Track Workouts

Track workouts are an important part of marathon training. While these workouts do not have to necessarily be performed on a 400m track, I find them easier to do and have a better time keeping track of reps and times. As part of an 18-week marathon training program, I will select 1 of these workouts to do during each week of the first 9 weeks of the buildup.

1 mile Warm Up

4x1200m @ 5k pace with a 400m recovery between reps. 

1 mile Cool Down

1 mile Warm Up

5x1000m @ 5k pace with a 400m recovery between reps. 

1 mile Cool Down

1 mile Warm Up

6x800m @ 5k pace with a 400m recovery between reps. 

1 mile Cool Down

1 mile Warm Up

8x600m @ 5k pace with a 200-400m recovery between reps. 

1 mile Cool Down

1 mile Warm Up

12x400m @ faster than 5k pace with a 200m recovery between reps. 

1 mile Cool Down

Track Workout

Longer Interval Workouts

These longer interval workouts are similar to the above track workouts, but graduate to a longer period of speed work. My track workouts earlier in the marathon buildup consist of around 3 miles of speed work, whereas in the final 9 weeks of training I will incorporate these workouts in once a week in place of the shorter ones. The pace for the speed work slows a bit, but the length helps to build lasting endurance for the grueling 26.2 miles to come on race day. These can be adjusted to meet your needs, but I typically shoot for 8-12 total miles with at least 6 miles of speed work mixed into the plan.

1 Mile Warm Up

6 x 1 Mile @ 10k – half marathon pace. Active recovery jog of 400m-800m in between reps

1 Mile Cool Down 

1 Mile Warm Up

4 x 1.5 Mile @  half marathon pace. Active recovery jog of 800m in between reps

1 Mile Cool Down 

1 Mile Warm Up

3 x 2 Mile @  half marathon pace. Active recovery jog of 800m in between reps

1 Mile Cool Down 

1 Mile Warm Up

2 x 3 Mile @  half marathon pace. Active recovery jog of 800m in between reps

1 Mile Cool Down 

Miscellaneous Workouts

These are some other workouts I have stumbled across in the past that I have used to help supplement the above workouts.

I stumbled across this workout while looking for some Boston Marathon specific workouts. This is a tough workout, but will really help prepare you for all of the uphill AND downhill running as you head toward Boylston Street. 

Warmup – 1 mile easy jog

2 Mile Uphill tempo – do your best to find a continuous stretch of hills where you will average around 3-5% grade. This should be done at around 10-20 seconds faster than your goal race pace. 

1/2 mile recovery – can be increased to 1 mile if needed.

8x400m Uphill and Downhill – seek out a 6-8% gradient and complete each interval at goal race pace uphill and back downhill. There is no rest between the uphill and downhill, just a continuous pace. The downhill should feel easier and a break can be taken halfway through if needed. 

1/2 mile recovery – can also be increased to 1 mile if an extra break is needed.

2 Mile Downhill tempo – return down the 2 miles that you climbed earlier on the uphill tempo. This should also be down at around 10-20 seconds faster than goal race pace. When running downhill focus on landing “soft” by not striking the heel first. Work on landing on the middle of the foot to avoid the extra strain on your quads and calves. 

Cool Down – 1 mile easy jog

 

This can be done however desired, but I will typically sprint the straightaways of the track (100m) and then jog/walk the bends (100m). Depending on the level of fitness, repeat for as many laps as needed.

I have personally never done this workout, but I have many friends that will complete this “final race prep” workout a few weeks out from every race. It is a fairly simple workout: 10x800m with a 400m recovery. The goal is to complete all 10 reps around the same time, so don’t burn yourself out too quickly. The magic behind this workout is that beyond being a good interval workout it can help predict marathon fitness. While there are certainly more factors that go into it, there is some correlation to the average time that you complete each 800m rep and what your predicted marathon finish time will be. For example: if I complete each 800m at an average time of 2:57, in theory I should have the fitness to complete the marathon in 2:57. It’s not a perfect match, but should give you some insight into where your fitness level is at.