running workout organizer, part one

Okay, so a few days ago I posted the running workout organizer (PDF), but I didn't really explain it, did I?  If you looked at it and sort of scratched your head, let me explain how I use it.  You might still be scratching your head, and that's okay, but at least I tried.

So the idea behind the schedule is to break it down, week by week, and make the adjustments that life requires us to make.  It is all well and good to download the 12 week plan from Runner's World, but you've got to make it fit into your life.  One of my biggest problems with marathon plans is that they don't line up with what I've got to do during any given week.  Sometimes there is no free space on the long run day, or there is a group run I really want to get in that falls on a day planned for rest.  If I'm just glancing at the plan, and it's not working, I tend to just throw it out and make up my own.  And then I end up with all kinds of weird training.

I started by calling it my badass schedule, 'cause it just seems to make me feel like I can do it if I start from the mindset that I'm tough.

I put a space to note what week in the cycle I'm working on.  This helps me make sure that I don't slip in to overtraining by too many hard weeks in a row.  At most you should have three hard weeks with the 4th being recovery - training at about 60 - 70% of total miles with a max of one hard effort.  If my max mileage is 50 miles, then for the recovery week I am running somewhere between 30 and 35 miles.  I can also note if this is a taper week in this space.  The thing is now I'm thinking about where my training should be at while I'm putting my schedule together.

The next part I fill out is actually the key workouts section.  If you break down most training plans, you'll notice that they boil down to endurance runs (long efforts), speedwork (intervals, repeats, etc) and strength (hills mostly).  I am going to be trying out a 12 week marathon plan from Brad Hudson & Runner's World for Vernonia.  This plan is built with just two key workouts and a percentage of weekly mileage planned out; you decide which day and how to structure the non-key workout miles for the rest of the week.  I like the flexibility of the plan, so for my worksheet, I would list the two key workouts here.

In the supports section, I try to map out the things I want to do to support my running - key stretches and core work I don't want to miss.  Again, this gets me thinking about those things I tend to neglect.  By writing it down, I'm much more likely to actually get it done.

For the concerns section, I take a moment to identify anything that is giving me pause in my running.  A tight hip?  Write it down.  Pain by the knee.  Write it down.  By giving it attention, I can better determine whether I might need more rest this week or even go so far as to have it checked out.  For me, sticking blindly to the plan while ignoring what my body is saying leads me right in to injury.  This simple exercise helps me to keep it all in mind.

Finally, I pick out a reward for executing the plan for the week.  It might be something I buy (like Endurosoak - really want to try this out) but more often it will be something like letting myself take a break to watch a chick flick or getting sushi on Friday night.

Once I've got all of those ducks in a row, I'm ready to start planning my week - which I will save for part two.