Personalised Training Plans

Hi,

First off, apologies if this has been covered many times, I tried searching but had no luck.

I'm entered into the Brighton Marathon and up until now I've been thinking "I'll do a bit here and there, a couple of long runs and muddle through" but now, about 16 weeks away, I'm thinking "Eff it, I might as well give this a half decent go".

I'm looking for an online plan to follow, I liked the My Asics site but would like to find one that you can customize a little bit more. For instance, I can't run on Tuesdays, Thursdays and most Saturdays.

Are there any planners out there that can exclude certain days?

Thanks.

Comments

  • Er just take that plan and move the days around ? Its foolish to take any standard plan off the shelf and stick to it rigidly. You need to listen to your body - the plan may be too hard or possibly too easy.
  • Thanks Cougie, I did consider that obviously, I just didn't know if shuffling the sessions about would be a bad idea. 

  • MillsyMillsy ✭✭✭
    Do what Cougie says. It's what 90% of people do anyway.

    Just try and alternate your hard and easy days.
  • Well, that's nice and easy then image

  • And I've noticed, once you register it lets you move individual runs and warns you if you move two runs too close to each other. Nice!

  • Have a look at the RunBrighton website. 

  • I've given up on the My Asics plan - as nice as the website is the plan seemed a bit off. Starting with a 3 miles jog at 11+ min/mile? What's the point?

    I've had a look at the Hal Higdon and tweaked that.

  • I've not tried Asics - but I've seen comments its a little light on training ?



    What time were you going for ? Higdon seems much more realistic.
  • I'd love to go under 4hrs which I think would be realistic if I put the effort in and racked up the miles. I have run up to 15 miles already but I've not done any timed runs and my Sunday runs have been on hilly trails.

  • MillsyMillsy ✭✭✭
    Higdon worked for my first 26.2 and got me well under 4 hrs.

    Doing your Sunday runs at a flow pace on the hills will really benefit you come race day( especially if its flat)
  • Are you local to Brighton BaldReverend?

  • @Millsy, Flow pace? Is that my Sunday, long slow run pace?

    @Sussex, not really, about 40 miles away.

    Also, on the Hal Higdon plan, there's no mention of pacing, apart from some runs being just 'runs' and some at 'pace'. I'm assuming 'pace' is my intended marathon pace but what about the standard 'run' pace?

  • MillsyMillsy ✭✭✭
    Sorry I meant Slow.

    I assume standard run pace is easy paced.
  • I sometimes use the Scott Douglas / inspired by Canova 12 week marathon plan (just google "get serious: a 12-week marathon training plan" ) where it specifies the length and pace of the long run and details for a long-interval session (e.g. 2x2mi @ 10mi-HM pace, 0.5 mile steady inbetween) for each week, and the relative mileage for each week, and you fill in the rest. e.g. a 70% week would be 35 miles for those maxing out at 50 mpw and 45 miles for someone going up to 60mpw.

  • I'm following the P&D plan (there's a thread on here for others who are also following one of the 3 or 4 plans in their book "Advanced Marathoning") and the 18 week plan calls for 5 runs per week. I try to do my long runs on Saturday, but will shuffle them around to Friday or Sunday as necessary to accomodate other personal commitments. It's what most people do. I try to do this as far ahead as possible, to minimise disruption to training, so whenever something comes up, a holiday, party, weekend away, etc, I adjust the plan, so I can fit in the other runs during the week, and have enough rest between harder runs. Obviously for those unplanned distractions I just have to wing it. I reckon over the course of 18 weeks about half of the weeks I'll need to shuffle my schedule around for at least one run.

  • Thanks for the info chaps, it's definitely something I'll have a look at later when I'll have more time to read it more thoroughly.

    At the moment, I'm planning on running four times a week. I do BMF sessions three times a week at the moment so I'm going to have to cut them down to maybe one session a week, along with the four running sessions.

  • First official training run done, a 5 mile loop. I'd had a hard day lifting and shifting stuff at work and the 5 miles felt reasonably hard even though the pace was quite slow.

    Is speed something that will naturally come with time after putting the miles in?

  • Speed is something you should be patient about. First, run more mileage to improve aerobic fitness, everything that follows is built on this. Run that mileage slowly and where possible on softer surfaces, not pavement, to reduce risk of injury through both sudden overuse and trauma. Beware, you're heart and lungs will adapt more quickly than your legs will strengthen. This is the cause of many injuries for newer runners, or runners increasing their mileage, because they're capable of running further and more frequently before getting tired, but their legs are not yet strong enough to cope with the pounding.

    Patience is key. increase your mileage by approx 10% a week is an oft-quoted rule of thumb. In reality, use your judgement to determine what's right for you, learning to tell the difference between DOMS (muscle soreness following exercise) and pain (a cue to back it off).

    A little speed work won't kill you, but don't add "quality" (i.e. tougher/faster workouts) and weekly mileage in one go. If you do, you might be lucky and not suffer injury, or you might be like the majority of people and something will give.

    Speed work or not, yes your pace will improve just by virtue of getting fitter (where fitter = better aerobic conditioning).

    Be patient, be persistent. Enjoy your running image

Sign In or Register to comment.