So you’ve gotten up the courage to sign up for that race you’ve been thinking about. Now what? To succeed in anything, you need a plan. Sure, you really could wait until the last minute and just wing it, but I highly discourage it 😉
I’m running the Mercy Health Glass City Marathon on April 24th. Sticking with a traditional training plan, your training for a full marathon could be 16 weeks. For the Owens Corning half marathon, a 12 week plan could considered the norm, but could also be 8 to 10 weeks long. For the 5K, you might be new to running so a program such as “Couch to 5K” could be appropriate and the length of your training could be 9 weeks.
The key to successful training is consistency. You will get tired. You will get discouraged. You will think you are crazy for running, and running, and running… but consistency will bring you that great big smile when you cross the finish line!!
I had to do a double count when I calculated that my marathon training starts December 20th! See, race day really is around the corner 🙂 The plan I have followed for several years now is a modified version of a Pete Pfitzinger plan. It’s an 18 week plan. Hal Higdon is another name you will find when searching for plans. There are many out there!
When picking out a plan, it’s important to consider a few things:
- How many days a week do you want to run? I have 2 rest days, but you might have 1 or even 3 or 4. Rest days will be determined by how much time you have available to train, and how prone you are to injury as you start to pile on the miles.
- What is the goal of your race? Do you just want to finish? You will probably be doing steady runs of shorter distances and then one long run a week that continually gets longer. Do you want to make a time goal? Your training will have some speedwork mixed in every week.
Once you’ve found a plan that you like, don’t be afraid to move the training days around. Maybe you need a long run to happen on Fridays or on Sundays. Maybe you can’t get a longer run in on Weds, but you can do it on Tues. The rule of thumb is to alternate “hard” and “easy” days so you don’t have back to back hard days.
If you’re looking for a little more help or motivation with all of this training, the Glass City Marathon has a great resource for you – Dave’s Running. The Dave’s Marathon In-Training program will provide you personalized coaching to help reach your goals – whether it’s getting a BQ, or just crossing the finish line. You will meet lots of other runners in your pace range, and get a lot of training assistance, motivation, and advice! Check them out —> here.
Don’t forget, if you want to get in on those early bird savings for the Glass City Marathon, prices go up on January 1st! Head over here to sign up now.
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Q: What training plan do you follow? Or do you just write your own?
Q: How many rest days work best for you?
I have used the Bart Yasso plan for the last couple of marathons. Two days of rest (Mon/Fri) which fits my regular schedule. I tried the Hanson Plan twice and got injured twice. I think the 6-day running schedule is just too much for me.
Yasso plans are ones that I haven’t looked at. I will have to check them out. I have heard that the Hanson plan does leave people pretty worn out! It’s exhausting just ready their weekly workout recap!!
I just write my own. 🙂 2 lower body rest days per week is good for me!
Megan @ Meg Go Run recently posted…Weekend Wrap Up!
That’s awesome that you write your own plan. It shows you really are in tune with your body and know your strengths/weaknesses!
I used to run six days a week, but over the last year I’ve switched over to five days a week. I’m not sure if I’ll go back to six next year or not. I think five days gives me better balance and makes incorporating cross training a bit easier for me!
Kristina Running recently posted…Chills
I really need to up my cross training game. That’s part of my training goals for my upcoming training plan.
I love that quote!! I am a huge planner. Love how you broke this down so realistically too! I usually have two rest days a week (but one of these is usually VERY active rest as in 10 hrs on my feet waitressing haha 🙂 ). I am loving alternating strength and running doing BBG at the moment! 🙂
Jessica @ kiwiyogirunner recently posted…The one with my current fave HIIT workout
I’m sure your rest days are pretty dang busy! “Rest” out of necessity because there’s so many other things going on for you! I started wearing a pedometer and was quite surprised how few steps I get in when I’m at work. Just sitting around at a desk all day…