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Training Plan (Read 971 times)

    I just found this site after getting back into running about a week ago. 

     

    Brief History: 

    Have been in the army for about 3 to 4 years now so doing running there and loved running all last year on the side. Kind of fell out of a running plan because of crossfit, but do to an injury I am going to stick with running now.

     

    Question:

    Does anyone know a website, or have experience with an amateur running program? I am not new to running, but just getting back into it and want to get my endurance back up and lose about 10lbs. I would like to be a able to work up to a 6:30 to 7 mlle time for a rolling 5 mile course. Feel free to look at my training log thus far. There really isn't a plan or anything. Just been trying to get some miles under my feet.

     

    Regards,

     

    Dom 

    Being on a higher level than imaginable to the human race...

      They don't come much more amateur than me--when I started running last year, I didn't use a training plan.  The honest reason is that I was afraid that, if I did, I'd be too committed to sticking to it and end up plagued with injuries.

       

      Generally, it worked well for me.  No injuries, a satisfactory first marathon.  I think the base building phase can be summed up as:

       

      1.  Run easy a lot.  ~45 minutes of running seems to be the best bang-for-your buck.

      2.  Run longer than usual once in a while, maybe once a week.  "Long" means different things to different people--probably not more than twice your "normal" run at first.

      3.  Run hard once is a while, maybe once a week.  This is a lesser benefit when you're getting starting building your aerobic engine.

       

      For base-building, I found this article to be handy if you're interested in numbers, HRR, etc.  Lydiard is one of the greats for defining base building, and there's a lot of his collected stuff here. Oh, and read Nobby's posts--he might chime in here, too.  He knows what he's talking about far more than I do. Other good articles on the importance of easy/base-building time can be found by Pfitzinger and others. 

       

      Do you have a time frame for running the five miler/a goal race? Hope that was helpful, at least a little.

      "When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter, either. Then willpower will be no problem." 
      Emil Zatopek

        No time period. I was in the best shape of my life when I was running around 6 to 630 mile pace for a rolling 5 mile course so i am assuming when I can get back up to par then I have reached my goal. Then obviously raise the bar after.. Appreciate your suggestion! My problem I think is the whole crossfit/ army mindset. Run as fast as you can until you puke and can't breathe. So, if you notice I usually run around 2-5 miles and nothing more. I need to start going on longer, but slower runs. It's just hard because I get bored and feel like I am not making any progress.

        Being on a higher level than imaginable to the human race...

          No time period. I was in the best shape of my life when I was running around 6 to 630 mile pace for a rolling 5 mile course so i am assuming when I can get back up to par then I have reached my goal. Then obviously raise the bar after.. Appreciate your suggestion! My problem I think is the whole crossfit/ army mindset. Run as fast as you can until you puke and can't breathe. So, if you notice I usually run around 2-5 miles and nothing more. I need to start going on longer, but slower runs. It's just hard because I get bored and feel like I am not making any progress.

           

          This might be an interesting read for you in that case: McGuff versus Maffetone.   Does a good job of comparing two methods/systems (McGuff is mostly high intensity/low duration, Maffetone is mostly the opposite*). 

           

          For me, Maffetone got me running easy runs easy.  The whole low-HR thing is especially useful to those use of who do our runs too hard otherwise.  I "remembered" running in high school, ten+ years ago, and would run way too hard on my own without some feedback.  The low-HR technique, in my opinion, is mostly useful for learning what easy feels like--especially useful if you've been an athlete in another sport, like CrossFit (mine were backpacking/hiking and rock climbing).   After you've got that, it's just another piece of data.  The run itself is more important. Every now and then, a MAF test is a great way to see progress in your "easy speed"--article here.  There's a graph and search of them in my log--I love them and they reinforced my seeing the purpose of running easy.  You can use his 180 method for that HR, do RPE if you're more honest with yourself than me, do 70% HRR, etc--improved pace at the same effort is the ticket, I think.

           

          An "aha!" moment for me was reading Advanced Marathoning by Pfitzinger--it really puts all the pieces together.  For me, understanding the purpose of easy runs--from someone who also recommends hard runs--got me to love them just as much.  There is probably no more fundamental run to improving endurance than the easy 40-60 minute run. It might not be the best book for a 5 miler (all the plans are for marathons and require a really, really solid base), but it's a great book for exercise physiology alone.  I'm sure there are folks on here more well-read in running than I who can recommend others, if you like.

           

          Happy running!

           

          *Maffetone DOES recommend anaerobic phase training, just after a long base-building phase--many of his adherents seem to miss this (heck, I didn't notice it until I read his whole freaking book!).

          "When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter, either. Then willpower will be no problem." 
          Emil Zatopek

            For me it was Daniels Running Formula that put everything together. He uses % of total weekly running to limit how much interval work, tempo work, long runs, etc, and is a proponent of not overtraining, even if you're slightly undertrained. Slightly undertraining and avoiding injury will make you MUCH faster over the long haul.

             

            As another Army guy (just not your Army) I understand the mentality and we went through a crossfit phase. You don't have to eliminate the crossfit, but do it once or twice a week in place of some harder running. Big thing is just run slow most of the time, no matter how far you're going.

              I can't recall the link for the Master Run Coach; you can try PM'ing Nobby415 through this site.

               

              MTA: FOUND IT!

              "I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."

              -- Dick LeBeau

                Hi everyone,Joking

                i am fairly new to RA and this is my first post,I think this is the best forum for me!i am 24 and just caught the running bug I need help as i have been running for 6 months and have completed one 5k (22:13) i hope to break 20 and also do a few 10k's this year and maybe the odd cheaky half marothon, i currently do 30-40miles per week, i would like some advise on how to step it up without tempting injury. if anyone can help that would be great. check my stats for more info

                  Fairly impressive first race Aki21, this article explains 5K training and also provides a general plan that should apply to all shorter races 5k-13.1

                   

                  http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=19258

                    Hi everyone,Joking

                    i am fairly new to RA and this is my first post,I think this is the best forum for me!i am 24 and just caught the running bug I need help as i have been running for 6 months and have completed one 5k (22:13) i hope to break 20 and also do a few 10k's this year and maybe the odd cheaky half marothon, i currently do 30-40miles per week, i would like some advise on how to step it up without tempting injury. if anyone can help that would be great. check my stats for more info

                     

                    Not experienced enough to presume to give you advice, except to say that you can find a wealth of information right here.

                    Use the search function of the forums and keep an eye out for relevant threads. Soon you will learn who the experts are around here and learn to filter out things that don't apply to you and/or are just plain bologna.

                    As someone whose never been on a team or had a coach, I've come across multiple posts that really clicked with me and helped to answer the what and why of training. Also, people who don't know me from Adam have taken time to analyze my training and give me advice when I've asked.