3 Thoughts on Modifying a Training Plan

First off: It's the wearing o' the green day! Happy St. Paddy's Day to you!

So we try to modify the plan to fit our schedule. That can raise some questions though on if we are keeping all the elements of the plan.

Here are 3 thoughts to keep in mind when modifying your training plan:

1. There is nothing magical about a 7 day week. It is in our nature to think of a new week as the start of everything. However many athletes work in 10 and even 14 day blocks. You can start your week on a Sunday and end on a Wednesday or start on a Friday and end on a Sunday. It really just needs to fit with your schedule and what your week can revolve around. The best way to figure out when to start and stop your week is to figure out what day works best for running your long run. Try to keep this day consistent as you don't want to randomly be running long runs. Your body needs an appropriate amount of rest between each longer run and this is usually dictated in your training plan. After you figure out your long run day, map out the rest of your training.

2. Figure out what your training program is emphasizing. Depending on what your goal is for the race, your training plan should reflect the path you will take to achieve those goals. If you are looking to simply finish the focus will be more on the long run. If you are looking to meet a time goal your focus will be on the long run but also on your strength (preferably hill workouts) and speed training. Keep these elements in your plan. If you have to skip something in your running week, try not to skip these. Keep your sight on your goals.

3. Don’t skip your rest days! If there is only one commandment in the running realm it would be that. It is very tempting to ignore a rest day when you find yourself behind or crunched for time in a training program. However do not make this mistake. One of the most important factors of all training plans are the rest days. Your body will simply not be able to keep up with all of the demands of the program if you are not giving it adequate time to rest and heal. It is best to have at least 2 rest days a week and more depending on you and your past history.

You really can fit a training schedule into your life. Sometime it might mean taking a longer amount of time to train but that can really be a blessing in disguise. If you are still feeling overwhelmed about finding a training plan to fit your life you can always try our Custom Training option. We will design your perfect half marathon or marathon training plan to fit YOUR schedule, YOUR time, YOUR life.

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And Now for a Running Laugh...

Isn't that the truth? ;)

Source: www.marathon-training-program.com

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The majority of runners, at least once in their running career will find themselves plagued with an injury. Some bad and some that are tolerable.

We have been looking at iliotibial band syndrome , stress fractures , and a more tolerable one, jogger's nipple .

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