Most of my online feeds are full of training talk these days. I don’t remember reading this much last year. Then again my only goal last November and December was to not take a long break from running like I had in previous years. I was constantly starting over every January. In November 2013 I ran 60 miles and 34 in December, not much but miles above previous years. My first race was always in March so I usually felt like I had time to catch up. Beyond that was always up in the air.
This year is ending a little different. With a 25K the last weekend in January and a half the following weekend I need to get my butt in gear now. Combine that with wanting to finally break 2 at SLO in April, and they seem like pretty large goals for this Slacker. Particularly when you factor in my track record with training plans.
Up until 2014, I trained my own way. For the most part it worked for me. But this year I had goals and goals need plans right? For SLO, I used a Nike+ training plan that was just too much mileage for me. I tried Higdon’s intermediate plan for Rock’n around the Pier in July. It didn’t work out so well. Ventura was an effort in denial regarding my stomach and lungs. Oh and remember this gem? Could I have made it any harder to understand?
I started training 12 weeks out from my 25k. Following Surf City, I aim to take a week off before getting back to training for SLO. That’s 11 weeks. With my stomach still dictating most of my pace and never having run back to back double-digit races, my goal for January is to just finish both races- no real speed or time goals. The plan is simple- run 4 days a week, try to cross train once. The tricky part lies in the weekends- back to back runs of at least 6 miles per day, topping out at 12. Even just typing that made me tired. There’s a reason I call myself a Slacker. 🙂 I would like to throw in a speed workout every other week but that will be up to my lovely stomach.
If I can stick to this, I think hope that I will be starting the year with a solid base. Hopefully that base will make me a stronger runner and I can really focus on speed for SLO. Fingers crossed. As for my plan- looking back I realized that my strongest half of the year was Wine Country in March. Granted, I was also the healthiest then. Barring an asthma issue during miles 5-7, I felt strong and ran 95% of it. Damn stupid hill at mile 12. And I trained my way- it was amazingly head game free- and I want to get back to that.
And how am I tracking my plan? A 90 cent student planner and pens because that is how I roll. 🙂 I’ve bought expensive logs and only used them a month. I tried Daily Mile as a way to track and never followed through. This fits in my purse, doesn’t take up a lot of space and I am hoping will be great incentive to keep it up! What can I say, I like filling in the purple for following through!
Happy weekend!
How do you train? Any suggestions?
What are your plans this weekend?
Slacker Runner 
Thanks for sharing your struggles and successes. Good luck as you gear up for the new year
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Thank you! Here’s to hoping 2015 is a good one for everyone!
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Ha ha, that training plan is almost a clone of my girlfriends, except she uses red pen. Poor Hal must be having sleepless nights!
I do like your use of the student planner……..I just use an excel spreadsheet at the moment but I prefer to make my own notes!
Good luck with all your training!!
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In the end, there were just so many things about it that didn’t work out. I felt like I changed the whole thing!
I’ve tried excel in the past but usually stop logging. I’ve found that I like having something to hold in my hand with a little space for notes but not too big. Some training logs these days are huge!
Thank you!
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A couple of things-I love using pen & paper! Why do our stomachs get to dictate so much! I get trying multiple plans attempting to find the right one. It’s still alludes me but props to you!
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I have to say that I am really liking using different colors. Even if it’s a little juvenile. 🙂 Right? My stomach turned today into a 5 mile run not the 8 that I wanted. I am just hoping that this plan works out and that I really try to stick to it.
*just noticed this reply posted wrong, oops!
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I LOVE my fine tip Sharpies!
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I have to say that I am really liking using different colors. Even if it’s a little juvenile. 🙂 Right? My stomach turned today into a 5 mile run not the 8 that I wanted. I am just hoping that this plan works out and that I really try to stick to it.
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Training “your way” is a great method of training Fallon!!! I have pretty much self-coached for the last 4 years because I could never find just the right plan to work for me. So what I’ve done is I’ll print a schedule from runners world smartcoach then put my own spin on it. I just use it as a guideline. I also implement tons of suggestions from the Hanson’s Marathon training method. To me the plans that are online are to cookie-cutterish. Wishing you the best chica!!
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Do you pay for the Smart coach plan? I used to use their free ones as a starting point but now I can only find the ones with a fee. I admit that I haven’t done a lot of reading about Hanson’s. Everything I have read makes me think that would be too many miles or days of running for me. Thanks! And good luck with your half training, too!
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They actually still have free programs also if you click on the training tab I believe on their website. Yeah the Hanson’s plan does have a ton of mileage so I’ll usually print out a smartcoach plan an implement some of the Hanson’s based workouts within those miles 🙂
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I’ve been using RunCoach.com to tell me what to run, and I like it. It’s a paid service though (luckily I had a 50% off discount for the first year so I tried it.) I really like tracking in Strava too. I’m running Surf City before SLO also, maybe I’ll see you at both!
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Yikes, the year fee is steep! Part of me thinks something like that would be helpful but fear that I might just rebel against it. Sweet! Are you running the half or full at Surf City?
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I pretty much never completely follow a training plan, but it seems to be working ok. I think if I want to continue to improve, though, I’ll need to commit better. I like your plan, and hope it works for you!
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As long as I can stick to it, I think I will make through the race weekends. I have a problem following through more often than not. Oops. Training plans are hard, most of the ones online are very one size fits all.
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I’ve found that too, and that’s why I always tweak the base plan to make it work for me.
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