This is my current schedule (marathon training week #1 of a 12 week plan-- I did do 4 weeks of hill training prior to this week)

Monday: Stready State or Progression run-- these are both done at a bit faster pace than an easy run but are not at the pace of a tempo and the progression one starts slower and ends fast. I usually do some plyometrics after

Tuesday: easy 55-65 minutes in the morning, 30-45 min at night, both increase slightly as the plan goes on. I sometimes get lifting in.

Wed: off or lift if I didn't do it tuesday. sometimes i throw in a 3 mile recovery run

Thursday: track workout, speed workout, or just some kind of interval running. this past week was 12 x 1 min on/off. sometimes I lift.

Friday: 55-65 min easy run plus yoga, increases as the plan goes on

saturday: long run

Sunday: full rest


I think getting faster, for me, first came with increased mileage that I sustained over multiple training seasons. THen I would say losing weight/body fat and focusing on nutrition while adding speed workouts has been the other big factors in my gains over the last 5 months.

You nailed it. Basically you'll want to do tempo runs, some fartlek, and hills. I'd do tempo runs of 2x 3-4m @ race pace with 5 minute jog between. That should give you a good idea of the shape you're in.

Thanks so much this was incredibly helpful. My mileage is close to your recommendation, but this helps to understand the best way to get the most out of my mileage.

Building speed isn't just about the quantity of miles; the quality of miles is just as important. Also, nailing a tempo run helps you get stronger mentally. Once you see that you can run X:XX/mile for however many miles, then you'll really start to see results. A lot of what holds people back from taking that next step is mental.