Last night, we played pass-the-baby from me to the Hus; this morning, we switched it up. I went on an early morning run, and when I returned, he left for his workout. Although we weren’t too keen on the idea of a jogging stroller at first, we both agree that it’s mighty appealing now… We’d get to spend more time together.
Not that my solo run was unpleasant… It was actually great. I did 5 miles in 51 minutes. I’m not truly following a training plan at the moment, but I am trying to establish a decent base so I can prepare for my half marathon in January. I’m aiming to run four days a week, and I arrange the workouts like so:
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Two easy runs – Usually done at night or during a time crunch, these runs are 2 – 3 miles. Sole purpose of these runs is to just get out there, maintain the habit, and clock in mileage. I’ll probably extend one of these runs to 4 miles as I get closer and closer to the half marathon.
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One moderate intensity longer run – I’m making this run a 5-miler (I really like my 5-mile route), and my goal is always to run with only one walking break, which I take at the halfway point. I also do ‘strides’ at the end. Strides involve sprinting for 30 seconds, jogging for 15 seconds, and then repeating. My last sprint is always the hardest; I imagine a finish line at my mailbox.
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One long run – Right now, my long runs are 5 miles, too, but I’m planning to extend them starting next week. Gotta up get to 13.1 miles! I’m cool with loads of walking breaks during these runs because, well, I’m at the point in my running life that I don’t mind walking breaks during races.
It’s definitely a loose plan, but a loose plan is what works for me right now. Everyone is different, of course – I’ve done enough long races to know what I need to do to prepare my body (and have fun along the way!), but this style might not work for everyone.
Scenes from this morning’s ‘moderate intensity’ run…
Cold enough to require ear coverage! Wahoo.
How do you arrange your runs? Do you just get out there and run whatever distance you feel like doing, or do you have a system like me? Or do you follow a specific training plan?
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{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve only followed a training plan once while training for my first 10k, but I really liked having structured workouts on the non running days, too. It was amazing how much it helped me increase my distance and speed.
I like following a plan that tells me what to do and I LOVE checking off workouts! Currently I’m following a marathon training plan that has me doing speedwork, tempo runs, and a long run with cross training such as stationary biking in between. All of my runs are at a certain pace and even the biking has me cycling slower and faster for certain increments. I’m hoping for a PR in December! We shall see
You never know what can happen in the marathon… that’s the beauty of it!
I’m a spur of the moment kind of runner when I’m not training for something. If I feel like running I’ll lace up and go. I need to plan out routes and runs though, it keeps me on track!
We love having a jogger for that reason – family runs! They’re so nice and the baby ends up sleeping most of the time too! As for my runs, I have a flexible training plan similar to yours.. totally willing to switch it to which day suits best.
Idea: on days you can’t get out to run due to circumstances out of your control, do some strength training at home? Lindsay’s List has awesome tabata style workouts- short and sweet
:) Its helped me out a lot.
What a cool picture of how beautiful your eyes are!
I kinda just run somewhere between 2 and 5 miles–whatever I feel like. I’m not training for anything specific, so I just let my body tell me what it feels like doing.
wow, 5 miles in 51 minutes is very good isn’t it?!
Great job Caitlin. And to be honest, I have NEVER EVER been one to ‘plan’ out things like setting up certain goals with running and stuff. Sometimes I’ll have an idea on what/how much I want to do and what record I wanna break, etc. But I’m just so used to being a “let’s see how it feels at the moment” person, lol.
I’m not running a lot right now (focusing on strength training) but a few months ago I was doing a 20-minute interval run every week, a shorter run (3 miles or so) and one longer run (5-6 miles). Worked for me!
Much as I’d like to go with the flow, I need to have a plan – I need the structure!
I’ve got another half at the end of January and my training plan starts in a couple weeks, I’m hoping to follow Hal Higdon’s intermediate but I’m very open to changing it up because it may be a bit much for me
I feel like a plan is missing for me….I’m really type A and struggling with “just getting out there” as much as I would like/used to. I “need” to plan everything else in life, so I think I’m going to try to do this with runs too! Any tips?
Do the blank training plan – I keep a plan with four blank spaces on my fridge per week, and fill them in as I go. I feel accomplished no matter what my workouts are if I can just fill in the four boxes.
Thanks! I’ll definitely try that!
I usually go out with a vague plan in mind…and if I feel good I end up doing more and if I don’t feel as good, I’ll do less. Play it by ear! I wish I could wear my cold-weather headband…it’s 84 degrees in San Francisco right now!
I just wanted to say that I love our jogging stroller. It is so nice to have the freedom to run even if my husband isn’t home. I do enjoy getting out there solo because pushing that thing is hard work, but it makes scheduling so much easier. We have the BOB with the car seat adapter and I have been running with my son since he was 7 weeks old(he is 2.5 months now). It’s pricey, but I can’t say enough good things about that stroller!
Phil and Ted Explorer is by far the best jogging stroller! WE love it and use it everyday on family walks and runs!!
Totally random..I always thought your eyes were brown, but in that last pic they look green! What color are they?
green
When you talking about work-life-exercise-sleep balance, I was thinking you need to get a jogging stroller. From my 2 kids, I think you can consistently get runs in this way until your child is at least 18 months and for some kids a lot longer. I bribe my older one to get into the jogging stroller with the promise of a trip to the park aftwards.
i love hal higdon’s plans! i run my first FULL marathon in exactly one month from today!!!! wooohoo!! good luck with your training!! oh and i’ve been reading a lot of other blogs for the past couple months…yours is definitely the best and most healthy/balanced!! go you!!!
I followed a plan for my half ironman training plan! I also follow a pretty rigid weekly plan to up my fitness levels in all areas. Love it!
YAY for running outside in the Fall
When I’m training for a race, I follow a very clear, specific plan. During my off-training periods, I try to fit in two steady pace runs and two interval runs every week. Right now I want to build my mileage back up!
When I ran my half-marathon in August, I followed Hal Hidgon’s training plan. It worked well for me, but it was difficult balancing running with triathloning (i.e. swimming, biking, and doing brick workouts). Right now, I’m not following a plan per se, but I do write down my workouts on a calendar every Sunday night; I try to run four days a week (one “easy,” two “medium,” and one “hard”). I really should start doing speedwork too, ha!
I like your loose training plan idea. While I do not have a baby, I am in my last semester of graduate school and have not been making time for runs or bike rides or even stretching in the last two months, all of which makes me feel a little crazy. I think I am going to adopt your training plan– if you can find the time with all you’ve got going on, I definitely can make the time! Thanks.
haha you LOVE posting photos of your feet!
hah that i do.
I’m like you–I’ve done enough long runs now to know what I can handle and how much training I need. For the half I’m running on Saturday, I’ve been doing two 5-milers, one speedy 2-miler, and a long run (10-14 mi) each week. Then again, I don’t have a new baby at home!
I just go with whatever workout I’m feeling that day, but I think I need a training plan. I can definitely see the benefits.
I`m a plan kinda girl
Using the Hal Higdon Winter training plan which is pretty similar to what you describe above just with one additional run. I might switch the Tempo up for some hills every once in a while as I am really not keen about tempo runs at all. But maybe I just need to start loving them more.
I don’t mean to be all doom&gloom but I would HIGHLY recommend that you borrow a friend’s jogging stroller to see what you think of it before buying one. You may love it! And I hope you do. I did not. I really love walking my baby in her stroller but running with one is a whole different ball game. Just putting that out there.
I always know what I’m going to do when I walk out the door. I am pretty anal retentive when it comes to …everything ; )
I think y0ur training plan looks pretty great. I’m training for a half too and doing something pretty similar. But I can’t believe you’re doing it with a baby. Geez. There goes all my excuses!
I like to put together a pretty general plan when I’m preparing for a race, but I always end up modifying it. Haha. At least I have an idea of what needs to get done to be ready for race day. I like your idea of the “blank training plan” though! I like running 3 days/week and doing strength, yoga, or cross training other days.
I am just getting ready to go for my first run postpartum today. For now I am just going to focus on running short distances – I am aiming for two miles today. We’ll see how far I can actually go. It’s crazy to think I was about to run the Marine Corps Marathon last year at this time and today I am contemplating a two mile run!
If I am training for a race then I always have a running schedule – if not, I just run what I feel like. Unfortunately, I rarely feel like a ten mile run for no reason so I tend to only do 4-5 miles when I’m not training for something.
Just an idea—why not take Henry for a “stroll” in his regular stroller? You and Henry (and the Husband) could be together, you are getting exercise without the pressure of having to do a run every day, and Henry is getting fresh autumn air! I imagine that jogging strollers don’t come cheap.