40 at 40: The So-Called Plan

February 13th, 2018

So I have started training….kind of. I have an outline of a plan. But, before you cry “what kind of plan is this!” try on the next few lines 😉

One thing that I have done in the past that I would not like to repeat this time around is being beholden to the plan.  I don’t like the feeling I get when I don’t hit everything I planned to for the week, or really at any time during the course of training. I start to see this wall forming around my ultimate goal and it makes me bitter toward running.   Over the course of a few months, something is bound to come up, right?  Inevitably, I am sure I will get sick, one of my sons will get sick, there will be a meeting that gets moved that keeps me from my run unless I want to sacrifice two hours of sleep…stuff comes up and the plan has to give.  My nagging conscience kicks in…it says that the plan was made with a purpose, a purpose of reaching a goal and if I don’t stick to the plan how can I reach the goal?   I don’t like it!  So, I this time I am going to build  “flex” into the plan.

The plan.  The plan that isn’t attached to a calendar, but a series of goals.  I am in a unique situation, in that I am not planning for a race or a particular day.   I would like to do this run around my 40th, but if it gets pushed out a month, so be it.  For training, I want to do one long run a week, one speed workout and the rest is whatever I can fit in.  I plan to increase my long run by a mile to two miles a week.  For the speed workout, I will run at rate that is a minute (or more) faster than my average pace for half the run time (which for me will usually be a half hour to 45 minutes).  It’s not about total mileage for the week, it’s about running when I can and feeling good while doing it.  When my long run gets to 20 miles and I get another 15 miles in during the week, I think I’ll be ready for the big day.

I feel like this “flex” will allow for off weeks.  So what if I run the same mileage for my run long two weeks in a row or if I have the same pace for my speed workout?  I can only do what I can, when I can.

So here goes nothing- expecting the journey to be a bumpy, but fun one!