Change your training methods

Thursday, August 02, 2012 · Mike Davis

Today was another of those humid summer days we have been experiencing this year. I am trying to be consistent with my training as I am now have Reach the Beach and the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) Half marathon on my fall calendar. I have not written myself a custom training plan, but I’m using the same method that I use when I write custom training plans for others. Instead of focusing on distance (miles), I am training based on time. Today’s run was to be 54 minutes and my plan was to run out 28 minutes turn around, run back 26 minutes and walk the remainder. As I write custom training plans whether it is for 5K training, 10K training or just a training plan for someone that wants to run; I am building a plan that minimizes stress both physically and mentally, by having my clients just go out and run for a set time.

Training myself and others using time based training instead of distance is certainly a paradigm shift that I find challenging both for me and how my clients. When I am out there running and close to a certain distance, I have to tell myself that I’m not worried about distance, but just getting in my time in. Today I used only my regular watch that told me my time so I have no idea what my exact distance was. Yes, I know that I ran between 6 and 6.5 miles based on how long I ran and my familiarity, but I kept my mind on a good 54 minutes. On a humid day, knowing that I didn’t have to push to a certain distance, I was able to relax and run without stress. My half marathon training plan is to build my time up on my long runs to 2 hours without any distance goals. Chances are 2 hours may cover more than 13.1 miles, but that’s okay, I will work on my race pace during the interval portion of my training.

Think about your future running goals and consider a whole new strategy that will help you prepare better than ever for whatever your running goal is. Are you looking for a successful half marathon training plan, or a custom marathon training plan? A custom training plan based on time will make a huge difference in your training preparation.