As ye train, so shall ye fight...
Its not enough to want to lose weight. People fall off the wagon on this goal every year and cancel gym memberships left and right. Weight loss has to be coupled with a goal. For me, this has been the running of the SF Half Marathon in 2011. But its time to get serious. 285 days separate myself from the race. Over the last 6 months, I have dropped over 120 lbs. But it will only get harder.The goal is to train to BE a runner. To do this, I have to build my stamina, endurance, and most importantly, a new mental toughness. I am coming to grips with the reality of the half marathon. Even at the minimum time required to make an Official Finish, I will need to be able to endure up to 3 hours of running to make a 13:45 mile average.
What follows in this post is my suggested training schedule for the next ten weeks. With 40 weeks to go, I am breaking them down into 4 10 week Macro Cycles of Running. The goal of which is endurance for the first three. The last ten weeks will focus on increasing my time to an 11 min mile.
To all of my Friends at DM: I want all suggestions from all corners, bad, good and ugly. Bear in mind the following facts...
- My final run time goal is an 11 min mile average for the race
- Sunday and Monday are my only days off. Tuesday through Sunday I work from 9 am to 10:30 pm, with a two hour lunch break at 3.
- My fitness equipment is limited to my computer, a home scale, a set of free weights, a Bosu ball, and a pair of reasonably comfortable running shoes.
- Until the final ten weeks, each macro cycle will include core fitness, a weights, and a cardio.
Macro Cycle One: Getting to 30 minutes - 10 weeks
| Week | Tue | Wed | Thur | Fri | Sat | Sun | Mon |
| 1 | Run Weights | Core | Run | Rest | Weights | Run | Rest |
| 2 | Run | Weights | Run | Core Run | Rest | Weights Run | Run |
| 3 | Yoga | Run | Weights Run | Rest | Core | Run | Weights |
| 4 | Run | Yoga Run | Rest | Weights | Run | Core | Run |
| 5 | Weights Run | Rest | Yoga | Run | Weights | Run | Core Run |
| 6 | Rest | Weights Run | Run | Yoga | Run | Weights Run | Rest |
| 7 | Core Run | Weights Run | Rest | Yoga Run | Rest | Weights Run | |
| 8 | Run | Core | Run | Weights Run | Rest | Yoga Run | Run |
| 9 | Weights | Run | Core Run | Rest | Weights Run | Run | Yoga |
| 10 | Run | Weights Run | Rest | Core Run | Run | Weights | 30 Min Run |
Macro Cycle Two: 1 hour - 10 weeks - TBD
Macro Cycle Three: 90 min - 10 weeks - TBD
Final 10 weeks: Getting to 11 min mile - 10 weeks - TBD
it's always good to plan especially for your health! nice!
ReplyDeleteI would also recommend that you do long runs every weekend (either Saturday/Sunday) or when you do not have work. Also, I think it is vital that you place your goal distance every time you have a scheduled run training. That will motivate you.
Those are just my two cents.
Congrats in advance!
Have you been running 5 days a week up until now? Is your body ready to handle that amount? Just asking because I am constantly dealing with niggling injuries. I only ran 3 times a week when training for my half marathon and never ran two days in a row. Not saying that you should, but I don't know your running history so I am asking.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why your rest days rotate. And if Monday is your only day off (you work 6 days/week?), that should be your long run day (and don't "waste" it with a rest or weights day if you feel you're constrained for time).
ReplyDeleteYou work long hours, but if you get a 2hr lunch, that should be plenty for mid-week run/shower/eat before getting back to work.
Also, consider crosstraining one (or more) days per week. In fact if you get up to 5 days of running/week, I'd drop to 4 days + 1 cross train day. And by crosstraining, I mean non-running (and ideally, non-weight bearing) cardio. Something like cycling, swimming, rowing, by gym machine or otherwise. It'll go a long way to ensuring you're developing muscle balance and injury prevention. Good luck!
While you may not be able to use a set training plan the way it is planned out, try looking at one for basis. I ran my first half in March of this year. I used the novice half marathon training plan from Hal Higdon. A few of the things that almost all training plans I have looked have in common are: set days for cross training (usually the day after a long run), set rest days, set long run days.
ReplyDeleteMost training plans for a half are around 12 weeks. With 40 weeks to train, I strongly suggest building your stamina in the first block with a program similar to couch to 5K or 10K if you are not currently running. If you are currently running, see if there are any local short races during each block that you can use as a goal for that ten week block. It is much easier to train for something not so far off.
I also agree with Running Enthusiast in that having how far you are going to run each run is important. On those days when you are fighting with yourself about running, having a number of miles written down will make getting out the door easier.
Please be careful on those comfortable running shoes. They will not last you anywhere close to your whole 40 weeks.
First get a pair of good running shoes that have been fitted by a professional. If you wreck your feet with crap shoes you'll pay for it for a long time. Then since you really haven't been running I'd start with a Couch to 5K plan to get going so you build up stamina and don't burn out.
ReplyDeleteI'd also suggest not running 2 days in a row, let your body rest between runs and you'll have fewer injuries.
Strength and stretching are good but to run a half marathon you need lots of cardio and stamina. Biking, swimming, rowing are good things to do. Having strong arms from weight lifting isn't going to be a big benefit to running.
You can always get a 30 minute run in on your lunch break and put in longer runs on your days off. You need to get minimum 30 minutes of continuous activity in per day to build stamina. Doing 10 minutes here and there doesn't maintain your heart rate long enough.