Saturday, February 16, 2013

What kind of training plan am I following?

http://www2.furman.edu/sites/first/PublishingImages/RLRF%202012%20web.jpg


At the time of this post, I'm a little over a quarter of the way through my training for the Big Sur International Marathon. Some people have asked what kind of training plan I'm following. Ok, so maybe 2 people have asked, but nonetheless, I thought I'd post some info on it.

I'm trying my best to follow the plan outlined in the book "Run Less, Run Faster" written by the folks at the Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training (FIRST). It basically boils down to doing 3 runs and 2 cross-training workouts during the week.

Why did I go with this training plan? Mainly because of the actual testing they performed with runners and the overall positive results that came from their plan. I also thought 3 runs a week was more realistic than some of the other plans I've come across. The lower number of miles also seemed to help stave off injury as well.

Because the majority of marathon training plans involve logging high mileage, the FIRST plan has been a hard sell to some. Since this is my first marathon that I'm prepping for and because I don't know any better, I decided to give the FIRST plan a shot.

The problem is, this is by no means an easy training plan. The 3 runs are pretty intense and seemingly at a faster pace than some of the other plans.

The 3 runs involve speed work/intervals, a tempo run, and a long run. Cross-training include activities like swimming, cycling, or any other activity that has relatively low impact on your legs.

What do I think of the plan so far? Well, I hate the speed work! I mean, I REALLY hate the speed work. Maybe it's because I didn't really do speed work before, but I absolutely loathe it.

The tempo runs are no cake walk either. They also seem to be getting more challenging each week and I'm beginning to not hit some of my target paces.

The funny thing is, my long run is the least difficult workout of my week, or at least it is so far.

Getting in my cross-training has been challenging as well because of the busyness of life and because I make it a priority to get all of my runs in during the week. I've done a couple of swim workouts, but I mainly cycle.

Oh, here's a quick tidbit: It doesn't seem to be a good idea to run back to back days. I'm finding if you want to try to hit the specific goals/pace they lay out for you in your training runs, running 2 days in a row makes it extremely difficult and is exhausting.

All in all, I think the FIRST plan is helping me with my stamina and pace week by week. As a bonus, I haven't had any injuries so far (knock on wood). Hopefully, following this plan prepares me enough for Big Sur, but only time will tell.