The Runners Blueprint: The Most Powerful Strategies That Influence Optimal Running Plans and Recovery Methods
How to begin a running plan in the most efficient healthy way!
So you want to start running and possibly sign up for a race? There are 9 Strategies that can help you succeed in your running goals.
Goal: So you want to start running and you're thinking about running a race.
- What is the goal you want to accomplish? What are some mini goals you can start doing now that can help accomplish your main goal? Set short term, mid term, and long term goals inside your big goal.
- Having a running goal gives you intrinsic rewards and focus on your self. Even inside the chaos of life, having a goal in your life like running that is yours and yours only helps us truly appreciate the amazing things our bodies can do for us.
- As a mother and wife I often put so much energy in my kids, my home, and my husband and forget about me. Running for me was a special time to be with myself, my thoughts, while accomplishing a goal for just me.
Purpose: It is important for us to understand why we want our goals.
- Why do you want to begin running or run a race? Why is that important to you. What is your purpose?
- Is your purpose to get in shape? Is your purpose to accomplish a lifelong goal of yours? Do you want to start running so that you can implement running as a part of your lifestyle? Did you once run before and enjoyed it so you want to get back into it?
- The reason it is important to understand the purpose of your goal is because your motivation and drive to complete the goal is fired up by the purpose. If your goal for running is to lose weight and you want to lose weight because you want to feel good; then your training plan, lifestyle plan, and nutrition plan must also match a running for weight loss plan.
- Your purpose could even be to run faster, be stronger, and for sport performance needs.
- We also want to know the purpose of your goal so that we can mentally prepare ourself to accomplish the goal. For example I was inspired by my mother in law to run my first marathon. I never believed for once I was necessarily capable because I didn't feel like I had the right body type, I was a trained anaerobic athlete, and I struggled with identifying myself as a runner. Although I still had the innate desire to run a marathon someday. So after my having my second, living, away from family in a foreign country, having a husband whom is rarely home, I decided I was going to do it for me. My husband was gone training a lot and I had to run the house hold and I lost a little bit of who I was so i needed something that was mine. My purpose for running a marathon was to accomplish something I've never done, earn something really hard, that I could also do with children involved, for the very purpose to gain a mental strength from the accomplishment.
Level/experience: So you want to run a race but its important to clarify what your current fitness level is.
- Have you ever ran a race before? Do you have running experience? Do you currently run? Are you healthy enough to run? Does your goal realistically match your experience and level?
- We need to understand our starting point so we can identify what we need in order to be successful. If one is not currently running but has ran before consistently that person understands it takes time to build up endurance again. Even though our starting point is going to be slow, we are going to need proper warm ups and cool downs in order to prepare the body, then repair the body. Incorporating strength training, speed agility and quickness training, and specific running mechanics can help reach the goal most efficiently.
- ,Remember experience isn't necessary its just important to understand so when you develop a running, training, and nutrition plan they match to your specific goal and needs. Your needs will be vastly different depending on your level and experience.
- Let’s say you’re like me a former collegiate athlete, personal trainer, post two children, ran some 5Ks, mostly ran sprints, and finished a Tough Mudder. My actual first half marathon was pregnant with my second child. Because I was a consistent runner, fitness enthusiasts, and trained fitness professional this goal to run a half marathon while pregnant made it possible for me to believe someday I could run a full marathon. Because of my experience and who I am I could healthily accomplish this half marathon pregnant because I know how to eat nutritionally, I know how to train physically, and my current fitness level was consistent before pregnancy, during conception, and continuously throughout the pregnancy. I was the perfect candidate to perform such a goal. Although it would not be ideal for someone start such goal with out any experience during pregnancy.
Time Until Race: Assess your goal, your level/experience to the the time you have to complete the goal.
- So if you plan on running a race what is the timeline you have until the race. If you are just getting back into running or starting to run at all and the race is next month you might be setting yourself up for failure. No matter what level you are on or even experience its important to begin a training plan with at least 4 months in advance. Preparing your body for 26.2 miles is necessary in order to complete the marathon in the most healthy efficient way. Although if you are currently consistently running and have just finished a half marathon you could begin training half way into that period. So post half marathon it could take you 2 more months to complete a full marathon training.
- Even if your goal is to run just a 5K and your a beginner runner you still need to assess your current fitness level and how long/how much time you have until the 5K. A 5k could realistically be trained and performed between 4-6 weeks of training for beginner. Even a 10 K can be done in about 8 weeks for a beginner. A half marathon can be trained in about 12 weeks. A full marathon even for a beginner can be trained in about 16 weeks.
- We want to accomplish our goals not set us back due to injuries, or from failed training plans. It is vital for success to match our goal, to our experience, to the time we have to complete the and then match it with the actual daily, weekly, and monthly schedules we encompass.
Schedule: Do you work full time, are you married, do you have family/friend events, do you have kid sports?
- Ask yourself these questions and write out your entire schedule on a calendar. By times within the day... for example do you get up at 6 a.m, shower, prepare kids lunches, leave the house at 7 a.m work until 4 p.m, pick up the kids from school, prep dinner, go to a kids sport, bath time, reading time, then bed time?
- I mean this is a real life schedule for many people don't let that scare you away from making a goal for you. We just might have to get up at 5 a.m to start a run or workout. Bring the fastest prepared lunch so you can run at your lunch break. Potentially break up your run 15 min before you wake up, 15 min at lunch, and 30 min at practice or before bed.
- We have to realistically assess our schedules and find little openings to show ourself that we very well can accomplish a personal running and fitness goal. Obviously hiring Dani or I to do it for you can aid in saving time, frustrations, and delivering you the most efficient healthy plan to accomplish your goals.
- Helps reduce chances of getting injured if you’re sticking to a schedule and building all the helper muscles
Lifestyle: Would you say you have a busy, moderate, or low paced lifestyle? Do you have kids? Do you have help with your kids? Do you have close family and friend near by? Do you live close to your work or is your commute take an hour to get to and from work? Do you lots of openings inside your schedule or minimal? Are you a student? Does your work have a gym? Do you have to deal with weather often?
- Visualize your daily/monthly schedule imagine shifting your lifestyle into a healthier one. Where does your training plan fit, can you see it, or does it seem difficult to imagine. Now focus on yourself actually doing what you need to do within your schedule no matter what. How does that make you feel accomplishing all the things you need to do and want to do?
- OK! Now let’s create it. You might not see how it fits or where it fits and thats why people like Dani and I are here we can simplify what you need to do, how you need to do it, why you need to do it, and create the training plans that match the goals.
- Your current lifestyle might not be the one that works. It takes time, expertise, research, adaptations, and sacrifice. Take steps towards creating the healthy lifestyle you need to that can match your current schedule so you can start achieving the goals you need to accomplish.
Training Plan: You have your goal and need a training plan that works to accomplish that goal.
- So you want to begin running and have a race or distance goal. Now let’s develop the plan. Let’s say you are a beginner and want to run a marathon. We know we need at least 16 weeks to make it to race day. Let’s say you have a busy lifestyle and just passing the finish line is the goal in the allotted time on race day.
- 26.2 miles
- 16 weeks til race day
- schedule/lifestyle busy
- Passing the finish line is enough
- Don't worry you start off with small distances in the beginning and slowly progress towards larger distances. Ideally a training plan typically makes you run around 4 times a week. You will have two short days a medium day and a distance day.
- For example 3 miles Monday cross train Tuesday 5 miles Wednesday 3 miles Thursday low impact stretching yoga Friday and long run on Saturday. It slowly goes up from there.
- That yoga and stretching time is important to help your recovery time as well!
- Remember what the perfect plan for one person may not be the perfect plan for you. My schedule is by far not the same as my neighbors and my body and exercise level is different as well. Don't ever let that detour you from going towards your goals your way too.
Cross Training Plan: Staying strong as your long runs increase through course training is vital for optimal healthy to endure.
- Distance running can at some point start burning off muscle. Many can potentially over train and move into potential injury zones. So it is important to incorporate strength training in your plan so that we can keep our bodies conditioned and strong enough to facilitate our runs. Now that doesn't mean we need to go do olympic weight lifting or do constant power high intensity training. Body weight, dumbbells, and hit work outs are great exercises to incorporate within your training plan.
- Cross training can often be looked passed upon when people sign up for a race. I find it to be one of the vital components for success to complete the race and to recover from the race. Walking away from the race with zero injuries takes preparedness and diligent planning.
Nutrition Plan: When our runs get long, hilly, and consistently getting more difficult nutrition is essential to stay healthy while you train.
- If you have poor nutrition you will feel it. Have you ever exercised right after eating a greasy pizza. Knowing how to fuel your run, fuel your body before your run. and fuel your body after your run helps guide us to being healthy before, during, and after our running goals.
- Not eating enough can harm your body. Eating too much can harm our performance. Eating healthy with a focus on what our bodies need is essential to successfully completing our running goals.
Hidden Strategies for Success
- Find the right running shoes buy two pair and go back and forth so that both shoes are wearing equally. —> your legs, feet, back will thank you
- Guess what?! you can walk if you need to during a marathon and you still did a marathon!
- Find the food that works for you during long distance runs and practice in training utilizing what you will use during that day.
- What you eat the night before your run fuels your long runs so choose wisely.
- Bluetooth headphones will save our life and grab ones that work for over 5 hours per charge.
- Find your drink method between gatorade for example and water. It is different for everyone.
- Practice in the clothes you’re going to wear on race day because chaffing can come from even just the slightest of movement of seams etc.
