Most of us start running just for the fun of it, or for a more important reason, like to lose weight. After a few weeks, months or years of casual running, things may get serious. Suddenly you set yourself a goal, like running your first 5k race or a longer distance, or improving your current personal record (PR). That is when you decide to follow a training plan.

Some people do the smart thing, go directly to a coach, and ask him or her to make a training plan for them. Others, like myself, do not have the economical resources for that option and decide to follow a training plan they find online.

Finding a training plan that works for you is difficult because of a number of reasons. First, the training plan should take into account your running experience. For example, it is not appropriate the run-walk method for someone that has a few years of consistent running, and wants to make a PR in his/her next race.

Secondly, the training plan should take into account your injury history. If you have had an injury in your knee over the last few months, and want to go back to running, your training plan should not ask you to do fast interval workouts on the first week, not even the first five months! Instead, your plan should contain short easy runs and regular strength routines to help you in the rehabilitation of your knee and build muscle.

The training plan should also take into account the type of runner you are. We are not all the same. Some people perform better at long-distance races, those are endurance-type runners, whereas others are faster and perform better in short-distance races, those are speed-type runners. 

Brad Hudson in his book, Run Faster, teaches us the following example. Two runners share the same goal, to run a 40min 10k race, but one is an endurance-type runner and the other is a speed-type runner. To achieve this goal they follow different workouts. The following table summarises the progression workouts between the first week and week 11.

	Speed-type runner	Endurance-type runner
Week 1	6x400m in 1min 36s w/400m rec.	4x1k in 4min 20s w/400m rec.
Week 3	6x600m in 2min 24s w/400m rec.	5x1k in 4min 12s w/400m rec.
Week 7	6x1k in 4min w/400m rec.	5×1.6k in 6min 38s w/400m rec.
Week 11	4x2k in 6min 24sec w/400m rec.	4x2k in 6min 24sec w/400m rec.

The table shows that the speed-type runner can be very fast but only for 400m, so he/she follows a progression week to week where he/she maintains the same speed but slowly increases the distance. In that way the program stimulates the runner’s endurance. Differently, the endurance-type runner can run for longer periods but at a slower pace. So the length of the intervals remain roughly the same during the plan, and the runner is only asked to focus in his/her speed. By the end of the cycle, both runners can do the same workout, but to achieve that the runners followed different training paths.

Finally, the training plan should be built based on your daily responsibilities, like family and work. In this respect, the plan needs to be flexible enough for you to accommodate your running around your life, and still guarantee you to achieve your goal.

So yes, finding a training plan that works for you is difficult. But, in case you find a few training plans, such as the ones posted in this website, and decide to follow them, keep the following in mind. Training plans are approximations to your training. Do not follow everything they say not matter what. The first thing you should do every time you go out for a run is to listen to your body. Do you feel pain? Do you feel very tired? Do you feel super energetic? After understanding how you feel, change your plan accordingly. Switch easy days for intense workout days, increase/decrease the number of intervals, increase/decrease the length of the long run. Always adapt your training to your needs. By doing so you will avoid injuries, and enjoy the process of becoming a better runner!

Happy running!

Camila