Man Without a Plan

Cartman78

Am I alone in the running world by not religiously following training plans?

Never really warmed to the idea of a rigid plan – didn’t like the idea of ‘having to do’ x amount of miles on a Thursday…always felt it would be too much like work and ruin the actual enjoyment of running.

Anyway, over the years as I’ve become increasingly addicted to running, I still don’t follow a set plan. I have a HRM and upload and track all my data etc. and I know that leading up to a marathon a certain amount of mileage needs to be clocked up, or leading up to a 10k that the speed sessions and tempo runs need to be done etc. but I would only ever schedule these the day before.

So basically what I’m getting at – is my anti-establishment, hippie approach to running limiting my potential or should I just bite the bullet and start Hal Higdon’s 18 wk plan or whatever? Would be interested to hear from anyone who’s gone from freestyling to plan (or vice-versa) and their feedback on it.

Cheers cm

Krusty_Clown

I ran my first marathon 'freestyle' as I didn't know that plans really existed or would suit me. I did 5 x 20 mile runs, as someone suggested this is the way you need to go (alternating 20 miles then 13 miles ever other weekend). Followed a plan the next time, and took 22 mins off my time, doing only 2 x 20 mile runs. Have followed similar plans for the next couple of marathons and I have to say the structure helps you achieve your goal. Working on a week by week (or day by day basis) you don't get the subtle progressions that a plan will provide.

But am I a happier runner? Nope! Particularly now, arriving at the final 10 days of my plan. I look forward to the next three months of being off-plan and running free. but am I happy when I hit my goals? Oh, yes!

Cartman78

Cheers Krusty -
Your post pretty much confirms my suspicions -

1) 'Do I want to improve my times/performance?' - of course.
2) 'Do I want to make running a chore?' - definitely not.
3) 'Are these types of self-referential questions annoying?' - yes .

I guess it's about finding a balance so. I've improved my marathon PB by 20mins this year and my 10k PB by 2mins so will not make a plan to start following a plan just yet I think

robinph

Cartman78 wrote: »

Am I alone in the running world by not religiously following training plans?

Definitely not alone. I refuse to follow any kind of scheduled plan.

Have missed a couple of days this week for various reasons and that is probably a bad idea in the lead up to the half this weekend and the marathon next month. But one day Halo was out and I wanted to get back to play that instead, and the other day I just couldn't be bothered after getting held up getting away from work. I'm perfectly happy in not following a plan though. I know it will cause me pain come October and I know it will also mean I will struggle to actually achieve times I'm physically capable of.

I also know that if I was to try following some specific plan and then missed it I'd probably just give up totally, so I carry on ding whatever I do and am happy with the results, even though other people are not happy with my efforts.

robinph

Edit: Dammed dodgy mobile internet web.

Sorry

Krusty_Clown

Echo......
echo....
echo..

Robinph: Isn't playing Halo technically cross-training? I guess it depends on whether you're playing in campaign mode or online.

I think following a plan might suit a particular type of personality. I don't feel guilty about missing particular sessions, because I don't miss particular sessions. This time around I actually gave myself some concessions, and only planned a week in advance, so i could shuffle training sessions around on particular dates to suit my work/life schedule (but I still hit them all). Some form of OCD helps!

This might sicken you greatly, but here's my Garmin calendar from the last few months since I started on the route to Berlin with a 10k program on the 10th May:
Garmin Calendar.

claralara

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

This might sicken you greatly, but here's my Garmin calendar from the last few months since I started on the route to Berlin with a 10k program on the 10th May:
Garmin Calendar.

Holy cow!! I'm not sure if I'm jealous, impressed or greatly sickened. All three actually! Amazing.

Krusty_Clown

claralara wrote: »

Holy cow!! I'm not sure if I'm jealous, impressed or greatly sickened. All three actually! Amazing.

I'm sickened...
I could've found a cure for cancer. Or at the very least, read a good book.

Cartman78

That's a helluva diary alright Krusty :eek:

To say mine has a few more gaps would be an understatement. I would love to be able get a few morning runs in like you do but it simply isn't possible/practical at the moment due to a whole bunch of factors.

Krusty_Clown

Cartman78 wrote: »

That's a helluva diary alright Krusty :eek:

To say mine has a few more gaps would be an understatement. I would love to be able get a few morning runs in like you do but it simply isn't possible/practical at the moment due to a whole bunch of factors.

I don't run in the mornings. i can barely talk in the mornings. I'm an evening/night time runner (except at weekends).

Cartman78

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I don't run in the mornings. i can barely talk in the mornings. I'm an evening/night time runner (except at weekends).

Sorry Krusty - I misread your diary. I can't even read a training plan let alone follow one

opus

My Garmin calendar is pretty crowded as well (although with less intense stuff than KC!) as I've been following a training plan that has me doing something 6 days a week. Seems to suit me better as I kind of did my own thing for my first marathon and remember way too many days when I cycled out of work & instead of turning right to head to the gym to change & go running, turned left to go home instead cause I was tired/not in the mood/other random excuse

I haven't missed one day since downloading a plan from Runner's World so seems the the structured plan suits me best. Each to their own I guess.

sideswipe

Interesting thread.
I find it hard to follow a strict plan but find having goals and targets invaluable in getting me out there to get the mileage done (I'd be lost without me garmin)
the problem is my training isn't varied enough in my opinion i.e. I don't seem to be able to mix it up with higher tempo runs, recovery runs etc and find I'm running at the same comfortable pace too often, even on my LSR I think I may be running too close to my PMP. As a result I am really not sure what my target should be for DCM. I ran the half in 1:42:13 with average pace of 7:44 and did an LSR last weekend of 21 miles in 3:03:29 with average pace of 8:44. I would love to get some opinions of what time I should aim for in DCM? Did 4:22 last year but carried a bit of an injury and stubbornly refused not to run.

Sorry if this is highjacking your thread a little op!

Tipp man running

Well to add my two pence to the debate I'm a pure free runner but would love to adhere to a training plan and admire the way some here can stick to them. If it wasn't for playing bloody soccer i might do but for now i just alternate between 8miles, 13.1 miles, 16miles and 20 miles depending how i feel on the night and get the tempo work from soccer training. I find its not worth going out if I'm not going to run at least 8 miles...bad i know but one of these days i'll follow a training plan to the letter of the law. I'd be interested to see can i make gains on my Pb's, especially on the endurance races.:)

Krusty_Clown

sideswipe wrote: »

Interesting thread.
I find it hard to follow a strict plan but find having goals and targets invaluable in getting me out there to get the mileage done (I'd be lost without me garmin)
the problem is my training isn't varied enough in my opinion i.e. I don't seem to be able to mix it up with higher tempo runs, recovery runs etc and find I'm running at the same comfortable pace too often, even on my LSR I think I may be running too close to my PMP. As a result I am really not sure what my target should be for DCM. I ran the half in 1:42:13 with average pace of 7:44 and did an LSR last weekend of 21 miles in 3:03:29 with average pace of 8:44. I would love to get some opinions of what time I should aim for in DCM? Did 4:22 last year but carried a bit of an injury and stubbornly refused not to run.

It's very hard to say sideswipe, particularly because by the sounds of things you tend to run all of your runs at the same pace. How do you find running at pmp pace? If you can run a 20 mile run with 12-15 miles @PMP and it's manageable, then your pmp pace may be appropriate. 21 miles in 3:03 is a solid time for someone coming from a 4:22 marathon. Sounds like you've made solid progress.

sideswipe

How do you find running at pmp pace?

Thanks Krusty, I find it very manageable but was very unsure if I had another 5.2 miles in my legs at that pace toward the end. i do feel I've learned a lot since last year but I feel I have soooo much left to learn but am enjoying the journey which is the main thing. Do you think it's too late to introduce some higher tempo running for this year? I have a natural reluctance as I did some hills and sprints last year which I feel may have lead to me picking up a knee niggle which pushed my time back further than I had aimed.

Krusty_Clown

Tipp man running wrote: »

Well to add my two pence to the debate I'm a pure free runner but would love to adhere to a training plan and admire the way some here can stick to them. If it wasn't for playing bloody soccer i might do but for now i just alternate between 8miles, 13.1 miles, 16miles and 20 miles depending how i feel on the night and get the tempo work from soccer training. I find its not worth going out if I'm not going to run at least 8 miles...bad i know but one of these days i'll follow a training plan to the letter of the law. I'd be interested to see can i make gains on my Pb's, especially on the endurance races.:)

You won't get proper tempo training from soccer. It's too stop-start to maintain a steady heart rate. Have a look at my HR graph this activity. Even if you run a lot more than I did (very likely!) you still wont see the benefits of a proper tempo run. To be frank, it wouldn't even be a good interval session, as the length of a football pitch is typically 90-120m and a typical interval length for endurance running would be 400m+.

Just my 2c, but running when you feel like it and running without focusing on different types of sessions will only get you so far. If you want to consistently improve your PBs, you have to switch to a focused program, whether provided by a coach/club, or following a published program. But if PBs aren't your thing, then there's no harm in running off-plan.

Krusty_Clown

sideswipe wrote: »

Thanks Krusty, I find it very manageable but was very unsure if I had another 5.2 miles in my legs at that pace toward the end. i do feel I've learned a lot since last year but I feel I have soooo much left to learn but am enjoying the journey which is the main thing. Do you think it's too late to introduce some higher tempo running for this year? I have a natural reluctance as I did some hills and sprints last year which I feel may have lead to me picking up a knee niggle which pushed my time back further than I had aimed.

So the 21 mile run was at (or close to pmp)? In that case, you shouldn't be too concerned. Get your taper right, get your fueling strategy right on the day, get your pacing right (stick with one of the DCM pacing groups) a bit of hard work on the day, and you should be all set.

sideswipe

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

So the 21 mile run was at (or close to pmp)? In that case, you shouldn't be too concerned. Get your taper right, get your fueling strategy right on the day, get your pacing right (stick with one of the DCM pacing groups) a bit of hard work on the day, and you should be all set.

Hopefully, think I will go with a pace group if there is a 3:45. Just reading the reviews of yesterday they seem to be very helpful and popular. With some more progress I may even be up to following one of your balloons which are still too quick me at the mo!!!
Best of luck in Berlin BTW often check out your log for tips, thanks again.