8 Ways to Customize Your Training
This is part II of my article from last week The Best Training Plan for Runners. Please read that first for an intro to optimizing your training.
As promised, here are some ways you can individualize your training.
1) Consider Your Preferences
When it comes to training, motivation and working toward goals, the process should be challenging but also enjoyable. Do you enjoy running with friends, a group, or alone? Do you enjoy running doubles? Do you love or hate cross training? What kind of workouts are your favourite? These are questions I ask or learn over time with the runners I coach. I aim to design a training program that is interesting and fun.
One of my favourite workouts as a pro athlete was hill repeats and my coach had me run them often. On the other hand, some of the runners I’ve worked with hate hills and actually get a bit stressed out when hills are on the schedule. Hills are important training but if you hate hills they don’t need to be a weekly staple.
We spend so much more time preparing for a race than actually doing the race, so training should be an enjoyable experience overall.
2) Cross Training
If you are blessed with a body resilient to injury and you don’t like cross training, don’t cross train. But for runners who have an injury history, persistent niggles, or who simply enjoy cross training, it is an effective way to keep training, stay healthy and continue making progress.
Each mode of cross training (bike, pool, etc) has different levels of impact on the body and require different programming based on injury history or current niggle/pain.
Amanda and I ran all our workouts together, but our recovery days in between were very different!
Amanda is somewhat injury prone, so she does a lot of cross training and carries lower weekly mileage in order to stay healthy. I never cross trained and ran upwards of 70 miles per week. We were great training partners and helped each other succeed in the framework of individualized training schedules.
3) The Long Run
I touched on this in Part I but here’s a recap. Prepping for a marathon? How long should your longest long run be? My answer every single time is: it depends. Even if you’ve done many marathons, each build is different and may require a new long run schedule.
When I create long run mileage progression for an individual I need to know:
Pace/speed of the runner
Injury history and current issues
Availability to train and schedule
Their recovery habits
Strengths and weaknesses of the runner
Age
The long run weekly progression will look vastly different for the young busy parent than for the retiree. The plan will be way different for the first time-marathoner whose goal is to cross the finish line than it is for the age-group competitor.
For some runners, a 23 miler in training would take 4-5 hours to complete, and therefore require way too much recovery time. I would never recommend a 23 miler in training for these runners, and instead would do a broken long run over 2 days. On the other hand, some of my clients can bust out a 23 miler in 2.5 hours, take a nap and then head off to work that afternoon.
4) Hills and Trails
Hill workouts and running routes should differ for each runner based on their goals. Hills are always great training, but if your goal race is on a pancake flat race course then the workout emphasis should be on smooth rhythm running rather than hitting the hills weekly. If your goal race is on the trails or a very hilly route I’m just not going to put track workouts on the schedule.
5) Working Out With Others
Customizing your training doesn’t mean you have to run solo. The easiest way to work with other runners is by meeting up for runs of similar pace and doing your specific workouts solo.
You can also link up with runners for workouts, even if you have slightly different abilities. You just need to adapt your workout. A coach would be a great help in these scenarios. Here’s an example:
An Example-
Customizing a Workout to Suit Your Ability
Your friend has the following workout: 8 half-mile repeats on the track at 3:30 (7min per mile pace) with 1 minute rest. A half-mile is 2 laps on the track. 8 x 800m at 3:30, 1minute rests
You know that workout is too hard for you but want a workout partner. Here are some easier options that could suit you:
8 x 600m You stop early on each interval, running 1.5 laps. You get a bit of extra rest while friend finishes.
2 x (3 x 800m) You skip interval #4 and #8 resulting in two sets of 3 half-mile repeats. Between sets you’ll have a longer rest.
Any number of 800m repeats You know you can’t do 8, why not try for 5 or 6 and just see what happens?
Alternate 800m, 400m. On intervals #2, #4, #6, #8 you’ll stop early, running only 1 lap. You get extra rest while your friend finishes.
The key to successfully training with others is to listen to your body and make adjustments if necessary. Sometimes that means you’ll have to let your friend go ahead, or leave your friend in the dust. By planning ahead, you’ll be able to simply enjoy the company of others and get in a great workout.
6) Stop Comparing
It’s always fun to talk training with friends or check out what others are doing on social media, but beware the comparison trap! We’re all coming from different life scenarios. A single workout needs to be considered in the framework of an entire week, month and even lifetime of training.
Life factors matter a lot too - stress, sleep, diet, mental, emotional and physical health all factor in to what we are able to do in training, but most often these factors aren’t broadcast in facebook posts. And social media is usually just the highlight reel. No one consistently shares their worst workouts or boring easy jogs.
7) Recovery
While training as a pro runner throughout my 20’s I could recover from a hard workout in 2-3 days. In my early 30’s I came to the frustrating realization that 2-3 was no longer enough. I was forced to adjust my training schedule and couldn’t do every workout with my younger training partners. So you can imagine how recovery time is hugely different for a 50 or 60 year old than for a 20 year old runner.
Work and life schedule is also very important. A runner who has ample time to sleep and rest between workouts won’t need as many days to recover as one who only gets 5 hours of sleep per night and works all day on their feet or in a high-stress environment.
8) Customize your Generic Plan
Have you already purchased a training plan online? Or perhaps you’re following a group training schedule? Using the ideas outlined in this article, make every effort to adjust that plan to suit you better.
Of course, perceived effort always matters. You can’t switch all hard workouts for easy ones and expect the plan to work. You must challenge yourself sometimes to make progress.
There are so many ways to the start line and ultimately to the finish line, why not take the route that works best for you?
Need help customizing your current training plan? I can help!
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Nicole Sifuentes is a former professional runner and 2-time Olympian, a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and full-time Running Coach for adults of all ages and abilities. Read more about her services, and schedule your free coaching consultation.