This is an 8 week base/maintenance plan that is great to use between training cycles. The plan was created to help maintain/grow fitness while still offering some much needed downtime and recovery.
Both of these things are important because the training done in an “off season” can directly dictate how effective a next training cycle can be. Laying down ground work can help an athlete be better prepared to handle a higher intensity of larger training plan later on.

The Intermediate 2 Plan for those that have been running regularly but maybe not actively training for a marathon or long distance event. Have a solid base and would like to start building back speed back into their weekly running to help prepare for a future longer distance event. This can also be used for those that were in previous marathon builds but want slightly less overall mileage and intensity, while still keeping a strong mileage and speed base.

This plan features 5 days of running a week with 2 dedicated rest days.

The plan has been built to focus on the following:
1) Lower Overall Mileage and Shorter Long Runs: The goal here is to keep endurance up without wearing the body down week after week.
2) Improving pure speed through shorter distance/faster intervals: Focusing on this kind of speed, strength, power, and explosiveness can all help lead to faster workouts and race times in future training cycles.
3) Strength/Mobility and Cross-Training: While note written into the plan, it is important that an athlete put some focus on other activities that might have been neglected during hard training cycles. Strength, core work, stretching, yoga, and other activities like swimming and cycling only serve as a benefit also help ward off future injuries.

Please note: While the recommended # of days a week of running have been listed in the plan, this is not a hard set number. If you want an extra rest day, or need a break here and there, take it! This is the time to do it. An off-season plan is not meant to be so rigid. You should absolutely take the pressure off during this time and take a break from intense training so that you feel both mentally and physically prepared to dedicate fully to your next training cycle when it is here.

A couple other logistical notes about the plan:
-This plan is best with a GPS device.
-Workouts are built off a % of threshold pace/also known in this plan as your GOAL RACE PACE. It is important that you have an accurate threshold pace in your profile to ensure that the workouts have correct paces for you.
- Each workout includes pre-workout notes that aid in understanding the goal or specifics on where/how to run it.
-The low end of mileage is always entered as the planned distance, however- the title of the run will call-out if there is a range for that day. Mileage ranges help you manage your total mileage for the day/ week and to help work with your schedule and training needs.
-Cool Down to Distance means that your cool down should be run until you reach the planned distance for the day
-The Sunday that concludes a training week has a note that features the total mileage range for the week.

If you have any questions about the plan, please email xtramilelifestyle@gmail.com to speak with a coach.

Xtra Mile Lifestyle is a Running and Triathlon Coaching team based out of Minnesota.
Please visit us at xtramilelifestyle.com to learn more or inquire about further coaching opportunities.