Online Running Training Plans

SNAPSHOT

What online running training plans can and can’t do

DIGGING DEEPER

Generic online training plans give you structure, multiple ways to challenge your body, and a quick answer. If you can keep yourself accountable and listen to your body while giving the proper amount of challenge and recovery, you can get to the start line ready for the race.

A running coach gives you

• Training flexibility to fit within life’s demands

• Expert advice to strengthen your weaknesses and take advantage of your strengths

• Notice of upcoming pitfalls

• Accountability

• Helps you to properly recover from workouts

Contact a coach within 4-6 months before your race date. You dedicate a lot of energy, thought, and determination within your training, pair it with expert advice.

SOLUTION

If you are training for Boston or wanting to break your 5K record consider working with a running coach who can guide you through individualized training.

Runners Heart Beats

SNAPSHOT

My take on heart rates and running training

DIGGING DEEPER

Since so many training watches are now monitoring our heart rates, I am sure the awareness of your beats have spiked. Here are my quick thoughts on why and what you should pay attention to when it comes to your beats per minute.

RESTING Heart Rate

early morning measurement, before your body stirs and awakes

Avoid overtraining and get a heads up if your body is fighting a sickness by watching for a spike that lasts more than a day. My other favorite about Resting Heart Rate is the data behind fitness. The more fit I am the lower my resting heart rate.

On a run several years ago with Joan Benoit Samuelson, I got to ask her one question. Mine question was: What is your resting heart rate? Answer: 35! Even in her 60’s she is SUPER FIT!

Last week’s data, the spike was after losing 3 hours of sleep due to an early morning airport drop off

Aerobic Threshold Heart Rate

measures the highest beats your body can effectively use and not become overwhelmed by lactate

Last month I had by lactate threshold tested in the St. Cloud Human Performance Lab. It included lactate blood tests and heart rate monitoring while running faster and faster on a treadmill. The heart rate in which my lactate levels spiked paired with my heart rate data gave me my threshold. I use this heart rate number to train my body to endure at a faster pace with out lactate accumulation. Hovering just above 164 beats will improve not only my threshold but also my overall running.

A tempo (just above the aerobic threshold) paced workout can be seen in the Zone 4, orange bar.

AVERAGE HEART RATE

measures my heart rate throughout the entire run and calculates the average

When reviewing my past run, I grab a quick look at the average beats. This information usually supports my feelings about how hard or easy the run felt. If they don’t line up I know I need to dive into the data a bit more and see if there is a reason. The average heart rate can also tell me if my body is getting the sleep, nutrition, and recovery I need.

Seen below are two averages, easy paced run (left), difficult workout (right), both within a few weeks of each other.

Year to Year Race Comparison

Favorite races often get repeated year after year. Through viewing my average heart rate data for each race I can see how my fitness has progressed or changed. Sometimes the weather and road conditions need to be taken into account when I am deciphering the data.

SOLUTION

Count your beats, but don’t let them hold you back!

MISSION COMPLETE: How to Become a Better Runner in 30 Days Series

#30 Mission Complete

SNAPSHOT

I must be honest, 30 days of writing in a row contained some struggles but after completion, just like training and racing, I am a changed person, more experienced and I hope a better writer. It was a positive experience and I feel a sense of accomplishment. I set out a challenge, stuck with it, and had fun along the way.

DIGGING DEEPER

At first, it was easy to find topics to write about. Oh, course I had to cover female training, sleeping, shoes (part 1 and 2), winter running, gear (including watches), treadmills, training plans, and sitting. But then came the inspirations day by day, like listing my runner’s phone uses, and when to stop or start running. The polar freeze brought topics of training partners, motivation, Minnesota play, and strength training. I love reading so I naturally shared favorite authors and books, as in Fatigue Tolerance, Fast or Slow, Older Runners, Runners Stretch. Topics close to my heart crept into the blog with Run Like a Kid, No Pretty Runners, A Runner’s Will, and Rest Days. My training partners brainstormed and uncovered a few gems like Runners Vacation and Running Friends.

Through all of these posts I shared knowledge and experiences along with links to articles and shopping. I hope this 30 day series is a resource for you and your training partners for many years. An added SEARCH BAR at the bottom of the page will aid you in finding the information you seek. Please share the posts in order to help others find joy in running.

Although my 30 days are up, I am not powering down the computer, since I have plans for weekly blog posts. And I am excited to bring into the discussion guest bloggers whose experience and viewpoint can enlighten us all. I am hoping to find another blog that will give me the chance to share my love for running with their community as a guest blogger. Perhaps these first ventures into select topics can continue to mature into published articles.

SOLUTION

Tomorrow when I wake up and don’t need to complete a blog, I will be sad, for I will miss our time together.

I am a learner, wanting to grow and grow. If you have ANY feedback for me as a writer and coach, please contact me. I value your thoughts. Thanks, friends!

LAST POST — This 30-day series is a quest for me as a writer, coach, and runner. I promise to write about running for 30 days in a row. In doing so I intend to gain in knowledge and expression of running and daily life. My hope is that we all grow together.

Older Runners: How to Become a Better Runner in 30 Days Series

#29 Older Runners

SNAPSHOT

OLD, a word I dislike. The word old takes away all the beneficial qualities of years of experience, knowledge, and mastery. I prefer the word MASTERS. In running once you pass your 40th birthday you are officially a masters runner. The men and women masters runners that I have trained and raced with throughout the years have colored my world, broken glass ceilings, and taught me the value of patience. THANK YOU!

DIGGING DEEPER

#1 You’re not old! You are still a growing developing individual seeking new challenges and experiences.

#2 You’re not who you use to be. Your mind is stronger, your actions wiser, and your experiences are more vast. However, your body has changed along with time. Don’t try to relive the past, instead forge a new future.

#3 Your past mileage counts for a lot! You have this wide foundation in which to draw upon. Don’t train like a beginner, train like an experienced runner.

Run Less Run Faster by Bill Pierce is my favorite book (I even have a signed copy from meeting him at a coaching seminar) detailing how to train as a masters runner. The combination of Pierce and training with the Willow Street Athletic Club’s masters runners I have shown me you can be an impressive runner into your master years.

HOW TO BE A MASTERS RUNNER

Strive For Realistic Goals and Progressions - Be your current YOU. You are impressive. I admire you. I want to be a masters runner chasing current personal records, just like you. As you progress through your training season give yourself flexibility in your training. You may have more traveling to navigate around or need extra time to recover from illness. Lower your expectations in training and racing and enjoy the experience and friendship community you have grown.

Complete Three Quality Runs- Quick, Steady, and Long. Hit these three paces most weeks of your training season and you will be set for toeing the line at your favorite races. The workouts don’t need to be long, just consistent. Your body has a great memory, able to rebuild central nervous, metabolic, and muscular systems quicker than in your early years of running.

Do Critical Cross-Training - Cash in all your years of mileage and replace some of your easy runs with cross-training activities. Recovery is critical for all runners, but especially for you. You need a few more days of recovery than in your early years. Enjoy cross-training and less pressure for weekly mileage goals.

Be Strong - You loose muscle each birthday year, shore up your muscle fiber count with a couple of short strengthen sessions a week, bodyweight training is quick and effective.

Stay Flexible - Be bendable. With the flexibility will come better mobility (a key to fewer injuries)

Be Adventurous- Yes, completing your 20th Thanksgiving Turkey Trot is admirable but you may find joy in trying a new distance, location, or terrain. Shake up your racing schedule and try a new race.

SOLUTION

Masters runner, YOU AMAZE ME!

ONE DAY LEFT in my QUEST —This 30-day series is a quest for me as a writer, coach, and runner. I promise to write about running for 30 days in a row. In doing so I intend to gain in knowledge and expression of running and daily life. My hope is that we all grow together.

Runner's Vacation: How to Become a Better Runner in 30 Days Series

#27 Runner’s Vacation

SNAPSHOT

Vacationing while training for a race can put a runner between a rock and a hard spot. No worries, I am here to help!

DIGGING DEEPER

WHAT IS YOUR SITUATION?

NO TIME TO RUN

You may not have time to run during your trip because your trip calendar is packed to the max. Ok, plan a harder week before you leave and a harder week afterward. Caution: Don’t lose your flexibility. Stretch often.

TOO HOT TO RUN

Texas in the summer requires 4 am runs. Vacation and 4 am don’t mix well. So venture out in the morning hours for walks. Visit an indoor facility in order to fit in cardio training.

NO ONE TO RUN WITH

Be a guest with the local running club. Select a new purpose in running, like a destination, pace, or even make a shape out of your route (view afterward on a map, fun to instagram).

UNSAFE TO RUN ALONE

Safety is the most important. Research ahead of embarking on your trip to see if there are any alternatives like a local running group, indoor facilities, or safer neighborhoods.

LOTS OF TIME AND NEW PLACES TO RUN

Live it up, to a degree. Keep within the max 10% increase of weekly mileage, reduced weight training on your first try, and recover well. Aim for a solid week of training. Remember all your work won’t pay off if you don’t allow for recovery or end up injured. Be smart and enjoy!

ONLY SMALL OPPORTUNITIES TO RUN

Grab even the short windows of time to get in 20-30 minutes of running. It will make your vacation even better since you will feel refreshed and accomplished. Those short runs really can keep you from losing fitness and flexibility. You don’t need to run every day. Alternate walking and running days, perhaps family or friends can join you on the walk days. Add in yoga to your bedtime routine.

TIPS: Remember to drink water often, sleep as well as possible, and soak in the vacation experience.

ONE LAST THING

Stay healthy and don’t return with an illness. Getting sick after a trip is usually when a runner gets off track and ends up losing a total of 2 weeks of training. So if you don’t get any running in during your vacation at least try to come back healthy and happier!

SOLUTION

Play is good for the soul!

This 30-day series is a quest for me as a writer, coach, and runner. I promise to write about running for 30 days in a row. In doing so I intend to gain in knowledge and expression of running and daily life. My hope is that we all grow together.