Creating the Perfect Training Plan

written by Matt Casos

Training plans and programs are fundamental to all athletes who are striving for success.  The idea of a training plan or program is to structure your training around ‘everyday life’ to enable you to strive towards a particular goal or set of goals. The following basic guidelines will help all individuals create the perfect training plan:

• Set your goals
-Goal setting is fundamental to all training plans and programs.
-Goals range from finishing a particular fun run, beating personal bests or simply running to improve your general fitness and wellbeing.
-Runners set a number of short term and long term goals to focus on over a period of time.
-Goals need to be written down and be quite specific in what you’re aiming to achieve.
-Goals to be realistic and achievable so don’t be afraid to discuss them with family, friends, work mates and fellow training partners.

• Consistency is the key
-The key to becoming a fitter, faster and injury free runner is to be consistent in your training over a long period of time.
-Adopting a regular program that incorporates a min of 3 running sessions per week.
-Experienced runners and those aiming for half marathon distances and beyond should aim to run up to 6 days per week.
-Example-  1 x long run, 1 x hills session, 1 x speed session and 3 x recovery runs.
-Sessions should be spaced out during the week so that a hard run (e.g. hills session, speed session, race) is followed up by an easy recovery run or rest day.
-The key to improving is to become a consistent runner i.e. replicating this pattern of training week in week out

• Rest and Recovery is good
-Rest days are as important as training days especially for runners who are just starting out or coming back from a long layoff including injuries.
- Recovery in between training sessions is vital to an athlete improving and staying injury free.
-Rest periods also advised for runners who are feeling fatigued, tired and run down
-Rest is also important in the lead up to a race. This sharpening up effect will ensure that you can be at your optimum on race day.

• Adopt a long term approach
The saying ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ certainly applies to distance running and it’s advisable to adopt a long term approach if your hoping to improve your fitness and performances over time.  Distance running requires a long period of sustained running over many years with the distances, amount of sessions and other factors increasing gradually over time as the body develops.  By adopting a long term approach, this will allow athletes time to build up and achieve goals that they would have never thought possible in the past.

Example – Weekly Training Plan

* The above example is fictitious and should not be replicated without consulting your doctor first.