Plan to train or plan to fail

The basic repeatable week.

For the amateur athlete what’s most important is the ability to run today, run tomorrow and to keep on running for many days into the future. Running is an infinite game.

Your standard training week should be something that you can repeat week after week. Keep it as easy as possible without becoming too boring. Competition and improvement are not necessary for health and longevity but they do keep things interesting.

Have plenty of recovery days and avoid back to back hard days.

Here’s an example of how I might set up a 5k training week with only three workouts.

Monday: Track workout
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Easy run
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Long run (easy pace)
Sat/Sun: Rest.

This is a conservative approach with many days dedicated to rest. Starting with a basic week like this, you can show up every week and slowly make progress with little risk for injury or burnout.

Figuring out what basic week works for you will take some time. We all have different schedules, family and work needs. You will want to work around outside stressors and life event. Some weeks will be harder than others. All of training is an experiment

A standard calendar tool like Google Calendar works really well to plan your workouts around the rest of life. Can you fit your workout in the same day taking the kids to school, going to work, an orthodontist appointment and packing for the weekend camping trip? Only you can decide.

Keeping a well organized calendar will help you determine if you can fit your workout in

Application: If you don’t already have a basic weekly plan for training, make one. Experiment with different workouts different days until you find what works for you.