My plan is probably light compared to others around here, but here ya go:

M: Rest
T: 4mi
W: 8mi
T: 4mi (speedwork day, if i feel like it)
F: Rest, or 3mi depending on how I feel
S: 6mi (slow, with running club)
S: 2-3 hour LSD, usually 2 since I'm not training for anything

Total MPW: 38-45

My training on a "normal" training week:

Monday - Fitness class AM, 6 mile run PM
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - Speed work. 6-9 miles
Thursday - 6-8 miles
Friday - Fitness class AM, 7-10 miles after lunch
Saturday - 10-12 miles
Sunday - 12-16 miles

As race day gets closer the weekend long runs get longer.

For base phase, I usually run 6 days, with Monday as my rest day. The four weekday runs range between 6 and 10 miles. Weekend long run between 12 and 16 and the other weekend run between 7 and 10. This puts me between 45 and 55 miles per week.


M - REST
T - 6
W - 8 with 20 minutes tempo
H - 7
F - 9 with 10x20 second strides
S - 10
S - 14

Something like that is typical.

On top of that I do strength training in the evening 3 days a week and kick boxing on Saturdays and Sundays. This for cross training.And yes, I have a full time job!

What do your training plans look like at 30-35 miles a week??

My typical week:

MON - Strength Training & Walking (or Cycling)
TUE - 6 Miles - Easy pace
WED - 5-6 Miles - Some type of Speed work (Tempo, Intervals, Progressive)
THU - 4 Miles - Easy pace
FRI - Strength Training, Walking (or Cycling) & Stretching
SAT - 5-6 Miles - 1/2 Marathon Pace
SUN - 10-13 Miles - Slow pace

I've started running in the Spring of 2012. This routine is pretty much the peak of a half marathon plan I followed for most of last winter/spring. A few months ago I upped my mileage to 40-50 miles a week in hopes of running a marathon this winter. My body quickly fell apart at that level. For now this routine seems to be the best plan for me. I occasionally deviate from it slightly by combining THU & FRI on the same day and taking the other day completely off. My body responds well to to this routine, my fitness level stays intact, and it easily fits into my work/family schedule.

Good Luck!

Thanks so much everyone!!!

It looks like I am definitely going to have to add in a 5th day of running in order to reach the mileage.

But thanks again everyone!!

5 is good. 6 is better.

I am increasing my mileage as well. I find it interesting that people do 2 longer/medium runs 2 times in a row (Sat/Sun).

Also increasing my mileage. Gonna try 6 days this week...

Alternate 6 and 5 days for 4 weeks, then do 6,6, 5,6,6,5 and then you should be set.

I am increasing my mileage as well. I find it interesting that people do 2 longer/medium runs 2 times in a row (Sat/Sun).

After a certain distance and with the endurance under your belt it doesn't matter. For me, 6 miles is the same as 10. 12 - 19 mile runs are nice work outs. And in the 50k trail / hike race I did about a month ago, after mile 20 everything after that just felt like one big mile to the finish.

I really don't think you need to be running more than 18 miles to run a Marathon... Since to do 18 miles you have to have endurance anyway. My boss proved this theory. He has ran New York, Boston and Berlin. His PR is 2 hrs. 33 mins and he has never ran over 18 miles on a training run.

Oh... And he has done 2 ironman competitions!!!

I am increasing my mileage as well. I find it interesting that people do 2 longer/medium runs 2 times in a row (Sat/Sun).

After a certain distance and with the endurance under your belt it doesn't matter. For me, 6 miles is the same as 10. 12 - 19 mile runs are nice work outs. And in the 50k trail / hike race I did about a month ago, after mile 20 everything after that just felt like one big mile to the finish.

I really don't think you need to be running more than 18 miles to run a Marathon... Since to do 18 miles you have to have endurance anyway. My boss proved this theory. He has ran New York, Boston and Berlin. His PR is 2 hrs. 33 mins and he has never ran over 18 miles on a training run.

It depends on your level of fitness. As a low 2:30 marathoner, he's in a very special class. If he runs his 18 mile run as an easy pace, he can probably stretch that to close to 2:30, so he's on his feet about the same amount of time. For the 5 hour marathon crowd, an 18 mile run is around 3 to 3.5 hours, well short of the marathon goal time. They need more than 18 miles. Also, your boss probably gets in a lot more miles during the week than less experienced runners and marathon fitness is all about cumulative mileage over time (meaning months and years). It's really dangerous in this environment to make blanket statements like "I really don't think you need to be running more than 18 miles to run a Marathon" because clearly, the requirements to run a successful marathon are not going to be the same for everyone.

I believe I did say something about fitness level... But no worries not reading what I write... Lol. My boss shares the same philosophy as I do in not doing too easy runs. This is dangerous and can lead to injury. Too easy runs may be bad on your strides! And telling a new runner that they need more than an 18 mile run is dangerous! If your body can't handle it, this will lead to injury. You need to build your self up for this mileage. I still think anyone who can run 18 miles comfortably can run 26.2. Heck, I never run over 20 miles and was able to do a 50k race and win with just two days notice. And I agree the requirements are different for everyone, but one has to build them self up on mileage... See how your body feels, cut back if you are tired, increase if you feel fine.

I am increasing my mileage as well. I find it interesting that people do 2 longer/medium runs 2 times in a row (Sat/Sun).

After a certain distance and with the endurance under your belt it doesn't matter. For me, 6 miles is the same as 10. 12 - 19 mile runs are nice work outs. And in the 50k trail / hike race I did about a month ago, after mile 20 everything after that just felt like one big mile to the finish.

I really don't think you need to be running more than 18 miles to run a Marathon... Since to do 18 miles you have to have endurance anyway. My boss proved this theory. He has ran New York, Boston and Berlin. His PR is 2 hrs. 33 mins and he has never ran over 18 miles on a training run.

It depends on your level of fitness. As a low 2:30 marathoner, he's in a very special class. If he runs his 18 mile run as an easy pace, he can probably stretch that to close to 2:30, so he's on his feet about the same amount of time. For the 5 hour marathon crowd, an 18 mile run is around 3 to 3.5 hours, well short of the marathon goal time. They need more than 18 miles. Also, your boss probably gets in a lot more miles during the week than less experienced runners and marathon fitness is all about cumulative mileage over time (meaning months and years). It's really dangerous in this environment to make blanket statements like "I really don't think you need to be running more than 18 miles to run a Marathon" because clearly, the requirements to run a successful marathon are not going to be the same for everyone.

I believe I did say something about fitness level... But no worries not reading what I write... Lol. My boss shares the same philosophy as I do in not doing too easy runs. This is dangerous and can lead to injury. Too easy runs may be bad on your strides! And telling a new runner that they need more than an 18 mile run is dangerous! If your body can't handle it, this will lead to injury. You need to build your self up for this mileage. I still think anyone who can run 18 miles comfortably can run 26.2. Heck, I never run over 20 miles and was able to do a 50k race and win with just two days notice. And I agree the requirements are different for everyone, but one has to build them self up on mileage... See how your body feels, cut back if you are tired, increase if you feel fine.

You are well aware that I advocate a controlled, cautious approach and to imply anything different is disingenuous.

There is no doubt that you are very gifted, but I think that your knowledge of training methodologies is shallow and limited. A lot of the "advice" I have seen you give is counter to the most common, mainstream accepted methods.

I don't pay attention to you much... So I'm not sure about your philosophy but it seems one sided to me. You probably should try to be more open to other methods and stop using terms like, 'gifted'. Anyone can be 'gifted' if they put in the work.

Okay, so Zekela has a relevant idea to training for a marathon, but I think she fails to give the full benefit to the amount of training she already does (80+ mile weeks), which means that what Carson writes about an incredible fitness base in order to get by on an 18-mile run before a marathon is true.
What works for some runners will not work for all. It's important to take all advice for running like one does with advice in life: with a grain of salt (or a cliff shot block). A lot of the task of becoming a good runner is sifting through all the different methods and techniques and figuring out which is the one that will get you to where you want to go.
And one shouldn't forget the slight amount of talent that is involved in running (and all sports). My high school cross country shirt said: "hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard." Unfortunately, when talent works hard, they beat everyone else out of the water... so that's that.
Despite that, there's no need to not work hard. We're all out to beat ourselves anyway...
When I do a 30+ mile week, I usually do 6 days and have four easy runs (5-8 miles), one tempo or interval run (to help get my pacing for races down 6-10 miles, depending on how long the warm-up and cool downs are), and one long run (10-20 miles, depending on the race I'm training for).
Those long runs can be difficult to figure out. I went from 12-16 miles in one week and felt like crap the next day, but when I did my 20 miler after having done another 16 and 18 miler, I was okay. (I guess building up slowly is important, but also balancing the run with the other runs in the week, the right fuel, etc. is important).
For my first marathon, my longest run was 20 miles. It was tough getting through the last 6 miles of the actual marathon. The effort was about five times that of a normal 6 mile run. For my second marathon, I didn't have enough time to build up to a decent long run and ended up only having an 18-miler. That didn't prepare me at all. True, if my mileage at the time had been higher than 50, I may have been better off, but the fact of the matter is (as Carson said), you want to be preparing yourself in your long run to be as long on your feet as you'll be in the actual race.
Hopefully this is decently helpful!
Edited to actually respond to OP and provide some directly helpful advice: If you are training for a marathon, 30-35 miles is too low. If you think about it, you want to be able to have long runs at least every week and they should be building. Ideally, you want to do at least 40-45 miles weeks at the height of your training for your first marathon. At the beginning, 3 6-milers and a 10 miler is okay for the week, but ideally you would bring it to at least 3 9-10 milers and a 16-20 miler one week three to four weeks before the day of your marathon.
I recommend a rest day after the long run, but some people promote active recovery. Are you planning on following a specific plan for this race? I find the smartcoach on runner's world to be fairly helpful in providing a structure. You can list how many miles you want to start off with, what day to have your long run on, etc.. Good luck.