Training plans for the Zurich Seville Marathon
By Rodrigo Gavela
PREPARE FOR THE ZURICH SEVILLE MARATHON WITH CONFIDENCE
HOW TO INTERPRET THE TRAINING PLANS
A total of 7 goal-based training levels are proposed, that is, depending on the target finish time you aim to achieve in the Marathon. All plans are designed for the upcoming edition of the Zurich Seville Marathon and last 14 weeks.
Training runs should begin at a very easy effort and increase progressively. Every runner has their own training pace, determined by their current race pace at each point in the season. When starting a plan, your race pace is much slower than it will be at the end, which means training runs and interval sessions will initially be at lower intensity compared to several weeks later. At the beginning of the plan you must be cautious and listen to your own body, which will dictate your proper training pace.
Races will guide us in estimating the likely pace for the target event, which will always be faster than those race paces. In the final weeks of the plan, training paces will be dictated by the target pace. If you absorb those sessions well, you can be confident that you will meet your goal time in your most important race.
The intensity of interval sessions should increase progressively. For example, when doing long intervals, you start several seconds per km slower than your average half marathon pace, and the last one should be a few seconds per km faster than that pace. In short intervals those paces should be even faster.
THE TIMES PROPOSED IN THE TABLES ARE APPROXIMATE GUIDELINES
You should not take the suggested paces as strict “rules”; they are only references from which you must calculate your own training paces. To avoid mistakes, it is best to err on the side of caution and finish intervals feeling strong. Keep in mind that if the last interval is not the fastest, or if in the final third you are running slower than in the earlier ones, you are doing them wrong—meaning too fast for you. If you run them progressively, finishing the last ones stronger, but after one minute you do not recover at least 30 heartbeats, you are pushing too hard and should reduce the pace in the next session.
MORE INFORMATION AND CONTACT
If you are registered for the upcoming edition of the Zurich Seville Marathon and have doubts about how to follow your training plan, you can contact our coaches through the following email:
entrenamiento@zurichmaratonsevilla.es
