How do I make a training plan?

An overview of a training plan for a runner. In this case it is my own. I started with my goal race, a 50k in mid-March and a starting point for the training plan, which was the Monday after the 10K Classic, October 21. 

Keeping in mind what I feel I need as a runner I planned a three week taper period before the race, then I divided the remaining weeks into four phases based on a modified version of the Daniel's running formula. The biggest differences being that I take an easy week every third week and I increase mileage steadily throughout the program

Phase one: Four weeks with running emphasis on easy runs and strength training emphasis on bodyweight exercises specifically picked to address my needs. 

Phase two: four weeks, running emphasis 1- running reps or intervals, 2- tempo runs. Strength emphasis: lifting high weight for low repetitions, again focusing on my specific needs. 

Phase three: Six weeks, running emphasis 1- intervals or 2- tempo. Strength emphasis continues high weight low rep. 

Phase four: 4 weeks running emphasis 1- tempo, or marathon pace runs, 2- tempo or long runs. Strength emphasis: plyometrics. 

Peak mileage is 58 miles in a week. This is less than a lot of runners do in a week for shorter distances than 50 K, but enough to get my body prepared to finish the race. 

After peak mileage I have a three week taper. It could be more than I need, but I would prefer to toe the line with too few miles under my belt than too many miles under my belt. 

Peak miles 58

Taper week 1 - 36 miles

Week 2 - 20 miles 

Week 3 - 9 miles PLUS 50K race. 

Strength and Nightmares

I woke to the sound of terrified screams and running footsteps. A white shock bolted up my spine stopping at the base of my brain. Protective instincts kicked in before I was even fully awake. Still unsure of what was happening, or even where I was, I sat up and called my daughters name three times so that she could find me in the darkness. She ran straight to me and I leaned forward, still sitting and now bent forward, nearly bent double, I scooped her into arms and pulled her up onto the bed. I lifted quickly to get her feet past the reach of the monsters under the bed. I pulled her close and wrapped my arms around her until the nightmare faded and the reality of being safe in bed with Mom and Dad settled her down and calmed her fears. 

This surprise midnight lift was not an ideal lift. I did not set my feet and lift with my legs. I definitely did not warm up first. I didn't even have time to think of proper technique. All there was was the instinctive need to protect my daughter. 

The single reason that I did not destroy my back when snatching an uneven uncontrollable 50 pound kid from the ghost that appeared in the lunch line in her dream is that I have been in the habit of strength training. 

I admit, the amount of strength work I do meets the bare minimum guidelines of what strength training should be, but as I tried to get back to sleep I was thankful that I value fitness. Without this minimum of strength training I would probably be laid up with a severely hurt back that may have even required a trip to the doctor. 

So by investing time and effort on my health and fitness I avoided missing work (missing pay), a trip to the doctor, and pain and suffering as well. 

Run For Your Life!

To be successful at anything, it is important to know what your goal is and where you are starting. So logically, when I am working with runners I start by determining where they are, and where they want to get. 

For an absolute beginner, someone who has been sedentary and wants to start running for health benefits, we start from the absolute beginning. 

We start with brisk walks, with the goal of building up to 30 minutes of continuous brisk walking. Then we gradually introduce running intervals into the walking building up the run to walk ratio gradually and in a safe manner. The goal being 30 minutes of continuous running at an easy pace. 

Along with the running, it is important that the runner is doing some strength training. Strength training is also built up gradually and safely. The goal of the strength work is to strengthen the muscles that are the prime movers of running, as well as muscles involved in stabilizing the hips and core, muscles important to good running form and posture, etc.

This is important to make running easier and to reduce the risk of injury to new runners. 

If you are getting started running and want help, contact me. I have programs at GT Fitness for runners of different experience levels including strength classes, running plans, and training runs so that you can learn the right effort level at which you should be learning. 

Steven O'Nan

Franklinkungfu@gmail.com

Inspired by the Runners.

First of all, you guys and girls that finished the 10K Classic in Bowling Green in under 30 minutes, that is awesome, I am inspired by all your hard work and accomplishments in the field of running. I, however, am more inspired by some other people at the race that day.

The woman who ran the 10K after recovering from a brain tumor, she inspires me. The folks who ran the 5K that day who have never run a 5K before. The woman who finished the 5K near the back of the pack, who gritted her teeth and ran just a little faster when her daughter yelled, "Go Momma, I'm so proud of you." The girl who raced in a wheelchair, not one of those nice racing wheelchairs, an ordinary wheelchair that may have never been intended to go that fast.

I am sure there are people who ran this 5K and 10K race that one year ago were living a sedentary lifestyle and decided to get off their couches and take charge of their health.

Those are the ones who inspire me.

New Running Programs at GT Fitness Coming Soon

The first round of running workouts has been awesome so far and I am very excited to see how people perform at the end of it all. I do have some news for runners about future programs.

I will be expanding my offerings for runners very soon.  I am putting together a program that caters to brand new, first time, just got off the couch runners, as well as programs for more advanced runners.

There will be options to just do group strengthening classes, as well as options to go on training runs. The training runs will be more than just a group run around town, they will each have a different focus so you can learn how to do different types of training as appropriate for your fitness level and running experience.

There will also be the option for some one-on-one sessions to help set and meet specific goals, or to put together a personalized training program.

So get ready runners I've got a lot in store for you!

Starting at Zero

"How do I do it?" she asked, "How do I get fit again?"

She had been away from fitness for a long time. Years in fact, and she wanted to get started again, but she was afraid. Afraid of failure, afraid of injury, afraid of not knowing what to do. So she did something smart. She asked for help.

Sometimes, you have to start from zero. The problem with that is you may not know how to start. I've known people who would not start going to a gym because they were intimidated to be there. Intimidated by not knowing how to use the machines, or not knowing how to plan their workout, or just by the idea that they had been sedentary for so long that they might hurt themselves by trying too hard.

I've seen people who were afraid to go to a trainer. They had watched too much of "The Biggest Loser" and thought that personal training was all about the trainers screaming and cursing and pushing the client to the point of tears or vomit whichever came first.

There is a way to start from zero, without all the reality show drama.

1. Make a choice to work towards a healthy lifestyle.

Rather than goals like, "lose 20 pounds" or "go down three sizes", make your goal to start living a healthy lifestyle. Losing the weight can be a part of that goal, but the main goal should be a healthy lifestyle. Try this phrase out, "I am setting a goal of losing 20 pounds as a part of my larger goal to live a healthy lifestyle." If your goal is just to lose the 20 pounds, it is too easy to quit working after that goal is met. Guess what happens then, that's right, the 20 pounds come back, and usually brings some additional friends along as well.

2. Get a doctor's clearance.

If you have been injured, or if you are very unfit, or have been sedentary for a long time, always get advice from a doctor before you start a new exercise program.

3. Find a trainer.

Let them know what your goals are, let them know you are starting from zero. Let them know about your aches and pains and physical complaints. A good trainer will start you from zero. Even if that means your first session is lying on your back relearning how to engage your core musculature, a good trainer will start you with what you need instead of the workout he or she wants to see people doing.

4. Hold your trainer accountable.

If, during any workout, you ask your trainer, "How does this workout fit in with my specific goals." and your trainer can't answer, it is time to find a new trainer. I have a friend who has years of experience lifting weights. He does olympic lifts and can put more than 300 pounds over his head. On a trial session with a trainer, the trainer had him squatting 95 pounds. My friend was not happy. The trainer never bothered to find out where he was starting from. In this situation the result was a frustrated client who never came back for another session. If it were to go the other way and someone who was unfit was put under a bar with 95 pounds on it, the result would have been much worse. Your trainer is not the boss. You are.

Don't shy away, the benefits to exercise are huge, and the drawbacks to remaining sedentary are injurious to your health, costly when the medical bills start coming in, and can take years off your life.

Get up and get moving today.

Diana Nyad, Superhuman? Super Obsessed?

I am in absolute awe of Diana Nyad's recent success at swimming from Cuba to Florida. I look up to her as an example of what a person can do by setting goals and working towards them with passion and dedication. I would have been this impressed whether or not she ever succeeded because even the attempts are more than most people are willing to do.

I've heard a variety of reactions to this feat. Ranging from some who said she is superhuman and others who said, "Why would anyone even want to do that? Talk about obsessed."

To those who see this as superhuman. You have missed the whole point. If Nyad had believed this to be a superhuman feat she would either have had to delude herself into believing she was superhuman, or never tried. This was not a superhuman feat, it was a demonstration of what a human can do.

It was a rude awakening for me when I heard someone call her obsessed. It reminded me that there are people in the world who really and truly don't understand the desire some of us have to push the boundaries.

There is a choice to be made in life. A person could cruise through life doing what is necessary, getting by with what they have to do, approaching lifes struggles as a nuisance that must be avoided or tolerated until things get easy again.

Or,

Life can be viewed as an opportunity. Challenges can be seen as chances to prove oneself. Obstacles can be things that make us stronger instead of things that get in the way of a passive existence.

We can avoid struggles, or we can embrace them as strengthening exercises.

We can seek out comfort, or allow discomfort to cause us to grow better and stronger.

We can take the easy path or we can take the hard path.

The hard path doesn't have to be as extreme as it was for Nyad, it can be pushing oneself past one's own perceived limitations.

So don't settle, live, challenge yourself, get up, get fit, run a 5K, a 10K, a marathon, a triathlon, learn a new skill, master an art form, do something new, challenging, and outside your box.

You won't really know what your limits are unless you push yourself against your perceived limits. You won't know how strong you truly are or how strong you could become if you don't test yourself.

You won't know what you can achieve if you don't try and fail, and try again and fail again, and get up and try again and again.

So what are you waiting for.