Archive for Training plan
Derailed
Posted by: | CommentsSometimes your running or training plan gets derailed. Like when say, your mom comes to visit and you are having too much fun shopping and eating candy (and can’t muster the time to update your running blog). And eventually you are going to get sick, especially if you have one of those little germ factories we affectionately call our “children.” But what do you do if you are in the middle of race training?
First of all, if you are sick, put your health before your training plan. I follow the neck rule, if my sickness is confined above my neck, e.g. head cold, I run. But if I’ve got stuff in my chest or all over body aches, I take some time off. Listen to your body and remember rest is the most important training secret.
What about the training days you’ve lost? Well sadly, until we master time travel just go ahead and kiss them goodbye. Just keep moving forward. If you lose a few days or a week of training, those first few runs might feel tough but you’ll be back where you were – and even further ahead in some cases because of the rest – very quickly. Here’s a little secret, even if you don’t follow a training plan to the letter, it still works. Most plans have some give built in, you can skip a run here and there and still be fine. Don’t give up your race plans because you miss one long run, you don’t do all your training in a day and you generally aren’t going to lose it all in a day.
I follow a few simple rules. Coming off a break of 3 days or more, the first run back should be easy and shorter (one of your shortest distances pre-break). Use it to gauge your fitness and recovery. If you feel at the end of the run that you could go more, you’re good. If you feel slightly more tired or sore than a regular run but ok within 24 hours, you’re still ok. Anything more and you probably went out too soon. You can do another shorter run to gauge it but if you still feel cruddy, you might need a few more days.
If the worst case scenario happens and you can’t do that race you’ve been training for and planning on, get upset, then get motivated. Sign up for another race as soon as it’s feasible to do so. Again, running is just like life. Things don’t always work out the way you planned. Sometimes they work out better.
Here’s a good motivator for your running mix. I’ve been watching the Monty Python documentary that was on IFC, so this tune has been in my head.
Training plans
Posted by: | CommentsMonday for lots of runners is a rest or easy training day since Sunday is usually long run day. I like to use Mondays to see how my training plan for the week looks, evaluate what’s going on in my life – kid activities, dentist appointments, etc. and get my plan set for the week. I thrive on order and predictability so I always have a training plan in place. When I was training for my first marathon, I had my training plan printed out and stuck on the fridge. It was kind of an inanimate guilt generator, “hey YOU there looking for some cookie dough, you know you need to run 10 miles tomorrow don’t you?”
Maybe you don’t want to do a race, maybe you just want to run for fun or fitness which is totally fine. My husband likes to run to keep in shape but he’s not much of a race guy. If you’ve never run a race before I encourage you to try it, you might get hooked and at the very least you’ll get a t-shirt and some snacks out of the deal. Even if you aren’t planning to race, it’s good to have a weekly plan.
Where do you start? Runner’s World is a great resource for all things running. I subscribe to the magazine and even though I’ve been running for a long time I learn something new with every issue. Runner’s World is also a great place to find training plans. I’ll post links to some training plans at the end of this post.
Before you pick a training plan decide what your goals are. Do you want to build speed or endurance? Do you want to just finish a marathon or qualify for the Boston marathon? Then, be realistic. Lots of running injuries are caused by people who make training mistakes. Don’t try to build your mileage base too soon or build your long run distance too quickly. A good rule of thumb is to build your mileage by 10% a week and the same with your long run. When I’m building my long run base I build by adding 1-2 miles a week to my long run distance.
My training log is nothing more than an excel spreadsheet. I use one workbook for my training log and one for my shoe log. 
Here’s my training log:
I’ve also got notes on the side because I’m trying speedwork for this training plan so each speed workout is noted on the side. The blue highlight is the plan, underneath I record my actual mileage. The pink highlight is when I bought new shoes.
I keep a shoe log because I am scatter brained. I can never remember when I got a pair of shoes and I used to try and guess and make a mental estimate of how many miles are on them, it’s just easier to keep track. I generally put no more than 400 miles on a pair of shoes. It also depends on how my feet and legs start feeling. If I’m around 350 miles and feeling fatigued in my legs and feet more then I get new shoes.
Here’s some good links to training plans. Don’t be a slave to the training plan, if something isn’t working for you, modify it. But if you are training for a longer race, 1/2 marathon or longer, you really have to do the long runs. I have used Runner’s World and Hal Higdon plans with great success.
