Charlotte Marathon 2026 — Training Calendar

Target Paces & HR Zones

Norwegian Singles — What & Why

• Runs in the Tuesday slot for Weeks 1–5 (Jul 20–Aug 23) — five sessions total, all broken-interval (short floats, no continuous blocks): 3×15min → 2×20min → 3×17min → 3×15min (Week 2 actually executed as 2×18min+1×10min, an in-session call — see Jul 28 change note below), then NS retires as Tuesday converts to standard VO2/interval work in Week 6.
• Total accumulated sub-threshold time still ramps and settles back for the cutback (~45min in Week 1, 40 → 51 → 45min across Weeks 3–5), but every session keeps 2:00 floats between reps rather than running as one unbroken block — floats are what keep HR resetting and the session repeatable rather than sliding into tempo/threshold effort.
• Target: sub-threshold effort (~2.0–2.5 mmol/L), proxied by HR 148–153 bpm and pace 7:05–7:15/mi — deliberately sub-maximal and repeatable, not a hero effort. This is the "singles" version: one session per day, unlike the true Norwegian double-threshold protocol.
• Purpose: raise the aerobic-threshold ceiling early, before marathon-specific MP and VO2 work take over the Tuesday/Thursday slots in the build proper.
• Run on the treadmill through the heat window (see below) so effort stays controlled and comparable week to week.

Tuesday / Thursday Quality-Day Assignment

• Weeks 1–5: Tue = Norwegian Singles (sub-threshold). Thu = VO2/Interval work.
• Week 6 onward: Tue = VO2/Interval work, Thu = Tempo/Threshold + MP work — this reverts to the original day assignment once NS retires, rather than carrying forward an earlier version of this calendar that had swapped the two (Tue = Tempo/Threshold, Thu = VO2/Intervals) for the whole block. Flagging this explicitly since it's a change from what was previously published.

Standing Protocols

• Heat protocol (through mid-September): Tuesday/Thursday quality sessions on treadmill with Wahoo Tickr for pace precision; outdoor easy runs and long runs governed by HR caps, not pace, when dew point exceeds 65°F.
• PTT protocol (daily, non-negotiable): 45-second single-leg isometric hovers ×2/day, big-toe anchor cue, cadence target 178–182 spm. Rate awareness weekly (target ≤1/10); if it exceeds 2/10, extend the current cutback week by one.
• Fueling: 90–100g carbs/hour with water-chaser rule on every run 16mi+, starting Week 8. Sodium pre-load (1,000mg) the night before and morning of the race-simulation long run and race day itself.
• Goal Review Checkpoint (Week 9, Sep 14–20): assess whether tempo and MP workouts are hitting targets comfortably. If yes, stay at Goal A (3:05). If it's a grind, shift to Goal B (3:07–3:08) — still a significant PR over the 3:15:30 Delaware time.

What Changed in This Update (Jul 28, 2026)

• NS progression converted from continuous back to broken-interval for Weeks 3–5: the Jul 17 revision had Weeks 3–5 building to unbroken 40min → 50min → 50min blocks. After executing Week 2 as 2×18min+1×10min (deviating from the planned 3×20min, an in-session call) and reviewing HR data — average HR climbed from 143 to 149 to 152 bpm across the three reps even with 2:00 floats and pace holding rock-steady at 7:02–7:06/mi — continuous unbroken blocks this early in the build were judged likely to push HR through the top of the 148–153 sub-threshold zone with no reset available, undermining the entire point of NS (repeatable, low-fatigue-cost quality work). Weeks 3–5 revised to 2×20min / 3×17min / 3×15min, all with 2:00 floats. Week 5 total volume (45min) now steps down from Week 4 (51min) rather than holding flat, consistent with its role as a cutback week.
• Total NS volume trajectory changed from 40→50→50min to 40→51→45min. Slightly more total work in Week 4, less in Week 5 — the shape now tracks the cutback-week purpose (absorb fatigue) rather than repeating peak load into a recovery week.

What Changed in Prior Update (Jul 17, 2026)

• Norwegian Singles extended and re-sequenced: previously ran every other week (Weeks 2, 4, 6) as broken-rep sessions (5×6min → 6×6min → 6×8min). Now runs continuously Weeks 1–5 as a true progression (3×15min → 3×20min → 40min cont. → 50min cont. → 50min cont. hold), retiring one week earlier (Week 6 instead of Week 7) to match the reference plan's updated Jul 16 schedule note.
• Tuesday/Thursday quality-day assignment reverted from Week 6 on: Tue is now VO2/Intervals and Thu is now Tempo/Threshold + MP, undoing the swap this calendar had previously documented (Tue = Tempo/Threshold, Thu = VO2/Intervals for the full block). This follows the reference material's original day template literally now that NS has vacated Tuesday. Workout content itself wasn't changed — only which day of the week it lands on.
• Week 12 race-simulation long run capped at 20mi: was 22mi total w/ 16mi @ MP, exceeding a stated 20-mile peak long-run cap that the reference material flagged as an unresolved conflict without giving its rationale (likely PTT-tendon-related, but not confirmed). Trimmed to 20mi total w/ 14mi @ MP, holding roughly the same MP/total ratio. Week 12 total volume also dropped 62→60mpw, and the "Peak Volume" summary card was updated to reflect the new mileage ceiling (now a four-way tie at 60mpw across Weeks 10–13).
• Original plan assumed a June 11 start; this rebuild starts July 20, after the South Africa trip, giving 17 weeks instead of 22 — about 5 weeks lost, concentrated out of base-build volume rather than taper.
• Taper held at 4 weeks (Oct 19–Nov 14) to protect the tendon and consolidate MP-specific gains rather than cut recovery time.