Oak Hill Flyer

the hardest part? getting to the start.

i've finished authoring my 2008 marathon training calendar, selecting the 2008 boston marathon as the target performance race.

most all of these runs will be done in the morning; if anyone ever wants to join me for any workout, drop me a line! i'd love the company!

it took about 4-6 hours to pen the whole shebang. admittedly, i still struggle with the thought of anyone else authoring a plan for me--i feel like i simply know best when it comes time to push myself, and when it comes time to pull back and rest. my methodology for authoring the plan was as follows:

• select target race; pencil in all other races of interest between now and then


• select maximum weekly mileage; set this mileage for three weeks out from target race ("Week 3")


• author weekly mileage for all other weeks between now and Week 3
  
  
  
  • no week-to-week mileage increases over 10%
    
  • rest weeks every 2-3 weeks
    
  • a sharp decent in mileage during the final three weeks of the plan
    
  
  
• author daily workouts for each week that sum to the target mileage
  
  
  
  • author two rest days per week
    
  • focus on quality workouts in during weekdays (speed, tempo, pace)
    
  • employ a day at the gym when possible in lieu of a quality workout
    
  • ensure at least one day in between quality workouts
    
  • ensure one LSD per week
    
  • precede LSDs with pace runs the day before
    
  
  
• return to the penciled-in races and select races that align with daily workouts, ensuring a minimum 3-week interval between any two races
  
• fit rest days in after all races; tweak following workouts accordingly
  

i've also devised a auxillary plan to balance my training when i'm not wearing my shoes. i'm calling it the "points" plan for lack of a better description, where the goal is to rack up as many points per week as possible. points can be earned according to the following schedule:

• 1 point for every night of 7.5 hours of sleep
  
• 1 point for no massive carb intake 60 minutes before bed
  
• 1 point for every day where 5 fruits or vegetables were consumed
  
• 1 point for every day where 80 oz of water were consumed
  
• 1 point for every day where i am on my company's campus by 9am
  
• 1 point for application of ice/cold water after quality workouts
  
• 1 point for consumption of recovery protein after quality workouts
  
• 1 point for every week where no alcohol was consumed
  
• 1 point for every week where i engage in one non-athletic social event
  
• 1 point for every week where i ensure a two-hour household chore is completed
  

the goal of the points is to keep my healthy, well-rounded, and in-check for things that can easily fall through the cracks when focusing on a marathon. speaking of which, i've got a point on the line if i don't get to bed in the next 15 minutes...

Posted by OHF on 19 November 2007 at 21:22 | Permalink