Running — Part V — And the (running plan) winner is …

A marathon runner wearing a yoga tank top with the OM sign, running in the morning during summer in Brooklyn. The scene is depicted in a dynamic comic

I’ve finally decided to go with the McMillan New York Marathon Level 3 Intermediate 16-Week running plan to prepare for the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon. A friend uses their plans for his marathons and ultras, so I’ve decided to take his advice and get one for myself. The plan for the marathon is well structured; I’m using week six as an example:

McMillan New York Marathon Level 3 Intermediate 16-Week running plan, week 6 as an example

As you can see in the image above, it has one rest day and two recovery days, which I will likely use to continue my Ashtanga Yoga practice.

Given that the marathon is Sunday, November 3, 2024, I should start the plan on Monday, July 15, 2024. However, I’ve decided to shift the whole plan to one day before and begin on Sunday, July 14, 2024, so that I can have the rest day on Sunday and the two recovery days on Tuesday and Thursday to practice Mysore at The Shala Yoga in Fort Green with my teacher, Sherry Russell. While training for the marathon, I will miss practicing Ashtanga with my teachers, Barbara Verrochi and Kristin Leigh. However, I will take Vinyasa classes with them on Mondays and Fridays when I have, according to the plan, Easy Runs.

So, to recap, starting from Sunday, July 14, 2024, one typical week will look like this:

• Monday: Easy Run + Vinyasa Class (optional)
• Tuesday: Ashtanga
• Wednesday: “Special” Run
• Thursday: Ashtanga
• Friday: Easy Run + Vinyasa Class (optional)
• Saturday: Long Run
• Sunday: Rest Day

This is a good and balanced plan, I believe. I have a half marathon scheduled for Sunday, September 22, and a yoga retreat at the beginning of October. This plan is flexible enough to adapt to these “events” and hopefully prepare me for the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon.

I forgot to mention that I evaluated other plans (and also bought a couple of books), but then I decided to “be lazy” and buy a prepared plan. In the image below, you can see the other options that I have considered.

The other running plans that I have evaluated

Have you used a McMillan training plan before? Are there better options for Ashtanga practitioners? What do you think about only two Mysore practices per week? I don’t know how running will impact my yoga practice and vice versa. So far, with one or two runs a week, my yoga practice feels great, and I enjoy my runs very much. I know this will change during the marathon training, but for now, I’m super excited about the running plan, and I cannot wait to start with the official training.