Mastering Your Training Schedule: A Guide to Effective Planning

Hey guys, it's Luke here! Welcome to Lesson Two of our planning guide. In Lesson One, we talked all about setting the right goals—which is absolutely crucial for runners of all abilities. If you haven't checked out the goal-setting course yet, I highly encourage you to go back and do that first so you can set realistic, actionable targets. But today, we want to move beyond just setting a goal. We are going to look at how to actually block out an entire training schedule. When I sit down to plan, I'm looking at the timeline from the end of my last race right up to the end of my next race. To make that timeline work, I have two absolute non-negotiables: proper recovery and dedicated race-specific training. Non-Negotiable #1: Proper Recovery To me, it just doesn't make sense to start a new training block when you aren't recovered from the big race segment you just completed. For example, you can't run a hard late-fall marathon and then jump right back into a difficult Boston Marathon segment without taking the time to fully recover. While the exact recovery looks different depending on the distance, the main thing is that you go into your next long segment fully recovered. Non-Negotiable #2: The 8 to 10-Week Race-Specific Block On the other end of the calendar, you need to carve out at least 8 to 10 weeks dedicated to race-specific work, which also includes your taper. This is especially true for half marathon and marathon segments. If you aren't able to maximize that race-specific training window, you probably aren't going to maximize your performance on race day. "Bridging the Gap" So, you have your recovery at the start, and your 8 to 10 weeks of race-specific work at the end. What goes in the middle? Ideally, that leaves you with about 4 to 6 weeks (or maybe a little longer) to focus on base building, general fitness, and transition work. I talk a lot about "bridging the gap," and that's exactly what this middle phase does: it bridges the gap between your recovery phase and getting your body to a place where it can actually tolerate the hard, race-specific work ahead. Plan Around Your Real Life The goal of this planning phase is to lay everything out so you don't get blindsided later on. I highly recommend using a blank calendar to pencil everything in—and I literally mean pencil, because you are going to need to erase and adjust! Look at your upcoming work travel, holidays, and family trips. Honestly, one of the biggest segment killers I see is runners taking a vacation during the final 6 to 8 weeks of a training block. Going to Disney and spending all day on your feet, or taking a winter ski vacation, makes it nearly impossible to get proper training in. I don't care what your intentions are—if you are on a ski slope all day, you are not getting your runs in! Plan around these events in advance so you can adjust your schedule and run your hard workouts before you leave. The Golden Rule: Volume Before Intensity If you find yourself short on time, or if you are adjusting a plan that starts with mileage that feels a little too low for you, remember this rule: always focus on building volume before intensity. You can absolutely bump up your easy volume, but do not add volume and intense workouts at the same time. When people try to add both simultaneously, that is usually when they end up injured 6 to 8 weeks down the road. Build your easy base mileage back up to where it needs to be first, and then the intensity will naturally follow. Don't be upset if you have to start at a lower intensity. It is a process, and it's much better to ease in than to go all-in on goal paces too early and get injured before you even reach that crucial 8-week race-specific block. Lay your schedule out, pencil it in, and protect those non-negotiables. Next time, in Lesson Three, we'll dive into starting out at the right intensities. Talk to you later! LHR Community:https://lukehumphreyrunning.com/community/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lukehumphreyhmm/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LukeHumphreyRunning Training Plans: https://lukehumphreyrunning.com/training-plans/Team LHR: https://lukehumphreyrunning.com/team-lhr/Personal Coaching: https://lukehumphreyrunning.com/coaching/Books: https://lukehumphreyrunning.com/books/