"No 2 weeks are the same."

Hello,

Last week we looked at how the best training plans start at the end and 6 steps to help you design a successful training plan.

But what happens when no two weeks are the same or your plans change at the drop of a hat?

“My life is so hectic and unpredictable, that I feel it is impossible to make a plan and be able to stick to it. In theory, one long run a week, in reality the kids decide they want to do something that day, or Carrie has taken a bank shift at the hospital. And then, in my head, I'm getting frustrated/disappointed/annoyed/worried that I'm not following the plan.”

This is a fantastic point made by Rob, in our Facebook group, last week and I know a lot of us feel the same way.

Whilst for some events, distances and desired goals to be achieved, it is essential that a certain amount of training volume gets done and this often does call for more rigidity and a fixed approach towards training in order to drive progress and reduce the risk of injury.

This then begs the question… For running to continue to complement Rob’s life and not impact his current training/family balance, how can he go about his running to prepare him for the London Landmarks Half Marathon which he is doing for charity next year?

The answer: Follow a flexible training plan.

Now, we’ll still be largely following the 6 steps to designing a successful training program which we saw last week. However, steps 2 and 4 will be more flexible.

Here’s a quick reminder of both steps:

2. Look at your weekly schedule and plan in your training working backwards from race/event day making sure you have at least one rest day a week and de-load weeks as necessary.

4. Schedule sensibly and avoid planning your key sessions on back to back days. For example avoid this structure: Tuesday -Tempo, Wednesday - Threshold, Thursday - Long run/ride and S&C.

Here is the difference:

Rather than planning each week’s sessions on a fixed day-to-day basis, eg. Mondays: tempo session, Wednesdays: strength session & recovery run, I recommend taking a more liberal approach starting with deciding what are the non-negotiables for the training week.

For instance, lets say Rob is 6 weeks into his half marathon training plan and is completing 4x runs and 2× 30 min strength sessions per week.

At this stage, this consists of the following runs:

• Long run,

• Tempo run,

• Steady zone 2 run,

• Threshold run.

These are the sessions that are non-negotiable in Rob’s training week, however the days he actually has to do each session on can vary week to week.

See in the below example, the sessions are there each week, however the days they are completed on vary:

It is worth highlighting step 4 which we saw last week:

4. Schedule sensibly and avoid planning your key sessions on back to back days.  

If, some weeks, it becomes unavoidable to not plan key sessions on back to back days, then I recommend switching out the key session for a steady zone 2 run instead. This approach prioritizes endurance development, reduces the chance of over-reaching in the sessions you do complete and means that when you next come to the key session, eg. threshold session, you will be able to execute it to the best of your ability without the fatigue from another key session still in your legs!

By following this more flexible approach to training, you will progress week on week. Reminder- The content of your sessions will change week to week, just as they would when following a more traditional training plan, a 10 mile long run in week 13 of your training plan compared to a 6 mile long run at week 4 for example.

I work with a lot of runners, cyclists and multisport athletes who work shifts patterns both day and night. No two weeks are the same for these individuals which is why a generic, off-the-shelf training plan does not work for them. Instead, their training plan is centered around them, their goals and lifestyle… and that’s why they are thriving off if it!

If you’re struggling with your training plan, please reply to this email and we can jump on a free, no-obligation call/communicate via email to see how I can help you with your plan.

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