The most obvious reason for having a training plan is that it provides motivation and prevents you from continually putting off workouts. How strict or flexible a training plan you need is up to you. Just be sure you have one, though, so that you know what your goals are and have something to run for.

Before beginning any training plans, you want to have built a base, running at least 4 or 5 times per week for a few weeks. You want to determine what you are capable of in terms of both speed and endurance. This will allow you to know that '15 seconds slower than 10k pace' means 7.5 minutes per mile or whatever number fits you. Knowing your endurance capabilities will give you a general idea as to how far your long runs should be at the start of your plan.

Make sure you have an answer to each of the following questions:

• How much are you capable of running right now?
• How long will you be training for? (How many weeks until you need to be ready?)
• How much time are you willing to invest per week?
• How hard do you want to train?
• How much flexibility do you need in a plan?

You can see a sample training plan here.

Building Your Plan:

Workouts

Types

The Types of workouts you will include in your plan depend on three main things:

• The distance you're training for
• Your current abilities (in terms of speed and endurance)
• Your body's response to each individual workout

Generally, if your weakness is endurance at your race pace, you should be doing endurance workouts like threshold runs. If you are coming off a marathon and want to start training for 5k races, you want to include more speed work in your training.

After you take your current needs into account, you want to include at least one endurance workout and one speed workout at least every other week. In your training, you should include anything with intervals of intensity that last 4 minutes or longer at least once per week. Studies have shown that intense training with many intervals less than a minute in length have a much lower benefit than those that are longer. Your schedule might not include short speed work one week, but you do need to include at least one speed workout the following week to keep improving your short distance speed.

One workout you should include every week is long, slow distance. Again, this is 20%-30% of your total weekly mileage done at a very easy pace, one at which you should be able to hold a conversation with someone.

Frequency

Workouts should be included approximately 2-3 times per week. Choose the types and intensity based on the information in the other sections here. There are two schools of thought on where these workouts should be in your week.

One method is to leave 1-2 days rest between each workout. This typically ensures recovery and healing of the small tears created in your muscles. With proper nutrition and rest, you can be sure that your muscles are ready for the next set of tears in making them stronger.

The other method is to do a low to medium intensity workout on one day and then a hard workout on the following day. The reasoning behind this is that the body doesn't begin the full recovery until the second day after a workout. Therefore the body gets to repair two days worth of tears rather than just one. After two days of intensity, you need to take at least two days of recovery.

Intensity

During the week, you need to vary the intensity of your workouts based on how you feel in the morning of a workout. If you have taken a day off but still feel somewhat sore or not entirely rested, you may want to do a workout that is less intense. A lower intensity can be achieved through slowing times in repeats, decreasing the number of repeats, or increasing the recovery time between portions of your workout. Doing so will help you be ready for a more intense workout in the next couple of days rather than only being able to complete two mediocre workouts in the second half of the week.

Recovery

Recovery is a necessary part of any workout program. The purpose of a workout, as stated before, is to stress the muscles a little more than they are used to being stressed. They then must repair themselves, which can only be achieved over time of rest.

Such rest can either be active or not, depending on time constraints. Active rest, as in light running, gets the blood flowing through the muscles, thereby reducing soreness and speeding up recovery time. If you do not have the time to run every day, though, taking a day completely off is acceptable and sometimes advisable.

Supplementary Activities

Cross Training

Cross training, which is inclusion of other recreational activities in your training plan, can provide some benefit. Some examples include:

• Cycling
• Aqua Jogging
• Rollerblading
• Swimming
• Cross Country Skiing
  

Those activities which will provide the most benefit are those that work similar muscles and those whose cadence mirrors at least that of running. Cycling and roller-blading, therefore, are excellent additions to a running plan as they work the leg muscles and have high revolutions or strides per minute. Swimming, however, can be relaxing. Some find that the water pressure helps reduce soreness after a hard workout.

No matter what is included, it should not take time away from your running. If you have the option of either doing a run or going for a bike ride, the run should take priority as it will have the biggest impact on your running ability.

Strength Training

Depending on the distances for which you are training, certain types of strength training will provide you with noticeable benefits. Though a lot of upper body muscle mass will often slow you down or require more energy to keep moving, core strength can make you a much more efficient runner.

The best way to incorporate strength training into your workout is to include it at the end of every run or at least every other day. A routine should include the following areas, with example exercises in brackets:

• Chest / Upper Body [Push-ups]
• Abs [Crunches / Sit-ups, Leg Lifts, etc.]
• Legs [Lunges, Squats, Calf-presses, etc.]

Races

As Workouts

You can include racing in your training plans as a form of workout. Races can be fun and help remind you why you are training. However, not all races should be run all out because doing so actually causes too much stress on your body. Doing so without proper preparation (see tapering below) can actually set you back a week or more in your training.

Instead, races should be included as workouts. By a lot of people running at different paces, you have many options, which include:

• Fartleks - Run with a faster group for a quarter mile then slow your pace until you have caught your breath and repeat with the next group of runners
  
• Threshold Run - Run the race at your threshold pace, or about 15-30 seconds per mile slower than all out and follow it up with a long cool down
  

Tapering

Tapering, or reducing your workload in the days or weeks before a race, can have a huge impact on your race performance. Studies have shown that there can be a 3% reduction in your race time with the proper taper, which could mean running a 19:24 5k rather than a 20:00 one.

Taper period lengths vary with race distance. If you are doing a marathon, your taper period could be up to 3 weeks, whereas for a 5k it might be 4-5 days. A proper taper reduces the distance you are running in training runs but keeps the majority of the intensity. A taper for a 5k on a Saturday might look like this:

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
8mi @ LSD pace	3mi. @ LSD pace	1mi. warm-up 4X400 @race pace 1mi. cool-down	1mi. warm-up 3X400 @race pace 1mi. cool-down	1mi. warm-up 1X400 @race pace 1mi. cool-down	Rest	Race

For more information on tapering, see the following article:

• Houmard, Joseph A., et al. "The Effects of Taper on Performance in Distance Runners." Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 26.5 (1994): 624-31.