I have a BIG goal that I've made public on this blog: to run a 1:35 half marathon in October. It's a big goal for me because it is a stretch. I fully embrace the hard work it will take to get there. Running 1:35 is no joke. That's 7:15 min/mile. For me, that's fast. My half marathon PR (from 2011) is 1:45 and my most recent half-marathon time was 1:48. I have my work cut out for me. But it is not completely out of the realm of possibility, because I am rapidly making progress. For example on April 6th I ran a 5K in 22:25. Two weeks ago, on May 22 I ran a 5K workout at track practice in 21:04. That's a whole 1:21 seconds faster and that 5K time from track practice includes jog recovery. I'm gaining fitness rapidly. Along with running short and fast at the track (we have been focusing on 200m, 300m and 400m intervals with short quick active recovery) I've been running longer on the weekends. I ran an 18miler two weeks ago and had planned to run 20 this weekend but it turned into 16.77 (the story of THAT run is for another day). October is still a ways off, but if I want to get THERE I have to start NOW.

My first thought: I need a plan. Every ounce of my certifiable type-A, compulsive-list-making, uber-organized self wants to draw up a plan. And even common goal-setting sense tells you to break big goals down into little ones...in other words, have a plan.

But after speaking with my run club's track coach and mulling it over in my mind [Matt Fitzgerald's book RUN the Mind-Body method of running by feel had an impact on the thoughts that were mulled over in my mind. It is a great read. You can find it HERE. And my thoughts on it HERE.]I think that NOT having a plan may in fact be better for me.

When I say "not have a plan" I'm talking about NOT printing out the June, July, August, September and October calendar and carefully marking up the days with specific miles and paces. I'm talking about NOT obsessing the night before about how many miles I'll do or where I will run. Typically I am high-strung, high-stress when it comes to big goals and often this self-generated and imposed pressure backfires. When I approach a big goal with a relaxed mindset it has a way of coming to me. When I talk about running a PR without a plan I'm talking about running with a more relaxed approach: running with guidelines.

So here are my guidelines:

The Big Three: I need to run three hard workouts per week: tempo, track/speed and a long run. For me these fall on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. These workouts are non-negotiables. I have to get them done if I want to run well in October.

Tempo: Tempo runs have already been a part of my weekly workouts. But the last time I ran a solid tempo was the week before my half-marathon, I ran 40 min (about 5 miles) at 7:40 pace. Since it has been almost a month since that last tempo I'm starting back at three miles and working my way up again (on Friday I ran 3 miles at 7:37 pace). Every few weeks I'll probably go back to three and drop the pace.
Track: I'll keep running the track workouts with our run club, they have mostly been shorter intervals but I'm gaining fitness quickly doing them. The coach's plan is to work our way up to 600's (we did 10x300 last week with a 200 jog recovery) and then go back down to 200's and work our way back up to 600's only faster! After that he will start incorporating some longer intervals: 800m, 1000m and mile repeats into the workouts. I like going to track because I can show up, find out the workout minutes before we run it and run hard. There's no stress, just the sweaty, hard work I love.
Long Run: Pretty self-explanatory: run long. For the next 8 weeks these runs will range from 15 miles to 20 miles since I am prepping for a marathon in July (more on that later). After July I'll keep them in the 12-15 range and maybe longer depending on how I feel.

Paces: This is the crucial part of "guidelines" if there's anything I have to pay close attention to or be rigid about, it is the paces. Here are my "goal" training paces for a 1:35:00, they scare the crap out of me.

Weekly Mileage: To be 1:35 half-marathon material I need to be running 50-60 miles a week (or more). I'm working my way there. I ran 42 last week. This is my guiding principal for all the runs that aren't the "big three." And this is what causes most of my stress: mapping out specific miles for specific days, having it looming over your head the night before you go to bed. So I've decided to just run with a weekly mileage goal in mind; let the miles fall where they may. I like this way of thinking. It is, for me, much more relaxed.

Maybe all this seems like a "plan" to you and I guess in a way it is, but it is not the super-rigid daily schedule I'm used to creating for myself. This kind of approach helps me balance my love for running and my desire to achieve a big goal. Often times when I set running goals and map out plans I begin to resent the run. Not every run is easy and sometimes you just don't want to, but a more relaxed approach--I think--can be helpful. It keeps the resentment out and the running enjoyable.

This BIG GOAL of running 1:35 is more than just a time on the finish clock, it is also about helping the families who use the services of the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth. To read the full story of why I'm running, why my goal is 1:35 and the other BIG part of my goal please click HERE.

Are you a "planner"? Does a more relaxed approach help you? Or are you more relaxed and need the guidelines of a set schedule? What type of training plan or guidelines do you respond to best?

--Sarah

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The "Plan-less" PR

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