How To Pick The Perfect Training Plan

It’s very easy to get caught up in the mindset that you have to hire a running coach to reach your goals. These days, it seems that everyone either is a coach or has a coach–or both. As much as people say otherwise, we all know, running can be expensive–entry fees, shoes, GPS devices, travel, and other gear can add up to thousands of dollars–and so the additional cost of a personal coach may not be feasible for you, even if you wanted one.

There are so many free training plans available these days that are challenging and effective that many recreational runners can by without spending the money on a coach. But it can be overwhelming. Where do you begin? How do you tailor a plan? Which plan is even best for you?

Here are a few ways to go about creating your own plan with the help of online resources.

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Start Here

Pick a Race. Sounds easy enough, but finding a race that fits with your schedule, your current ability, and the amount of time you have to reach your goals may be tougher than it sounds. You’ll want to ensure that you have a solid base, are running consistently and have been running injury-free for several months before you start ramping up training.

Websites like Running in the USA, Race Raves, HalfMarathons.net, and RunSignUp are all great resources for finding races across the country, but don’t forget to check out local running clubs and organizations that might not necessarily advertise on these sites.

Decide the training method. Peruse the many training methods that are available, taking into account your interests, desires, ability, and available time. For example, if you would prefer to cap your long runs for a marathon at lower mileage (think 16 miles), you might want to consider the Hansons Method. If you like higher mileage long runs, some of the other plans may be better suited for you. Do some research, talk to trusted running friends, and figure out what you are most comfortable with. Here are a few free or relatively inexpensive plans you can purchase:

1. • Hansons Method (Marathon, Half Marathon, Couch to 10k)
   • Jenny Hadfield (Zero to Running to Ultras)
   • Hal Higdon (Half Marathon, Marathon) – costs $9.99

The Women’s Running archives also has plenty of free training plans from coaches we trust. Here are some of our favorites:

• Mary Cain’s 5K Training Plans – 1 for beginners and 1 for intermediate runners
• Matt Fitzgerald’s 10K and 10-Miler Training Plans
• Sara Hall’s Half Marathon Training Plan
• A 5K to Marathon Training Plan

Be realistic. If you want to be successful executing your training plan, then you’ll need to be honest with yourself in choosing your ability level and goal mileage. Most of the above plans have plans for beginners, intermediate, and advanced runners. For example, if you are running 20-25 miles per week (mpw) when training begins, do not choose a plan that kicks off with 40 mpw. Or if you are comfortably running 3-4 times per week, choose one that sticks to that frequency. Don’t choose one that has six days of running.

Diving Into the Plan

Work Backwards. Mark your race on the calendar and work backwards to see when you will begin training. Put any obligations or events that may prevent you from completing an important run. This way you can plan ahead and switch things around.

Schedule 1-2 tuneup races. While not necessary, having a couple of races on the calendar during the training cycle can help dust off your racing shoes, while also serving a great test run for nutrition and gear. Many of the training plans have tuneup races included in the schedule. It just may take switching around some weeks so they align.

Determine training paces. Probably the toughest aspect of self-coaching is deciding what pace you should be running. There are a handful of charts and calculators online that provide paces for easy, recovery, long, tempo, intervals – every type of run you will encounter. The charts are based on finish times and should be based on your current fitness level, not your goal finish time. So you want to start with where you are now and spend the training cycle slowly working towards where you hope to be on race day.

The tough part is determining your current fitness level, especially if you haven’t raced in a while. To help yourself out there are a few things you can do:

1. 1. Run a time trial or sign up for a race: Either simulate a race or sign up for one, so you get an idea of your overall fitness
   2. Use a recent race time: If you’ve raced in the last couple of months, you can use that time, but if it’s much more than that, your fitness level could have changed a bit.
   3. Estimate: Start on the conservative end and estimate what you think you are capable of running.

Get Training!

Now that the plan and training paces are determined, it’s time to start training. But it’s never that easy, right? Conflicts, sickness, injury, work all come into play and can easily throw curve balls into a training plan and you may have to get creative with shifting runs and weeks around. Keep in mind:

• You typically want to avoid doing back-to-back quality workouts (think: intervals, tempo, long runs). You will need an easy (or rest) day sandwiched between those workouts.
• Increase weekly mileage by 10 percent. Again, this is generally speaking, but it’s a good rule to follow. So if you ran 30 miles last week, you want to keep this week under 33 miles.
• Slowly increase long run mileage. If you have to skip a long run, you may want to shuffle long runs around so you aren’t going from 14 to 18 miles on back-to-back weekends.

And I just couldn’t end this article without encouraging you to have fun with your training. All the logistics around training plans can seem so daunting, especially without a coach to lean on, but just know that it will be OK if your training isn’t perfect.

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