24 weeks
The plan
Sub-5:00 needs 7:07 per kilometre. You held 7:26 for the Osaka half and 7:40 to 30 km. So this block is not only about running further — it moves your whole pace curve, then makes the new pace survive 42 kilometres.
Rebuild
Weeks 1–6 · 7 Sep – 18 Oct · 32–48 km
Get back to five days a week without a single crash week. No hero sessions. The only target is showing up.
Easy runs 7–8.5 km · long run 10–21.1 km
Base + Speed
Weeks 7–12 · 19 Oct – 29 Nov · 40.5–59.5 km
Marathon pace is currently faster than your easy pace. This phase moves the whole pace curve, and puts hills under your legs.
Easy runs 7–9 km · long run 17–26 km
Marathon Specific
Weeks 13–19 · 30 Nov – 17 Jan · 44–67.5 km
Long runs grow teeth. Marathon-pace blocks, fuelling rehearsed every week, and the sessions that decide the race.
Easy runs 7–9.5 km · long run 14–32 km
Peak & Taper
Weeks 20–24 · 18 Jan – 21 Feb · 21–68 km
One more peak, then take the foot off. Taper is training too. Arrive fresh, not fit-and-flat.
Easy runs 3–9.5 km · long run 16–32 km
Pace zones
Bangkok evenings run 30°C and humid. Kyoto in February is 3–10°C. Train to the left-hand column at home; race to the right-hand one.
| Zone | Bangkok | Kyoto | How it should feel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy / recovery | 8:10–8:45 | 7:45–8:15 | Heart rate under 140. If you can’t talk, slow down. |
| Long run | 7:55–8:25 | 7:30–8:00 | Steady and boring. The adaptation is the duration, not the pace. |
| Marathon pace | 7:30–7:40 | 7:07 | Goal pace for sub-5:00. Practise it in heat, race it in cool. |
| Threshold | 7:00–7:15 | 6:35–6:50 | Comfortably hard. You could hold it for an hour if you had to. |
| VO2 / 5k reps | 6:25–6:40 | 6:05–6:20 | Hard but controlled. Full recovery between reps. |
Races along the way
Two half marathons, run as long runs rather than as efforts. A race is a good place to step the long run up: the course is measured, the drinks are handed to you, and the crowd carries you further than a solo Sunday would. Neither is a time trial, and the week around each is shaped for a race day rather than a Sunday long run.
Decision gates
Four timed efforts that decide which goal you actually race. Sub-5:00 is ambitious, so rather than finding out at 30 km on race day, you find out here, with time to adjust.
Week 7 · 5 km time trial
19 Oct≤ 31:00
Sub-5:00 still live. Slower than 32:30 and we recalibrate to 5:15.
≤ 29:00 · Under 29:00 and 4:45 becomes a real conversation.
Week 13 · 10 km time trial
30 Nov≤ 65:00
The halfway read. Over 68:00 and the A-goal moves to 5:15.
≤ 61:00 · Under 61:00 here, with twelve weeks left, and we raise the goal to 4:45.
Week 15 · 30 km, last 10 km at marathon pace
14 DecHold 7:30–7:40/km to the end
Durability check. This is the exact thing that failed at Osaka.
Hold 7:10–7:20/km · Holding 4:45 pace for the last 10 km would confirm the upgrade.
Week 19 · Half marathon time trial
11 Jan≤ 2:15
The decision. ≤2:15 race sub-5:00. 2:15–2:25 race 5:15. Over 2:25 race 5:30 and bank the finish.
≤ 2:08 · Under 2:08 and you race 4:45. Last chance to move the target up.
The stretch goal · 4:45
LockedNot the target, yet. Every personal best you hold was set inside the Osaka marathon, which makes them soft — a fresh 5 km would beat 35:10 comfortably. Until a real time trial says otherwise, nobody knows what you are currently worth, and that is what the gates are for.
| Gate | Sub-5:00 | 4:45 |
|---|---|---|
| 5 km, week 7 | 31:00 | 29:00 |
| 10 km, week 12 | 65:00 | 61:00 |
| 30 km at race pace, week 15 | 7:30–7:40/km | 7:10–7:20/km |
| Half marathon, week 19 | 2:15 | 2:08 |
Every week
| Wk | Dates | Phase | Target | Long | Actual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 Sep | Rebuild | 32 | 10 | 19.2 |
| 2 | 14 Sep | Rebuild | 34 | 12 | — |
| 3 | 21 Sep | Rebuild | 37 | 14 | — |
| 4 | 28 Sep | Rebuild | 48 | 16 | — |
| 5 | 5 Oct | Rebuild↓ | 42 | 21.1 | — |
| 6 | 12 Oct | Rebuild↓ | 38 | 16 | — |
| 7★ | 19 Oct | Base + Speed | 51 | 20 | — |
| 8 | 26 Oct | Base + Speed | 55 | 22 | — |
| 9 | 2 Nov | Base + Speed↓ | 40.5 | 17 | — |
| 10 | 9 Nov | Base + Speed | 57 | 24 | — |
| 11 | 16 Nov | Base + Speed | 59.5 | 26 | — |
| 12 | 23 Nov | Base + Speed↓ | 43.5 | 21.1 | — |
| 13★ | 30 Nov | Marathon Specific | 49.5 | 14 | — |
| 14 | 7 Dec | Marathon Specific | 59 | 27 | — |
| 15★ | 14 Dec | Marathon Specific | 63.5 | 30 | — |
| 16 | 21 Dec | Marathon Specific↓ | 44 | 20 | — |
| 17 | 28 Dec | Marathon Specific | 62 | 29 | — |
| 18 | 4 Jan | Marathon Specific | 67.5 | 32 | — |
| 19★ | 11 Jan | Marathon Specific↓ | 44.5 | 21.1 | — |
| 20 | 18 Jan | Peak & Taper | 64.5 | 30 | — |
| 21 | 25 Jan | Peak & Taper | 68 | 32 | — |
| 22 | 1 Feb | Peak & Taper↓ | 56 | 24 | — |
| 23 | 8 Feb | Peak & Taper↓ | 47.5 | 16 | — |
| 24 | 15 Feb | Peak & Taper↓ | 21 | 42.195 | — |
★ decision gate · ↓ down week · all distances in kilometres
Five rules
- 1
Never grow more than 10% in a week
Your history has seven crashes in it: a 25 km week followed straight away by one under 12 km. Crashes come from weeks that were too big, not from weeks that were too small.
- 2
Miss two sessions and the week repeats
We do not push on through a broken week. The next week runs again at the same volume instead of progressing. Losing seven days is cheap; losing a month to an injury is not.
- 3
Two strength sessions, every week
At Osaka your heart rate averaged 144 with a ceiling of 158. The engine was fine. The legs gave out. Strength work is the actual training here, not an optional extra.
- 4
Easy days genuinely easy
Heart rate under 140. Most runners ruin their hard days by running the easy ones too quickly, and then wonder why the long run hurts.
- 5
Fuel every long run from week 9
A gel every 40 minutes whether you want it or not. Race day is not the time to find out what your stomach will accept.
- 6
No run is shorter than 7 km
Seven kilometres is your median run, so nothing in this block is a token effort. The consequence is that a lighter week has to mean fewer running days rather than shorter ones — weeks 1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 13, 16 and 19 run four days instead of five for exactly that reason.