🏃 Detailed Couch to Marathon
24-week comprehensive training with exercise specifics
Phase 1: Base Building (Weeks 1-6)
Foundation & habit formation
Weekly Mileage
12-21 mi
Strength Days
2x/week
Yoga/Stretch
3x/week
Rest Days
2-3/week
📅 Week 1 Detailed Schedule
🏃♂️ Monday - Easy Run
Distance: 2 miles | Pace: Conversational (9:30-10:00 min/mile) | Duration: 20 minutes
Warm-up (5 min)
- Arm circles: 10 forward, 10 backward
- Leg swings: 10 front-back each leg
- Dynamic stretches: Walking lunges x10
- Light jog: 2 min at easy pace
Cool-down (5 min)
- Walk: 2 minutes to bring HR down
- Static stretches: Each 30 seconds
- Quad stretch (each leg)
- Hamstring stretch (each leg)
- Calf stretch (each leg)
- Hip flexor stretch (each leg)
💪 Tuesday - Strength Training (30 min)
Focus: Lower body strength | Rest between sets: 60-90 seconds
Warm-up (5 min)
- Bodyweight squats: 15 reps
- Glute bridges: 15 reps
- Leg swings: 10 each direction, each leg
Main Strength (20 min)
- Goblet Squats: 3 sets × 12 reps (15-20 lb dumbbell)
- Romanian Deadlifts: 3 sets × 10 reps (20-25 lb dumbbells)
- Walking Lunges: 3 sets × 10 per leg (bodyweight or 8-10 lb dumbbells)
- Glute Bridges: 2 sets × 15 reps (bodyweight)
- Calf Raises: 2 sets × 15 reps (holding 15 lb dumbbell)
Cool-down (5 min)
- Quad stretch: 30 sec each leg
- Hamstring stretch: 30 sec each leg
- Hip opener: 30 sec each side
🧘 Wednesday - Yoga & Flexibility (30 min)
Style: Restorative Yin Yoga | Focus: Hip openers and hamstring stretches
Warm-up (5 min)
- Cat-Cow stretches: 10 rounds, 1 min
- Child's pose: 1 min deep breathing
Main Flow (20 min) - Hold each 2-3 min
- Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana prep) - Deep hip opener, targets glutes
- Butterfly Pose (Baddha Konasana) - Inner thigh and hip flexibility
- Lizard Pose (Utthan Pristhasana) - Hip flexor and groin stretch
- Pyramid Pose (Parsvottanasana) - Hamstring and calf stretch
- Downward Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) - Full posterior chain, 1 min
- Low Lunge (Anjaneyasana) - Hip flexor stretch, each side 2 min
- Supine Figure Four (Sucirandhrasana) - Glute and hip opener, each side 2 min
Cool-down/Savasana (5 min)
- Legs up the wall or Savasana: Full body relaxation, deep breathing
🏃♂️ Thursday - Recovery Run
Distance: 1.5 miles | Pace: Very easy (10:00-10:30 min/mile) | Duration: 16 minutes
Main Workout
- Warm-up walk: 2 minutes
- Easy jog: 12 minutes at conversational pace
- Cool-down walk: 2 minutes
💪 Friday - Strength Training (30 min)
Focus: Upper body & core | Rest between sets: 60-90 seconds
Warm-up (5 min)
- Arm circles: 20 total (10 forward, 10 back)
- Bodyweight push-ups: 10 reps
- Plank hold: 20 seconds
Main Strength (20 min)
- Push-ups: 3 sets × 8-10 reps (modify on knees if needed)
- Dumbbell Rows: 3 sets × 10 reps (15-20 lb dumbbells)
- Plank: 3 sets × 30-45 seconds (maintain neutral spine)
- Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 sets × 10 reps (12-15 lb dumbbells)
- Pallof Press: 2 sets × 10 per side (5-10 lb dumbbell for core stability)
Cool-down (5 min)
- Chest stretch: 30 sec each side (doorway stretch)
- Shoulder stretch: 30 sec each arm (cross-body)
- Child's pose: 1 min
🧘 Saturday - Long Run
Distance: 4 miles | Pace: Easy (10:00 min/mile) | Duration: 40 minutes
Run Details
- Warm-up walk: 3 minutes
- Easy run: 34 minutes (should be conversational pace)
- Cool-down walk: 3 minutes
- Hydration: Sip water every 10 min
😴 Sunday - Rest & Recovery
Active Recovery Option: 20-30 min easy walk or gentle swimming (optional)
Recovery Focus
- Sleep: 7-9 hours per night
- Nutrition: Balanced meals with adequate protein and carbs
- Hydration: Minimum 2 liters of water
- Light mobility: 10 min stretching session
- Mental rest: No running thoughts, focus on recovery
📚 Key Progression Notes
- Weeks 1-6 (Base): Focus on consistency and building aerobic base. Add 1-2 miles to long run every 2 weeks.
- Weeks 7-12 (Build): Increase strength to 2-3x/week. Long run grows to 10-12 miles.
- Weeks 13-18 (Peak): Maximum mileage 40-45 mi/week. Add tempo runs and speed work. Maintain strength 2x/week.
- Weeks 19-24 (Taper): Reduce volume by 20-50%. Focus on rest and race-specific drills.
- General Rules: Never increase weekly mileage by more than 10%. If injury occurs, take 5-7 days off fully.
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