that is, swim and bike are for cross-training purposes only. But what if you want to maintain your triathlon fitness during this run-focused training block? And utilize the swimming and biking to accommodate lower run mileage? That’s where this marathon training plan for triathletes comes in. You’ll build your run endurance while still keeping your multisport skills sharp and ready to go for the spring race season.

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Who should use this plan:

This is a marathon training plan for triathletes aimed at those who sustainably train about 10-12 hours/week, with run volumes in the 20-30 mile/week range. If you’re starting below these volumes, or if a significant amount of time (greater than a month) has passed since they were maintained, it would be recommended to spend 2-4 weeks building up before beginning this program, as sudden jumps in run training load increase injury risk. 

The program is intended to max at about 35-40 miles/week, supplemented with about 3-4 hours of biking and 1-2 hours of swimming per week. 

How to read this plan:

Run distances are presented in ranges. Less experienced, more injury prone, or time-crunched athletes should err towards the lower end of the ranges. Long runs are presented in miles, but it is not recommended that any of these runs exceed 3-3.5 hours maximum in length, regardless of mileage. The Thursday run workouts and Sunday long runs are considered the key workouts of the week, and should be given priority.  If additional rest days are needed, opt for Mondays or Fridays; bike workouts may also be shortened if time is a consideration.

Key:

MP: Goal marathon pace. Be realistic! Earlier in the plan, it is advisable to start marathon-paced run segments 10-20 seconds/mile slower than your eventual goal pace, and work these segments down to goal pace by the second half of the plan.

Tempo: “Comfortably hard” threshold training pace. This is the pace that can be held for about an hour hard, if properly rested and peaked. In practice, tempo pace coincides with about 90% of maximal heart rate for well-trained athletes (slightly below that for less fit ones), and usually falls midway between marathon and 5K paces—ie. about 20-30sec/mi slower than 5k pace, and slightly faster than marathon pace for most athletes. A good VDOT calculator with accurate inputs is helpful in determining proper tempo pace.   

5K pace: Again, be realistic. If unsure, use a VDOT table to calculate approximate 5K pace based on your marathon goal pace.

Easy/aerobic pace: Comfortable, “all-day aerobic” pace. Definitions of “easy” and “aerobic” vary, but you should max at about 80% of maximum heart rate, or 1-1.5 min/mile slower than your goal marathon pace.

Rate of perceived exertion: Effort levels in the plan are also written on the “rate of perceived exertion” scale—meaning 3/10 is a 3 out of 10, or very easy; 9/10 is a very hard effort that’s considered 9 out of 10 in terms of perceived exertion.

Strides: Quick accelerations, focusing on fast turnover and efficient form.

FTP: Functional threshold power, or the maximum bike power that can be held for one hour under ideal circumstances.

Your Triathlete-Specific 12-Week Marathon Training Plan

Print a PDF of the plan here