We now enter the track season, beginning in New Zealand in October, and our learner and all our other athletes turn into marathon-distance runners. We set them all to run a hundred miles a week in training.
— Arthur Lydiard, 1962
This is the chapter that most people know Lydiard for…his 100-mile per week marathon conditioning schedule. It is listed below:
Monday: 10 miles at 1/2 effort over a hilly course.
Tuesday: 15 miles at 1/4 effort over an easier running course.
Wednesday: 12 miles fartlek training.
Thursday: 18 miles at 1/4 effort over an easier running course.
Friday: 10 miles fast over a flat course — about 3/4 effort.
Saturday: 20-30 miles over an easy course at 1/4 effort.
Sunday: 15 miles over an easy course at 1/4 effort.
Total Miles: 100-110 miles on the week.
I think out of everything I have posted from this book that this is the most important chapter. Lydiard takes all of his track men — middle distance to marathoners — and says, “You are going to train like a marathoner for 10 weeks!”
You have to build the base — running is an aerobic sport…and these 10 weeks of marathon conditioning prepare you for the work that is coming to make you even faster.
The last thing that I will leave you with are these words from Lydiard:
Remember that the important thing is training not straining.
Phillips Running 