I’m tinkering around with my running plan. I’m still building a decent base (in non-runner speak: after 20 years of sitting on my ass and eating donuts, I’m not ready for much in the way of training or running marathons. I’m basically training to train; building up endurance and strength in a relatively easy fashion for now)
Ahem.
Anyway, here’s my latest effort, but I think I’ll try it out through the end of the calendar year. I’ve just finished the One Hour Runner plan and it went great. I think I like having a calendar with my runs listed on it, so all I have to do is go run them. Instead of walking out the door half awake at 4:30 in the morning and going “how far should I go today?” If I do that enough I’ll just wind up back in bed.
In a nutshell: I’m adding a fourth day (right now I run three days a week), temporarily cutting back a little on the other three days, and then every three weeks I’ll add some miles. Basic plan is run Monday, run about half that distance tuesday, wednesday off. Then run Thursday (same as monday), friday off, and long run on Saturday. Rest on Sunday.
It may be the rum talking, but I’m thinking I can do this…
I have an excel spreadsheet stuck on the side of the fridge with a magnet, right below the map of my next marathon course. It’s very easy to lay on the couch and yell at the Elder Child to check my schedule and tell me how much I’m supposed to do the next morning. He also is a bit of a nag and tells me when I’m cutting down runs or skipping them altogether too much.
I can’t exist without one. I track actual mileage in pen for each day and week, so I can tell you exactly how much I’ve run in any given week since August 2003. It’s a sickness, really.
Please don’t develop OCD about your fitness. No, that was not a direct reference to Skatemom. wink, wink 😉
I know (personally) that ‘all-or-nothing’ thinking can make you so frustrated that you end up doing exactly that: nothing.
You’ve got the right idea, building slowly on your established success.
I’m sending you a mental ‘hug’ for encouragement!
This is very similar to how I’ve been trying to build up on cycling. At first, I pretty much had to start by training myself to not try to coast every quarter mile (ie, I had to get my muscles to the point where I could maintain something resembling a constant peddling rate) and then, I had to build up to a point where I didn’t need to take long breaks every few miles. It wasn’t hard. It just took some time. Now, I’m trying to get out for a daily ride at least 5 days a week, and then it will be on to increasing distance by 10% a week as long as the weather and my work schedule will allow it. I’ve realized over the course of the last few months as I’ve been doing this more that if I don’t take a day off every few days, my speed and energy begin to bottom out.
The problem with cycling is that when daylight hours are fewer, and the weather is really bad, you have to take it indoors – and that is a bummer. I’ve been thinking about running through the winter, and for this I’ll be looking to you for inspiration.