Lately I’ve been in a bit of a running rut. In part I think it’s because: 1. I just started an AMAZING new job 2. I just moved 3. I’ve been super busy but most importantly I haven’t been following any kind of training plan.
When I first started running I started with a goal- to run a 5k. Quickly, I realized I was actually good at running distance so I decided to run a half marathon. It’s now been a month since I ran my first half and I’m thinking to myself, now what? I remember when I was training for the half, I kept thinking, I can’t wait until the half is over and I don’t have to have a training plan dictate when and how much I should run. But now I miss that consistency and scheduling. While it has been fun to run whenever I want to and for however many miles I want, I miss the guidance you get in a training plan.
So what should my next goal be? Well, I have a larger picture goal of running a full marathon in 2013, but I think I need to do a few things before I start looking for the perfect first marathon. First off, I want to focus on getting my half marathon time down. I want to run at least one (hopefully two) half marathons in the spring before I start training for a full marathon. However, that still leaves me without a training plan for a very long winter. Solution?
I’m going to run a 10K in January, or February. I’ve actually never run a 10K and I found a great training plan in this month’s Women’s Running magazine to run a sub-50 minute 10K. This is a little bit of an ambitious time for me but I think I can do it! Also, I think focusing on a speedy 10k will help me then gear up to train for a faster half marathon.
The training plan will have me running five days a week with a mix of long runs, speed workouts, hill workouts, tempos- the works! I’ll upload the whole plan at some point this week and will fill you in on how the training goes throughout the training period. It’s going to be interesting to train as we head into winter but I think in the end it will be worth it. Plus, as the saying goes: “If you wait for perfect conditions, you’ll never get anything done!”
Have you ever been in a running rut? Tell me how you got out of it in the comments section below!
Fit Girl. Happy Girl. 
I was a little bit like you and liked running to a plan. I have been running “program free” for a few weeks now and getting use to it. But when it comes to racing and times there always has to be a plan :=) Enjoy the 10km training. I am a fan of the 5km and 10km… Speed work is so much fun and more of a focus in those distances for me.Congrats on new job!!
Lack of short term focus did for me last year, which ended with injury forcing me out of my first marathon. Leaving nothing to chance this year and have a couple of 10ks to keep me honest during winter – a bit of PB chasing to go between longer runs.
I am so bad at sticking to consistent workouts when I don’t have a looming goal or race also. It is so much easier said than done to regularly fit in good solid workouts
Yep. Setting a running goal is the only way I motivate myself to run which includes registering for a race. There are days, I have to change my routine. I.E. run a different route, or on those very unmotivated days, I play music. The winter months are the worst for me as i truly dread the cold weather. I don’t love my treadmill, but it does come in handy when I can’t muster the courage to get outside.
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