Lvl I - Running for Fitness
Let’s get you started
Intro
This plan is for anyone who has a base level of fitness, but is looking to improve their running game. I see this as ideal for athletes who recognize that cardio has not been their strong point or anyone who wants to go from being “not out of shape” to being a decent, beginner, runner. It can easily be scaled up for more advanced runners or for more demanding goals and it can be scaled down and used as an intro to cardio for people simply looking to “get in shape” or lose weight. If you are a distance athlete who has already trained with a good coach and is used to high mileage, this plan is not for you. If you are in terrible shape and are just trying to get healthy, you probably want to start a little more basic (check out this plan…)
TLDR: If you say “I’m not in bad shape, but I want to get better at running. I’d like to even be kinda good at it…” then this the plan you’re looking for.
The Plan
Weeks 1-6: All days without highlighting are just easy mileage days. If you find that you are running your normal pace, but just don’t feel good that day, that’s okay, just avoid going all out or trying to “get a good workout in”. If you like punishment and you love pushing yourself as hard as you can on workouts, now isn’t the time, but you’ll get there in a few weeks. For now, it is important that you take it easy on these runs. On the other end, you shouldn’t be just dragging your feet through these. The best indicator to use is that you should be going about as fast as you can run while still maintaining a comfortable conversation. Key word is conversation, you can allow time in between speaking to breath.
On the light yellow days find a 25 meter piece of flat ground, or a steep hill that is slightly shorter. At the end of your daily mileage, sprint the 25 meters (or up the hill) as fast as you can. When you finish, walk back to the starting line, pause to ensure you’ve caught your breath, and repeat 10 times.
On the light blue days you’ll be doing what we call a fartlek (pronounced unfortunately close to “Fart lick”... it means speed play). For 1 mile during your run you will alternate between your regular pace, for 1 minute, and a faster pace for 30 seconds. This faster pace should be significantly faster, you shouldn’t be able to carry out a conversation here, but not so fast that you cannot settle back into your regular pace right after the 30 second pickup. It is important to note that this run is continuous movement. Run a mile (or two) then keep running right into your fartlek, and when you finish this portion just go right into finishing your mileage.
Week 7: You have now reached your peak mileage for this training plan! Congratulate yourself; you’ve probably already noticed significant changes in how you feel during a run; it is probably now more comfortable for you to run 4 miles at a faster pace than what you would have run 3 miles at a month and a half ago. We now move into the “quality days”. These are the tough workouts that you’ve been waiting for.
The only notable day this week is a 1-mile time trial on Tuesday. Find yourself a track or a reliable loop (avoid gps watches to track distance since they take time to update and can be imprecise). Run 1 mile at your normal pace, or slightly slower, for warmup. Next, do some dynamic - not static - stretching and walk over to the starting line. Now, simply run 1 mile as fast as you can. When you finish, walk around for a couple minutes, swing your arms, and do a quick stretch of anything bothering you. Next, finish out your daily mileage with 2 easy miles. You have to run these, but the main workout is over, so take your time if you have to. Ensure to do at least a 10 minute static stretch after. This pattern is what you will follow for all of your other quality days: 1-mile easy warm up at about normal pace, dynamic stretching, the workout, slow run to finish mileage, static stretching.
Week 8: This week your workout is Fat Man Miles! This is my favorite workout to start off your “quality” days. They’re called “Fat-Mans” because the pace is still relatively slow, compared to workouts that you will do later. Do your 1 mile warm-up and dynamic stretches before getting started. Now you are going to run 3 intervals of 1 mile each at a pace that is about 1.2 of your regular mile (link to pace calculator). In between each mile take 2-3 minutes of rest. Do not sit or stay still during your rest! You should be walking around, getting water, and performing any dynamic stretches that you need during this time. Don’t forget the 1 mile cooldown and static stretching at the end.
Thursday: Sprints, just like you’ve done them before.
Week 9: This is going to be your toughest workout yet. You are running 200m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 400m, 200m, 200m (a standard track is 400m). You run these at the same pace as your mile time trial and get one minute rest in between each interval. The top of the pyramid is going to feel brutal; but stick it out!
Week 10: You have 2 workouts this week. The first one is a tempo run. You will be running at the same pace that you ran your Fat-Man miles, but now you will run continuously for 20 minutes. No rest!
The workout on Thursday is 200’s. Run these in .9 of the pace it took you to run your mile time trial. Take a 2 minute rest in between each and run 8 total.
Week 11: Another 2 workout week, and they’re both tough! First workout is 4 intervals of 800m. Each of these will be run at your mile time trial pace. Take a full recovery, or about 3 minutes, in between each of these.
The second workout is 6 intervals of 400m at your goal pace. Think about how you have felt on the most recent workouts, and come up with an estimate of what you can run your mile in. Each of these 400’s will be at that pace. You get 2 minute rest in between each.
Week 12: On Tuesday this week run 4 intervals of 100m striders at your goal mile pace. This is not supposed to be a hard workout, it’s just for stretching your legs out and getting your mind in the right place. On Thursday you have your race/test. If you don’t have a 5k, Spartan Race, tryouts, or something else that you have planned on this day, just run a mile, on your own, for time.
Week 13: After completing this program it is important that you take at least 1 week of rest before getting back into hard workouts. Don’t underestimate the importance of this. I recommend taking 1 week totally off from strenuous physical activity, and the second week start easing into workouts. The third week start your next training plan.
REally, it’s free
If you’ve read my about page then you understand why I’m offering this plan for free. For me, it was never a matter of why but how I’d get these tools to the right people. (which was why i hired my amazingly talented friend Riley to get me set up…) So if you use this plan all I ask is that you share it with someone else who you think would benefit.
Any questions?
Check out the FAQ page to see my answers to some common questions.