A few months ago I released a 50k training plan and people were saying that it was too time-consuming, too difficult, and too much mileage.
So today I’m coming at you with a 50k training plan for beginners and I’ll be breaking it down week by week so you know what you are getting into before you start the plan.
16 week 50k Training Plan
As always, the training principles in this plan are from “Training for the Uphill Athlete” co-written by Kilian Jornet. Buy the book. You need it in your life. So much info from the training god himself.
So before I get into the plan, here is the Google Sheets link so you can print it out and use it in your training. But with that, let’s get into the training plan.
Weeks 1-5
We’re starting off with some base weeks, which means you are going to be running in zone 2 for all of your runs. And then, as you can see, on week 4 we have a recovery week, which just means we are going to be cutting mileage in half.
So as you can see on Monday we have an aerobic day for 3 miles, which means zone 2 pace, and if you have questions, check out this video on heart rate zones. Tuesday same. Wednesday is a 3-mile recovery day. So for this run just try to stay on pretty flat surfaces and run at low zone 2 to zone one pace. Thursday is an aerobic day. Friday I put the long run on, but you can switch around days as needed. And then we have a recovery run after that.
So, for elevation on base weeks you are going to be doing at least 40% of your race’s elevation per week. So if you are running a race that has 10,000 feet of elevation gain, then you are going to do 4,000 feet of vert during the week, and on your long runs, you will do 40% of your weekly vert on this day. That means, following our example, you will be doing 1,600 feet of vert on your long run.
For recovery weeks, you will do 20% of your race’s elevation and 40% of your elevation should be done on your long run.
Skipping down to week 4, we have a recovery week. This means you will be focused on recovery and taking days off as needed if you are feeling really bad. It also means we are cutting mileage in half, as I said earlier. Then week 5 is another base week.
Weeks 6-8
Next, we have weeks 6 and 7, which are intensity weeks. On intensity weeks, we are going to be upping the amount of intensity in our training. So as you can see on Monday we have an aerobic day and then on Tuesday, we have intervals. You’ll be doing 2-4×10 minutes in Zone 3 with 2 minutes of recovery jog between reps. Then the rest of the miles in warm up and cool down.
Then on Wednesday, we have a recovery day of low zone 2 for 5 miles, and then on Thursday is hill-bounding. For hill-bounding start with a warmup followed by a 2×30 seconds run in Zone 3 up a 30% incline and then walk down the hill and take a 1-2 minute rest. Then do 2×20 seconds hill skipping, then walk down the hill and take a 1-2 minute rest. For the main workout, do 8×10 seconds maximum power bounding with long strides, then walk downhill and take a 1-2 minute break. The rest of miles for the day can be done in warm-up and cool-down.
Then we have another aerobic day followed by a long run. Vert for intensity weeks is the same as base weeks, so just 40% of your race’s elevation and 40% of that week’s elevation on your long run. Then we have a recovery week where you’re just taking it easy and taking days off as needed.
Weeks 9-13
These weeks are called specificity weeks, which means you are going to be training specifically for your race by doing back-to-back long runs.
So let’s check out the first week of specificity training. We have an aerobic day followed by specificity intervals which means 2-4×10 minutes in Zone 4 with 2 min recovery jog between reps, and the rest of miles in warm up and cool down.
Then we have a recovery day, then another aerobic day, and then back-to-back long runs. 10 miles followed by another 10-mile run the next day. These runs will really get you prepared for your race and get you used to running on tired legs.
For specificity weeks, you are going to be doing 60% of your race’s elevation gain on these weeks and 80% of your weekly vert on just the back-to-back long runs.
Week 11 is a recovery week and then we are topping off our training with a 50 mile week on week 13 with a 15 mile back to back long run. This will really get you ready for the race and you will feel ready after doing this guaranteed.
Weeks 14-15
Next, we have taper weeks. For these, we are going to be tapering for the race, cutting our mileage in half, but still having an interval day to keep our legs sharp and fast. On these weeks do 20% of your races vert and 40% on your long run.
Week 16
Then you know what time it is! RACE WEEK BABY! We have two 30 second interval days on this week where we will be doing 4×30 seconds in Zone 3 with 3 minutes recovery jog between reps just to keep the muscles sharp and ready to race. Then on the weekend is your 50-kilometer race!
You are going to crush your race guaranteed… If you followed this plan.
Leave a Reply