Summary: four phases (Stabilize, Build, Durability, Taper) with an absorb week every fourth week; long run capped at 28 km or 3:15–3:30 on feet, whichever comes first; a midweek medium-long run from Week 7 so the long run never exceeds ~55% of the week; quality as the green-week default (strides, steady blocks, one short threshold touch, marathon-pace blocks from Week 12); a half-marathon tune-up in Week 11; a formal go/no-go in Week 13; and a dress rehearsal in Week 14. Gut training progresses to ≥60 g carbohydrate/hour by Weeks 12–14, with a 10–12 g/kg/day carb load in race week.
Change reason: two structured critiques of v2 — an exercise-physiology pass and a coaching pass — converged on the same structural flaw: a 32 km long run inside a 42 km week put two-thirds of the weekly load in one session. v3 fixes the ratio from both ends and commits to the quality work v2 left “optional”. Full reasoning in the change history.
Week by week
| Week | Phase | Starts | Target | Long run | Midweek MLR | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W1 | Stabilize (retro) | 10 Aug | 31 km (as run) | 12.4 km (as run) | — | Adopted retroactively: run before the v3 document existed. Sessions recorded as run, not as planned. |
| W2 | Stabilize | 17 Aug | 35 km | 15 km (cap 1:50) | — | Baselines; capture reliability; zone anchors. |
| W3 | Stabilize | 24 Aug | 36 km | 16 km (cap 2:00) | — | Fuel practice on runs >75 min (30–40 g/h). |
| W4 | Duration | 31 Aug | 38 km | 18 km (cap 2:10) | — | Long run is sole progression. ★ Farthest-ever long run. |
| W5 | Absorb | 7 Sep | 32 km | 14 km (cap 1:40) | — | Review trends and zone anchors. Never make up missed distance. |
| W6 | Build | 14 Sep | 39 km | 19 km (cap 2:20) | — | Fuel/fluid/equipment rehearsal; sweat-rate test. ★ Farthest-ever long run. |
| W7 | Build | 21 Sep | 43 km | 20 km (cap 2:25) | 10 km | Midweek medium-long run begins — spreads load. ★ Farthest-ever long run. |
| W8 | Build | 28 Sep | 45 km | 22 km (cap 2:40) | 11 km | Log GI, skin, foot, late mechanics. Fuel ≥40 g/h on long run. ★ Farthest-ever long run. |
| W9 | Absorb | 5 Oct | 37 km | 16 km (cap 2:00) | 10 km | Review aerobic and durability trends; confirm HM logistics. |
| W10 | Durability | 12 Oct | 47 km | 24 km (cap 2:50) | 12 km | Fuel every long run ≥50 g/h; settle race gear. ★ Farthest-ever long run. |
| W11 | Tune-up | 19 Oct | 45 km | 21.1 km | 12 km | Half-marathon tune-up at controlled effort. Race-morning rehearsal; result sets the marathon pacing plan. ★ Half-marathon tune-up race. |
| W12 | Durability | 26 Oct | 51 km | 26 km (cap 3:05) | 13 km | 2×3 km at marathon effort inside the long run; fuel ≥60 g/h. ★ Farthest-ever long run. |
| W13 | Absorb | 2 Nov | 41 km | 19 km (cap 2:25) | 10 km | Fix race-system failures. Go/no-go: choose time goal / completion / run-walk from evidence. ★ Week 13 go/no-go decision. |
| W14 | Peak | 9 Nov | 54 km | 28 km (cap 3:25) | 14 km | Dress rehearsal: race breakfast, kit, anti-chafe, fuel ≥60 g/h, race start time. 4–6 km continuous at marathon effort inside the long run. Finish with reserves. ★ Dress rehearsal — the confidence anchor. |
| W15 | Consolidate | 16 Nov | 45 km | 23 km (cap 2:50) | 12 km | Confirm race plan; strength maintenance; nothing new. |
| W16 | Taper | 23 Nov | 34 km | 16 km (cap 2:00) | 9 km | Volume down, intensity maintained in small doses; protect sleep. |
| W17 | Race week | 30 Nov | 16 km | — | — | Freshness and logistics. Carb load Wed–Thu 10–12 g/kg/day. Race Fri 4 Dec. ★ Race day. |
Week 17 target excludes the marathon itself. Week 1 is retroactive — recorded as run, not as planned. Long-run distances are envelopes with a hard time cap — the cap wins, and any shortfall is recorded, never made up.
The adaptive rules, in brief
Every day is classified green, amber, or red, and the status prescribes one action:
- Green — execute as planned, including scheduled quality. Skipping quality on a green day is a recorded deviation.
- Amber (life) — two poor nights, a corroborated HRV/resting-HR trend (7-day rolling average off the personal baseline for 3+ consecutive days plus a symptom), heat, travel, stress: run easy, shorten ~20%, no quality. That is the whole action.
- Amber (tissue) — pain ~3/10 or rising, unusual focal stiffness, next-morning function not back within 48 h: reduce the provoking load 20–40% and recheck next morning.
- Red — symptoms only (chest pain, fainting, gait-changing pain, dark urine, heat illness…): stop. No wearable score can clear a red, and no wearable score can create one.
Wearable-only deviations without symptoms default to an easy run, not a reduction. Three amber days in seven forces a structured review. A minimum viable peak — at least one fueled 26 km+ long run by end of Week 14 — guards against the quieter failure mode: arriving at race day under-trained because the controller kept saying “careful”.
Missed training has written rules too: 1–3 days — rejoin, never make up distance; 4–7 days — repeat the prior week at ~90%; 2+ weeks — drop back a phase and formally revisit the race goal.
The full framework — metric hierarchy, capture schema, fueling and heat protocols, clinician boundaries, and references — lives in the plan document Adaptive_Marathon_Plan_v3_17_Week.md in the project repository; the operational data (day-level sessions, gates, weekly decisions) lives in the project database and drives the dashboard.