How to Train - You're Draggin'



© DreamWorks

Yep, I'm a sucker for a pun. But my cheeky little title does have meaning! As I run best with a race goal ahead of me, it only makes sense that I then need a plan of action to really get my booty in gear. Outside of my racing seasons, motivation and mileage go way down. I'm hoping to change that in the future by doing this race right and keeping on track even after I nab my bling. Of course, that might require signing up for another race - but hey! Girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

As far as training goes, I trained for my first marathon with Team in Training and I actually still have their training schedule. I even used their half and full schedules to fashion an outline for my Goofy training. In general, I do like this schedule. Monday/Friday rest days are the best. I like the idea of a recovery run and it's a nice slow, steady increase. There are 4 run days, 2 rest days, and 1 crosstrain day. The longest run is 20 miles. Here's an example week:

This time around, I have been looking into what other options are out there. runDisney is a huge proponent of Jeff Galloway's training methods. His schedule kind of shocks me. There are 3 run days and 4 rest days. While there is some variety to the running workouts, the long runs seem to be all over the place. And the longest run is 26 miles - a marathon before the marathon! Here's an example week:

I don't think this is for me, considering that I want to work on pace. And it just kind of freaks me out. I am slow and a 30 minute run is not going to get me all that far. I'm glad it's helped so many racers reach the finish line, but I don't think I would have felt confident with this schedule my first time out.

So then I came across Hal Higdon's website and learned that he has contributed to Runner's World longer than any other writer. He also ran eight times in the Olympic Trials and won four world masters championships. He seems like a pretty cool cat. And his schedule is simple and straightforward, with 4 run days, 2 rest days, and 1 crosstrain day. The longest run is 20 miles. Here's an example week:

A lot of similarity to TNT, really. The only big difference is the Thursday/Sunday swap and the weekday  mileage never goes above 6 miles with TNT whereas it's up to 8 with Hal. I also feel like TNT has a slower climb to the longest run and tends to stay around 10, 12, and 13 mile runs. In Hal's schedule you never do the same mileage, even if it's just a one mile increase. Then there's the fact that my Crossfit box has open gym on Sunday's, which I thought might work out nicely for my Crosstraining.

Even though I have begun my official countdown and training has technically begun, I'm still a little torn between TNT and Hal Higdon. I started with Hal, but I'm struggling to get longer runs in during the week, so TNT could be a better fit. Plus, I've been getting really tired by Thursday. Breaking it up so that I never run more than two days in a row might be good for recovery. I'm still not 100% sure.

Well, if there are any runner readers out there, what training method do you use? I know training schedules are just about as unique as the runners running them, but I'd still be intersted to know what works well for other folks.