Marathon training
Road to the Cleveland Marathon
Sunday, May 16, 2027 · 26.2 miles · Goal: finish the race. Training since July 25, 2026, every run synced from Strava.
days to go
43-week build
Miles logged
99.5mi
30 runs
This week
—
Milestone quest
6.2mi · 10K
0.9 mi beyond the longest run yet
Planned Dec 7 — marked ◆ on the chart
Last run · Sat, Oct 31
Evening Run
3.68 mi · 39:49 · 10:50 /mi
Latest write-ups
All 11 in the run log ↓Week 15 · Oct 27
Making It Official
I made it official and signed up for the Cleveland Marathon. I was procrastinating on registration: what if my interest dwindled? But I decided that, if anything, the registration…
5.34 mi · 10:58 /miRead →
Week 14 · Oct 24
Treadmill vs. Watch
First treadmill run, two very different numbers recorded by the apartment gym treadmill and my watch. I am not sure which to trust more; the apartment gym treadmill is pretty beat…
3.70 mi · 10:52 /miRead →
Week 14 · Oct 22
Belt and Beats
Today I whipped out some old and new running gear. The first and newest to me was a running belt. I just got a cheap one on Amazon, with a pocket big enough to hold my phone. In…
4.19 mi · 10:25 /miRead →
Weekly mileage
Miles per week, Monday to Sunday, from the first week of training to race week, against the training plan.
- Miles run
- Plan
- Milestone week
Show as table
| Week | Starting | Miles | Planned | Runs | Longest | Planned long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jul 20 | 2.3 | — | 1 | 2.3 | — |
| 2 | Jul 27 | 8.3 | — | 3 | 2.9 | — |
| 3 | Aug 3 | 12.7 | — | 3 | 5.0 | — |
| 4 | Aug 10 | 4.0 | — | 1 | 4.0 | — |
| 5 | Aug 17 | 0.0 | — | 0 | — | — |
| 6 | Aug 24 | 0.0 | — | 0 | — | — |
| 7 | Aug 31 | 0.0 | — | 0 | — | — |
| 8 | Sep 7 | 2.9 | — | 1 | 2.9 | — |
| 9 | Sep 14 | 7.4 | 7 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 |
| 10 | Sep 21 | 8.4 | 8 | 3 | 3.2 | 3 |
| 11 | Sep 28 | 9.9 | 9 | 3 | 4.0 | 4 |
| 12 | Oct 5 | 7.7 | 7 | 3 | 3.2 | 3 |
| 13 | Oct 12 | 11.7 | 10 | 3 | 4.3 | 4 |
| 14 | Oct 19 | 11.6 | 11 | 3 | 4.2 | 4 |
| 15 | Oct 26 | 12.6 | 12 | 3 | 5.3 | 5 |
| 16 | Nov 2 | — | 10 | — | — | 4 |
| 17 | Nov 9 | — | 13 | — | — | 5 |
| 18 | Nov 16 | — | 14 | — | — | 6 |
| 19 | Nov 23 | — | 12 | — | — | 5 |
| 20 | Nov 30 | — | 15 | — | — | 6 |
| 21 | Dec 7 | — | 16 | — | — | 7 |
| 22 | Dec 14 | — | 18 | — | — | 8 |
| 23 | Dec 21 | — | 13 | — | — | 5 |
| 24 | Dec 28 | — | 12 | — | — | 6 |
| 25 | Jan 4 | — | 10 | — | — | 4 |
| 26 | Jan 11 | — | 10 | — | — | 4 |
| 27 | Jan 18 | — | 16 | — | — | 7 |
| 28 | Jan 25 | — | 20 | — | — | 8 |
| 29 | Feb 1 | — | 22 | — | — | 10 |
| 30 | Feb 8 | — | 17 | — | — | 7 |
| 31 | Feb 15 | — | 25 | — | — | 11 |
| 32 | Feb 22 | — | 28 | — | — | 12 |
| 33 | Mar 1 | — | 21 | — | — | 9 |
| 34 | Mar 8 | — | 31 | — | — | 13 |
| 35 | Mar 15 | — | 33 | — | — | 14 |
| 36 | Mar 22 | — | 26 | — | — | 11 |
| 37 | Mar 29 | — | 35 | — | — | 16 |
| 38 | Apr 5 | — | 37 | — | — | 18 |
| 39 | Apr 12 | — | 30 | — | — | 14 |
| 40 | Apr 19 | — | 40 | — | — | 20 |
| 41 | Apr 26 | — | 30 | — | — | 12 |
| 42 | May 3 | — | 22 | — | — | 8 |
| 43 | May 10 | — | 33.2 | — | — | 26.2 |
Training plan
A first-marathon plan with one job: get to the start line healthy. Three or four easy runs a week plus a weekend long run, peaking at 40 miles with a 20-mile long run the week of Apr 19. Each week's target is the line on the chart above.
Base
19 planned weeks · peak 18 mi / 8 long · 4 cutbacks
Easy running three or four days a week, from 7 up to 18 miles a week with a long run up to 8, peaking in mid-December. Every third or fourth week steps back, two of them landing on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then two lighter weeks over the honeymoon (Jan 1–16): a few easy runs whenever they fit, and a week easing back in.
- Sep 14 · 7 mi / 3 long*
- Sep 21 · 8 mi / 3 long
- Sep 28 · 9 mi / 4 long
- Oct 5 · 7 mi / 3 long*
- Oct 12 · 10 mi / 4 long
- Oct 19 · 11 mi / 4 long
- Oct 26 · 12 mi / 5 long
- Nov 2 · 10 mi / 4 long*
- Nov 9 · 13 mi / 5 long
- Nov 16 · 14 mi / 6 long
- Nov 23 · 12 mi / 5 long*
- Nov 30 · 15 mi / 6 long
- Dec 7 · 16 mi / 7 long
- Dec 14 · 18 mi / 8 long*
- Dec 21 · 13 mi / 5 long*
- Dec 28 · 12 mi / 6 long*
- Jan 4 · 10 mi / 4 long*
- Jan 11 · 10 mi / 4 long*
- Jan 18 · 16 mi / 7 long*
How it's built
- Build slowly. Each week adds at most three miles over the last full week. In a study of 874 novice runners, those who raised their weekly distance by more than 30% over two weeks were more prone to runner's knee, shin splints and other overuse injuries than those who kept it under 10% (Nielsen et al., 2014).
- Step back often. Every third or fourth week drops about 20% so the body can absorb the work. The build and taper follow the shape of Hal Higdon's Novice 1, the most widely used first-marathon plan: a step-back every third week and a 20-mile peak three weeks out.
- Taper for three weeks. Mileage steps down each week rather than falling off a cliff. Across more than 158,000 recreational marathoners, a strict three-week taper went with the fastest finishes, a median of about 5½ minutes quicker than a minimal taper (Smyth & Lawlor, 2021).
Run log
Showing 30 of 30 runs
| Date | Run | Distance | Time | Pace | Avg HR | Drift |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, Oct 31 | 3.68 mi | 39:49 | 10:50 /mi | 168 bpm | −0.3% | |
| Thu, Oct 29 | 3.61 mi | 37:38 | 10:25 /mi | 171 bpm | 7.2% | |
| Tue, Oct 27 | Tue, Oct 27 Making It OfficialWrite-up5.34 mi · 58:37 · 10:58 /mi I made it official and signed up for the Cleveland Marathon. I was procrastinating on registration: what if my interest dwindled? But I decided that, if… | 5.34 mi | 58:37 | 10:58 /mi | 161 bpm | 2.1% |
| Sat, Oct 24 | Sat, Oct 24 Treadmill vs. WatchWrite-up3.70 mi · 40:15 · 10:52 /mi First treadmill run, two very different numbers recorded by the apartment gym treadmill and my watch. I am not sure which to trust more; the apartment gym… | 3.70 mi | 40:15 | 10:52 /mi | 162 bpm | 4.4% |
| Thu, Oct 22 | Thu, Oct 22 Belt and BeatsWrite-up4.19 mi · 43:41 · 10:25 /mi Today I whipped out some old and new running gear. The first and newest to me was a running belt. I just got a cheap one on Amazon, with a pocket big enough to… | 4.19 mi | 43:41 | 10:25 /mi | 171 bpm | 7.0% |
| Tue, Oct 20 | 3.68 mi | 38:05 | 10:21 /mi | 168 bpm | 6.5% | |
| Sat, Oct 17 | Sat, Oct 17 Embarcadero StrollWrite-up4.01 mi · 43:46 · 10:54 /mi I am writing this post-mortem about a week later, mourning a short but enjoyable vacation to San Diego. It was my first time in the city and we caught it in a… | 4.01 mi | 43:46 | 10:54 /mi | 163 bpm | 2.0% |
| Thu, Oct 15 | 4.31 mi | 46:20 | 10:45 /mi | 163 bpm | 4.1% | |
| Tue, Oct 13 | Tue, Oct 13 Go Guards, Part IIWrite-up3.34 mi · 37:16 · 11:09 /mi Last night was an exciting night for Cleveland baseball. The Guardians took a 1-0 lead in the ALCS against the Rays, stealing the Rays' first home game in St… | 3.34 mi | 37:16 | 11:09 /mi | 168 bpm | 9.4% |
| Sat, Oct 10 | 2.27 mi | 23:21 | 10:19 /mi | 165 bpm | 3.7% | |
| Thu, Oct 8 | 3.24 mi | 34:02 | 10:30 /mi | 171 bpm | 7.8% | |
| Tue, Oct 6 | 2.23 mi | 23:18 | 10:27 /mi | 165 bpm | 2.9% | |
| Sat, Oct 3 | Sat, Oct 3 Go GuardsWrite-up3.26 mi · 34:31 · 10:35 /mi For the first home game of the playoffs, it felt fitting to run down by Progressive Field. Four hours before game time, the street vendors were setting up shop… | 3.26 mi | 34:31 | 10:35 /mi | 172 bpm | 3.3% |
| Thu, Oct 1 | 4.01 mi | 45:47 | 11:26 /mi | 175 bpm | 16.8% | |
| Tue, Sep 29 | Tue, Sep 29 Surprising MyselfWrite-up2.62 mi · 25:51 · 9:51 /mi Today's run felt like a slog. If you had asked me my pace, I would have told you I ran at a glacial 20-minute-a-mile pace. Grandmothers were passing me by with… | 2.62 mi | 25:51 | 9:51 /mi | 174 bpm | 9.1% |
| Sat, Sep 26 | Sat, Sep 26 Another Week DownWrite-up2.54 mi · 25:49 · 10:11 /mi I did a loop down by the Browns' stadium today. Wasn't planned out, but just felt like it would land me around the 2.5 mile mark I wanted to hit, and it did… | 2.54 mi | 25:49 | 10:11 /mi | 172 bpm | 3.5% |
| Thu, Sep 24 | 3.24 mi | 34:28 | 10:39 /mi | 177 bpm | 7.8% | |
| Tue, Sep 22 | 2.65 mi | 28:02 | 10:34 /mi | 174 bpm | 7.3% | |
| Sun, Sep 20 | Sun, Sep 20 One Week InWrite-up2.31 mi · 24:38 · 10:41 /mi Easy Sunday morning run This was an easy run, the easiest two miles since I started up again. We got woken up by somebody doing burnouts outside our apartment around 3:30 AM, which… | 2.31 mi | 24:38 | 10:41 /mi | 166 bpm | 3.2% |
| Thu, Sep 17 | 3.02 mi | 31:33 | 10:27 /mi | 181 bpm | 12.1% | |
| Tue, Sep 15 | Tue, Sep 15 2 Mile PRWrite-up2.12 mi · 21:30 · 10:08 /mi Cool Tuesday morning Today was the first day I am trying to adhere to the training plan I created with Claude. It has me running 7 miles this week, with a 3 mile run as my "long… | 2.12 mi | 21:30 | 10:08 /mi | 179 bpm | 5.9% |
| Sun, Sep 13 | Sun, Sep 13 Run down by the airportWrite-up2.89 mi · 34:09 · 11:49 /mi B-29 Spotting The run felt tough today, as I had taken a few weeks off after my wedding. I ran in my home base area - Downtown Cleveland - but went on a new route today… | 2.89 mi | 34:09 | 11:49 /mi | 175 bpm | 0.6% |
| Mon, Aug 10 | 4.00 mi | 45:35 | 11:24 /mi | 168 bpm | 1.0% | |
| Sat, Aug 8 | 5.04 mi | 1:07:27 | 13:23 /mi | 163 bpm | −12.4% | |
| Wed, Aug 5 | 3.77 mi | 47:18 | 12:33 /mi | 165 bpm | −4.6% | |
| Mon, Aug 3 | 3.86 mi | 43:42 | 11:20 /mi | 171 bpm | 2.8% | |
| Fri, Jul 31 | 2.93 mi | 34:56 | 11:56 /mi | 172 bpm | −6.6% | |
| Wed, Jul 29 | 2.80 mi | 32:17 | 11:31 /mi | 170 bpm | 7.4% | |
| Mon, Jul 27 | 2.59 mi | 29:23 | 11:20 /mi | 175 bpm | −5.1% | |
| Sat, Jul 25 | 2.28 mi | 26:47 | 11:44 /mi | 177 bpm | −4.2% |