Long range plan question?

[johde]

I'm doing the Columbus half marathon on Sunday and I've been thinking about where to go from here. My goal time is 3:15. My current training plan is John Bingham's "Marathoning for Mortals" walk/run plan. I ended up modifying the walk/run ratio to 2:15 walk/1:15 run.

I have the following "goal" races in the coming year, and I'm looking for opinions on my broad training plan. I'm currently 293lbs, down from 3:25 in January and my basic philosophy has been slow and easy change.

Mid April ORRRC Half Marathon- My main goal for this race besides a PR is to do at least equal time walking and running.

Mid May Radiou 5k - This is becoming an annual tradition that I've been using judge fitness improvement. I've done 3 of the 4. My current race PR is 43:49 is this years race. I'd like to go under 40:00 maybe even 39:00. (I've done 41:41 in training so I might be able to do that now).

September Disneyland half marathon. I would like to shoot for being able to do a 2:45 even if I don't run that due to taking pictures crowds etc.

I'm currently walking/running 3 days a week and it seems to work well. After the half, I'm looking at shaking up my routine. I'm looking at the following basic pattern until I start increasing mileage for the April half.

Monday - the "run more" day. I'm looking at starting at a .25 mile walk/.25 mile run for a total of 3 or so miles.. Then every few weeks replace some walking with running. I might through in a single longer interval at the end. These miles will be slow.

Wednesday - the "walk less" day. Another 3 mile or so day. This one will start with the 1:15 run I'm currently doing, but I'm thinking of starting with a 1:45 walk. The goal here is to work on quicker recovery time between run intervals. This day would probably also be the closest day to any speed work.

Friday or Saturday - Longish day - I'm thinking about 6 miles starting about my half marathon walk/run ratio.

By mid January when it becomes time to increase mileage, I would like Monday to be up to about a half mile run at a time, no plan on the walk breaks. Wednesday to be more running than walking, and Friday/Saturday to be near equal walking and running. As mileage increases in the half marathon training plan, I keep my walk/run ratios fairly constant until April when I start increasing things again.

Wednesday's ratios will be my 5K ratio and Friday's ratio will be my Half Marathon Ratio.

Sorry for the long post. But, does this seem like a reasonable course of action for the next couple 3 months to get me towards my goals?

Thanks.

 

[jmasgat]

Jeremy First, congrats on your accomplishments to date!

I can't comment on your walk/run goals, since that's not my style. I also do a 3x/week run program, though, and I do believe it can carry you through to your goals. Do you XT on any of the other days? Something to consider.

Also, I would go nuts if I had no race until April (I am also racing this Sunday). That's 6 months--I would lose motivation. Have you considered doing a shorter race before then? Even though we're in the colder north, there are still some shorter 5k or 10k that you might want to consider in the February/March time frame, or even December. These could also be a good way to test your plan and see if you're on track.

I'm sure others will wiegh in with more helpful comments. Good luck whatever you work out!

Maura

 

[johde]

Thanks Maura for the encouragement. I haven't raced often in the past but I haven't decided one way or another on additional races. The three I listed would be my primary goal races and any others would fit in around those. If my speed improves greatly, I'm definately going to plan a 10K for better corral placement at Disneyland.

Right now, I'm not doing any XT, It is something I've considered. I've also look at possibly adding a 4th short running/walking day to the week.

 

[kirkson]

first, wow, awesome job so far, and congrats on some clear, steady improvement. GREAT work. keep it up

I would strongly second the suggestion of cross training. I too was a run only kinda guy, then decided to add both weight training and other cardio excercise to my regimen. Not only did I get significantly fitter (and even lost a few more pounds), but I also improved my half time significantly.

 

[SkinsFan76]

Jeremy...Good luck on your half. I'll be there as well running my first full. Columbus is supposed to be a pretty fun enviornment.

Running 3 days a week is enough to accomplish most running goals. I agree though and would add some x-training for the other days. It will help your core and strength.

 

[johde]

Thanks for your words of encouragement.

Good luck skins fan on your first full. I'm going to be back in corral 4 so you might see me there. At 6'4" tall and almost 300lbs, I'm easy to spot. My warm up outfit if Michigan Colors (was dirt cheap at K-Mart last spring so if I ditch it no big loss). I think I'm going to be running is OSU colors. I'm trying to decide if running in all red would be too much.