TRAINING DETAILS

Greetings,

Over the past few days, I've come across numerous suggestions and training schedules for beginner runners, all of them tailored for specific goals like, 3 months to 5K, or running your fastest mile. Most the schedules were also geared towards two types of beginners, complete novices who are fairly inactive for which they prescribe a walking-to-running program, and beginners with some running foundation to build upon. I don't really fit into either of these categories: I'm pretty active, but I don't run.

Therefore, I decided to combine some of the strategies used in the schedules I've read, and develop my own program. I plan to sort of make it up as I go along, but here is what it looks like so far for the first 2 months.

General Plans:

• Run: 3-4 days/week
• Cross-train: 1-2 days/week on non-run days (anything but running, cycling, elliptical machine, Stair-Master, yoga, etc.)
• Weight training: 1 day/week on run or cross-training days
• Rest: No activity 1-2 days/week

More specifically:

• Goal by week 4: Run for 30 minutes straight. Interval walk/run training for 30-minute sessions at least 3 times a week, increasing run time until a full 30 minutes of running is achieved comfortably. Endurance is the goal, not distance.
• Weeks 5-8: 5K Training. Gradually increase endurance training to full 45 minutes of running and run 5K (3.1 miles) at least 1 day/week until 5K Race Day (keep reading to find out more about race days).

I also thought it would be a good idea to set up some training check-points for myself by pre-registering for some organized races along the way. Of course the distances of the races will be in line with where I am in training. So, here are some dates and race goals I am considering, but we'll see how it goes.

• 2 months (late August/early September) - 5K (3.1 miles) - There are a few to choose from, but I haven't decided on which one yet.
• 4 months (mid-November) - 8K (4.97 miles) - The Philadelphia Marathon, November 23, 2008.
• 6 months (mid-January) - 10K (6.21 miles).
• 10 months (early May) - 10 Miles - The Broad Street Run, May 3, 2009
• 12 months (summer 2009) - Half-Marathon (13.1 miles)

Seems pretty ambitious, doesn't it? It may look over-zealous on paper, but most of the runners I've consulted with said it's definitely doable. In fact, they think 12 months to train for a half-marathon is way too long, even for a beginner. I've come across a few half-marathon training schedules for beginners, and they all range from 18 weeks to 28 weeks. So, I think 52 weeks to a half-marathon is a very attainable goal.

Eager to begin,

Almost Thirty