Flexibility in training plans?
lporter229
Posts: 4,907 Member
How much flexibility do you allow yourself when following a marathon training plan? Do you follow it to a tee? Swap things around to fit your schedule? Are there certain things you avoid putting back to back? Just try to hit your weekly mileage? In the past I have always followed pretty basic plans and allowed myself a lot of flexibility, as long as I was hitting the weekly mileage and distance on the long run. But some of the more advanced plans are pretty intricate and it's becoming increasingly harder to move things around and still allow for adequate recovery. Does anyone have any tips you follow for tailoring your training plans to meet your needs?
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I liked the book "You only faster" by Greg McMillan. It's pretty much a book about how to customize your training plan.
I think it's worth a read.0 -
Thanks! Will definitely check it out!0
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I've used plans in Pfitzinger & Douglas's Advanced Marathoning. I think the key to knowing how to switch things around is to read the whole book (whichever one you're using) rather than just downloading the outline of a plan without the explanations. The P&D book has explanations of how many days' recovery are recommended after each type of session, for example.0
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What you really need to know in any plan is "what is the purpose of this workout?" Once you know that then you know how to move things around. I just helped a friend with a 1/2 marathon program and he only wants to run three days per week. There are two days I *want* one after the other so I told him he can move these but try and keep those two together and at least one day before his long. Other than that he can pretty much move things0
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When I actually start following a training plan to the letter I will let you know lol. Otherwise, I just set reasonable goals for the week, mileage or time on feet, and look to hit that.0
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A plan should be used as a guide, not something to be followed rigidly. The concept that you have to remember is "easy, hard, easy, hard". So, if you are moving things around, try to have an easy run or rest day after a hard workout. Following that pattern will be all that about 95% of marathon runners ever need to do. Just remember, a long run is a hard workout.0
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When I actually start following a training plan to the letter I will let you know lol. Otherwise, I just set reasonable goals for the week, mileage or time on feet, and look to hit that.
Yeah. Haha0 -
When I actually start following a training plan to the letter I will let you know lol. Otherwise, I just set reasonable goals for the week, mileage or time on feet, and look to hit that.
Yeah. Haha
That is why you guys are super stars!0 -
When I actually start following a training plan to the letter I will let you know lol. Otherwise, I just set reasonable goals for the week, mileage or time on feet, and look to hit that.
Yeah. Haha
That is why you guys are super stars!
Psshht probably not after my marathon on the 21st lol. I just run for fun and let the chips fall where they may, for now.0 -
Biggest change I make to training plans is using races in lieu of tempo runs. This usually means I am running faster than the intended workout but for a shorter period of time so this is not something you want to do every week.0
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I will move days around due to scheduling, but I don't do hard runs back to back and I try not to drop any overall mileage.0
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A wise man once said; "training plans are guidelines not gospel." Numbers on a page have no way of knowing if you're feeling great and want to get in a couple extra miles. Nor do they know if you are feeling like crap and need to cut it short.
All that said, I try not to mess around with my long runs too much (other than getting ahead of schedule if possible).0 -
When I actually start following a training plan to the letter I will let you know lol. Otherwise, I just set reasonable goals for the week, mileage or time on feet, and look to hit that.
Yeah. Haha
That is why you guys are super stars!
Psshht probably not after my marathon on the 21st lol. I just run for fun and let the chips fall where they may, for now.
Yeah, not really superstars lol. Just running for the fun of running with some speed bumps (races) thrown in lol.0 -
When I actually start following a training plan to the letter I will let you know lol. Otherwise, I just set reasonable goals for the week, mileage or time on feet, and look to hit that.
Yeah. Haha
That is why you guys are super stars!
Psshht probably not after my marathon on the 21st lol. I just run for fun and let the chips fall where they may, for now.
Yeah, not really superstars lol. Just running for the fun of running with some speed bumps (races) thrown in lol.
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I have a race coming up in October and I have been trying to follow a program in the book Relentless Forward Progress. I am getting about 90% of the recommended miles in, but life, work, etc. lately have been making it tough to get my long runs in... over the past six weeks I have only manged to get two 15 milers in. Looking at my schedule and factoring in at least a little tapering, it looks like I might only have one opportunity, possibly two, to get a legitimately long run in (25-30 miles). Based on your experience, can someone get by for a race by getting the weekly miles, but not all the long runs? I'm feeling a little nervous about it....0
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I have a race coming up in October and I have been trying to follow a program in the book Relentless Forward Progress. I am getting about 90% of the recommended miles in, but life, work, etc. lately have been making it tough to get my long runs in... over the past six weeks I have only manged to get two 15 milers in. Looking at my schedule and factoring in at least a little tapering, it looks like I might only have one opportunity, possibly two, to a get a legitimately long run in (25-30 miles). Based on your experience, can someone get by for a race by getting the weekly miles, but not all the long runs? I'm feeling a little nervous about it....
Assuming you're doing an ultra? Speaking for myself, I did a 50K in June with an 18, 16, and a few half marathons in the 2mos leading up to it. It was a 4-lap course, and the 16 miler was 2 laps of the course, and it wasn't an overly difficult course (about 350ft of gain per lap). Bought RFP *after* running it, of course.0 -
Yeah... I did my first ultra, a 50k trail race, in April of this year. In October, I am trying 50 miles up somewhere in Wisconsin.0
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Yeah... I did my first ultra, a 50k trail race, in April of this year. In October, I am trying 50 miles up somewhere in Wisconsin.
I think the book says something like your first ultra might as well be a 50 miler over a 50k, right? That should give it some perspective :laugh:0 -
I think I might be ok in terms of miles, but worried that being out on a trail for 10-12 hours without some longer runs on feet time-wise under my belt could leave me twisting in the wind on the back end of the race... its a 25 mile out and back.0
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Yeah... I did my first ultra, a 50k trail race, in April of this year. In October, I am trying 50 miles up somewhere in Wisconsin.
I think the book says something like your first ultra might as well be a 50 miler over a 50k, right? That should give it some perspective :laugh:
Yeah...lol... they say the pain does not get any worse, you just have to endure it for a longer period of time...0
