Short plan, long plan, plan plan plan
Today's Take It & Run Thursday topic at the Runner's Lounge is "As you start your marathon (or half marathon) training, don't forget..."
To follow a plan - not necessarily to the T, but even loosely, a runner embarking on a distance of 13.1 miles or 26.2 miles will have much more success, more fun and more satisfaction if said runner has some sort of plan. I have "trained" with just a long run as my weekly have-to run, and I have trained with every day planned. Somewhere is between, but leaning toward the more planned side works best for me.
Sometimes people are hesitant to call themselves a runner because it may be the first time tackling a race of that length, he / she may be a back of the packer, or some other reason. But we are all runners - everyone who goes out there and attempts the distance in a running manner is a runner. As such, we all deserve to put ourselves in the best possible position for success. That means training the body in a variety of ways to make it stronger. That also means training the mind to withstand the various attacks from self-doubt.
For years, I ran without any sort of plan and I enjoyed it, but I never saw improvement and when it came to perform at longer distances, I inevitably fell short of my expectations.
About two years ago, I started to incorporate some speed work into my week. My pace gradually increased, then I realized I was pregnant with baby #2 and went into maintenance mode. After baby #2 was born, I started following a 20 wk marathon schedule and it worked well. Earlier this year, I felt like I was drifting, aimlessly running 4.5 mi or 6 mi or 3 mi, but without any sense of what I was doing, except for hitting a total weekly mileage goal.
Then I found the Hal Higdon spring training plan, followed by his intermediate marathon training plan, and I was in love. My running again has a purpose and a reason. When I run an easy 4 miles, it is because I ran 12 x 200 m repeats the day before. When I run hill repeats, I know it will make my legs stronger and prepare me for the hills in San Francisco.
There are a lot of thing to remember when you start training for a race - a 5k, a 10k, a half marathon, a marathon and I won't even go to the ultra distances. But to me, having a plan is the basic requirement.
To follow a plan - not necessarily to the T, but even loosely, a runner embarking on a distance of 13.1 miles or 26.2 miles will have much more success, more fun and more satisfaction if said runner has some sort of plan. I have "trained" with just a long run as my weekly have-to run, and I have trained with every day planned. Somewhere is between, but leaning toward the more planned side works best for me.
Sometimes people are hesitant to call themselves a runner because it may be the first time tackling a race of that length, he / she may be a back of the packer, or some other reason. But we are all runners - everyone who goes out there and attempts the distance in a running manner is a runner. As such, we all deserve to put ourselves in the best possible position for success. That means training the body in a variety of ways to make it stronger. That also means training the mind to withstand the various attacks from self-doubt.
For years, I ran without any sort of plan and I enjoyed it, but I never saw improvement and when it came to perform at longer distances, I inevitably fell short of my expectations.
About two years ago, I started to incorporate some speed work into my week. My pace gradually increased, then I realized I was pregnant with baby #2 and went into maintenance mode. After baby #2 was born, I started following a 20 wk marathon schedule and it worked well. Earlier this year, I felt like I was drifting, aimlessly running 4.5 mi or 6 mi or 3 mi, but without any sense of what I was doing, except for hitting a total weekly mileage goal.
Then I found the Hal Higdon spring training plan, followed by his intermediate marathon training plan, and I was in love. My running again has a purpose and a reason. When I run an easy 4 miles, it is because I ran 12 x 200 m repeats the day before. When I run hill repeats, I know it will make my legs stronger and prepare me for the hills in San Francisco.
There are a lot of thing to remember when you start training for a race - a 5k, a 10k, a half marathon, a marathon and I won't even go to the ultra distances. But to me, having a plan is the basic requirement.
Labels: take it and run Thursdays
3 Comments:
I was afraid you were going to say speed work...
I was hoping you were going to say chocolate chip cookies made you faster. Alas.
Great post Tree. Thanks for sharing your insights. I have to say I never thought I'd run 5K and now I have signed up for an 8K and am thinking about longer distances. I have the bug :)
YES - plans are key. I feel like I was seriously missing out when I think about the times I ran without a plan!
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