Running: Setting Spring Goals, by Hal Higdon

This is the time of year when, even in those areas of the Frozen North deluged with snow, runners who might have forgotten to make New Year resolutions need to consider setting some Spring Goals. Forget merely establishing a race this summer or fall that you want to run. That’s too easy. What interim goals can you set now that will allow you to meet that final goal? And why do you need to set them?

Motivation: Even if your only reason for running is because you enjoy the activity and want to stay fit, it's important to establish goals. That's one reason why people run marathons. For the last several years, however, I've been floating along with my training, content merely to run for the sake of each day's run. But that doesn't quite seem enough for me to maintain optimal fitness and keep my weight where I'd like it. As a result, I set a goal recently of following my own Spring Training program. No important race at the end of the 12 weeks. I simply decided to use the program as an end in itself. Then I can find a new goal, perhaps a half marathon at the end of the next training tunnel.

Scheduling: One nice side effect of having a program to follow is that it takes the guesswork out of training. I know what I'm going to run each week and every day of the week, because it's in my computer. If I need a sheet of paper to hang on my refrigerator or office wall, I can print a copy. That makes it less likely that I will skip a workout, or do less than I might otherwise do, because I have no plan. Having a workout plan keeps me honest in my training and motivates me to follow that plan.

Consistency: The most important result of any intelligently followed training plan is you learn to be consistent. You don't need (or even want) to do spectacular workouts that have no purpose other than to prove you can do them. More important is to train consistently day after day and week after week. "Keep your training at a consistent level--even if only an easy level--and good things will happen to you," claims Coach Jack Daniels.

Adaptability: Just because you have a training plan, that doesn't mean you can't adapt it to your own particular needs and schedule. Often I find I need to shuffle workouts because of various obligations, family or business, but I don’t skip those workouts. While you can get away with missing a few workouts--and injuries may force you occasionally to skip more than a few--training schedules work best if you follow the general pattern even while making changes to suit your daily needs.

Has that snow melted from your running paths yet? Even in northeastern Florida, where I spend the winters, temperatures have been abnormally cold for the last several months forcing me to dress like I do in the Frozen North: layered and with cap and gloves. But spring is near and having a good training program will allow you to greet the next change of seasons with fire in your eyes.

Hal Higdon is a TrainingPeaks coach and contributing editor for Runner’s World. His latest book is titled simply Marathon, a novel. Copies are available from www.halhigdon.com.

Comments

[paola]

Hola, estoy en la semana 9 del plan de entrenemaniento para media maraton - intermedio, hasta ahora me ha ido muy bien , me he sentido bien en los entrenamientos sin embargo me gustaria preguntarte como debo ajustar el plan en 5 semanas cuando ya lo termine y corra la 1/2, ya que 6 semanas despues tengo otra 1/2 y luego otra en 10 semanas?? gracias.

[TrainingPeaks]

Hola Paola,

Para esas preguntas mas especificas de entrenimiento, recomendamos que usted se ponga en contacto con un entrenador profesional, puesto que TrainingPeaks es simplemente el programa de software que muchos profesionales usan para comunicarse con miles de atletas. Usted puede buscar informacion de entrenadores profesionales en varios lugares: nuestros "forums" tienen profesionales de TrainingBible Coaching aqui:

http://www.trainingpeaks.com/bbs-forum/index.asp?viewgroup=1

Tambien, Hal Higdon tiene su propio forum aqui:

http://home.trainingpeaks.com/coaches/hal-higdon/login.aspx

Finalmente, recomendamos que usted explore la opcion del VirtualCoach, que es un programa dentro de TrainingPeaks que usted puede usar para crear un horario personal de entrenamiento por todo el ano:

http://support.trainingpeaks.com/personal-edition/virtualcoach-atp-wizard.aspx

Por favor avisenos si tiene mas preguntas: www.trainingpeaks.com/support

Gracias!