Planning your Training

This blog runs alongside our episode 11 on planning so it’s worth listening to that first and here are some notes to supplement our chat!

Why plan? 

There is no argument that if we know the route we are going on, the path is a lot easier to follow. Yes it might have unexpected twists and turns, the odd bump and wrong turn, but if we are heading in the right direction I think we feel better about the journey and put ourselves in a better position to be fit and healthy on the start line. I also believe we gain huge mental confidence by completing a block; of training and are therefore always learning and growing as runners! 

How to write a plan- keep it simple!

Very simply focus on where you want to be and work backwards from there. Check the race profile, have some specificity in your training, but most of sure make sure it is a manageable load that you can repeat week in week out.

Recovery is key- get the balance right!

Your plan is only as good as your recovery…the recovery is where the magic happens…get the balance between stressing the body and resting … and this is when it's much easier to have a coach (from someone who at the moment is self-coached…I have been in endurance for 20 years and I still find this balance SO hard to manage!)

Be flexible

Get ill? Have a niggle? Miss a few sessions due to work stress or family life? That is NORMAL! And is what we call REAL life! Change sessions, miss sessions, but don't add more stress trying to fit everything in…stress is not someone you want to be too friendly with…it’s a byproduct of our everyday life, especially at the moment, but running should be what keeps stress firmly tucked in your back pocket not an aggravator!

How to manage the long run?

This is one of the biggest worries of first timers … I’m running a 50 miler or 100 miler…do I need to cover this distance in training? I run 20 miles in training and am tired how am I going to do double this? Four times this?  Firstly, remember tuck that Mr stress away! Running a long way actually isn't dependent on how far you have completed in that ‘long run’ it’s much more about your constraining and volume over time. Factor in different long runs over your training block…break up the long run with different speeds….don’t be a ‘weekend’ warrior, as we discuss, do a massive weekend run then spend Mon-Thurs recovering ready to go again!

Our top takeaways!

BE CONSISTENT- Can I twitter on about this anymore? But one more time…be consistent! Make your running load and sessions manageable….don’t worry about what Mick or Karen are doing down the club….everyone is different….do what you can do….and then repeat…..and repeat…

FOCUS ON EACH SESSION - make sure it has a purpose …. even a recovery run…in fact the recovery run is perhaps your most important part of the week……STOP all running this so fast! If you can run a recovery run fast …. frankly you haven't worked harder the day or two before!

SPECIFICITY - Make sure the block has a focus…be that speed, hill strength, base building, recovery…don’t try to do everything at once!

SHARE your plan with loved ones/training partners- accountability is brilliant for sticking to a plan and by blocking out time to train you will be so much more productive and maintain that all important consistency!