It appears that my 10 mile training plan for beginners was pretty popular. I tried to do a good job of writing a plan that would be easy to follow for a newer runner who wants to run his or her first 10 mile race. For those of you who are running more moderate mileage and are more seasoned runners, today’s training plan is for you! And, since the longest run the plan calls for is 14 miles, this would be a great plan to follow as a moderate half marathon training plan, too!
This training plan incorporates more speedwork and also has a weekly tempo run. It’s also a higher mileage training plan—more mileage helps build endurance and running efficiency.
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The plan:
Disclaimer: Always consult a physician before starting any kind of exercise regime. Listen to your body and take rest days when you need to. It’s better to take a day off when you feel a twinge developing than to get injured. If you choose to follow this training plan, I’m not responsible for any injury that you may incur. Let’s face it: running tends to be a pretty injury-prone sport! Be smart about your training!
How to follow the intermediate 10 mile training plan:
- Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday runs should be done at conversation pace. Conversation pace means that you’re running slowly enough that you could easily hold a conversation with someone running next to you. If you’re breathing too hard to talk in complete sentences, slow down! Running these bulk miles too fast doesn’t help you get faster and can be harmful!
- Tuesdays – Tempo run (unless otherwise noted): 10 minutes of easy jogging followed by 30-40 minutes of running at 10k to half marathon pace, then end with easy jogging.
- Thursdays – Speedwork (unless otherwise noted). Warm up with 10 minutes of easy jogging, then run intervals at 10K pace with 90 sec – 2 min of recovery jogging between intervals. Run rest of day’s miles at an easy pace.
- XT = Cross training, or you can take the day as a rest day if your body needs it. Cycling or using the elliptical are excellent cross training activities, but other complimentary activities like yoga are really beneficial to runners, too. (I have a HUGE library of information about yoga for runners you should definitely check out!)
Have you ever run a 10 mile race?
What’s your favorite distance to race?
The only 10 mile race that i have run is the LakeFront 10 from last year (missing it for a wedding this year). It was my first truly longish run after my hamstring injury, but it was a great feeling to get back out there and just enough of a challenge to weeerrrkkk itt 😀
I haven’t tried that one (although I hear good things about it) but I have done the Soldier Field 10 Mile and it was a good race and distance. There’s a 10 mile trail race in the summer at Waterfall Glen, which is pretty close to me, so I’ve been thinking about maybe giving that a try.
Thanks so much for sharing!! I just signed up for my 3rd half marathon and definitely am in need of a plan like this! I want to get faster and increase my endurance at the same time, I will give this a whirl. Thanks!
You are most welcome! Email me if you have any questions about how to modify the plan for a half marathon!
Love this training plan! We have very few 10 mile races in my area despite it being an awesome distance for a race. It seems like 13.1 overshadows 10 miles around here which is too bad.
Yeah, there are definitely a lot more half marathons out there than 10 mile races. I think a half marathon has just become *the* popular distance lately. Need more love for the 10 miler!
Great plan! Thank you for all the work you did putting this together!
MB
Happy to share! Hope it’s helpful!