The Training Schedule -Who needs them ? When a group of runners gather. the training schedule is the second most popular topic for discussion -the most popular is of couse, injuries. Reams of paper and millions of words have been written about the subject, but everyone knows that the perfect training schedule is unattainable for the average runner. The best you can do is to find one that doesn't make your running deteriorate. Most running magazines pander to their readers by printing training schedules that are probably as much use as horoscopes. Print enough of them and eventually there will be someone who finds something that works for them. You could combine training schedules and horoscopes for all the good they do. Sagittarius -Good day for doing ten back-to back 600s . Avoid hill reps. What works for one person doesn't necessarily work for anyone else. Avoid personal coaches -even if you're good. They stifle creative training and don't let you race enough. You are probably better off with an astrologer or shrink. The Howie Approach This is a flexible and unstructured approach to training. It allows the individual freedom to find the type of training that suits them. 1) Decide how much time can you spend training . To train properly for Marathons you are looking at something approaching 8-10 Hours per week on the hoof.- that doesn't include changing, showering and talking to other runners about your injuries and your training schedule. The aim is to feel totally dead all the time. If you must do half-marathons, the aim then is to feel half-dead. Most of us have to fit a full-time job round our training schedule and our families may like to see us occasionally awake and in normal clothes. 2) Adjust your life-style to suit your training (or is it vice-versa ?) If possible you should try to fit the training into your life-style. Run to and from work. It can take lot of effort to get up at 5-45am and do an hour's training. It's well worth it since in the summer there's a lot of daylight from about 4am, so you can fit in a full day's training before breakfast. Mind you it means going to bed at 9pm and avoiding excess alchohol. Lunch time is probably the ideal time. If you can train twice a day, all the better, then if you miss the morning session (if that's possible) there's always lunch-time or the evening to look forward to. 3) Next thing is to work out what to do. This involves balancing junk mileage and quality mileage. Quality mileage is done at near or over race-pace. This is supposed to get you used to (or even like) pain. You can't do a lot of it. Junk milage is done at a comfortable pace. I was going to say " and hold a normal conversation". Running depletes the brain of oxygen so conversations can become a bit bizarre. This is known as the Flynn effect. When running in a pack of differing abilities, you can while away the long evening run by finding the other runners conversation thresholds by slowly winding the pace up and down. For marathons you should do almost entirely junk mileage, say a long run 18 -22m on a Sunday with a few reps mid week and a race on a Saturday. You don't usually need a sprint finish in a marathon. The rest of the time is spent basically jogging. For half marathons (if you must) the long run is shorter and you need an extra reps session. At the other end 1500m to 10K you need a lot more quality and nights of self-denial. You should include a session that covers the distance in reps at race pace; say 12 x 400m or 6 x 800m for 5000m enthusiasts - recoveries should be short at around 1min; none of this tracky stuff of going away for a holiday between reps. Perfectionists can stick in a 200m sprint at the end. I personally have not tried full 10K training; the thought of doing 25 x 400 makes me dizzy. For the other sessions try hill reps or sprints and jogs between lamposts or up and down sand dunes (if you live near any). Note that I have not been very specific, since it is really up to yourself what you do. If you want to follow a rigorous Derek Parker Schedule - go ahead, it might work. 4) Planning the schedule The trick now is to decide what to do each day of the week. The long run must be on a Sunday. I treat it like a long walk, only a bit faster. I gave up timing my junk miles some years ago. I found I was running too fast . As a result I was too tired to train properly on Monday. Now I sometimes do easy efforts on Monday as part of my evening run.. Tuesday is a 3 session-day with some fairly hard Club reps in the evening. Wednesday is a rest day (see 5) thats about 5miles. Thursday is another 3 session day with a short run in the morning a run home from work and a steady Club run in the evening. Friday is a long run in the morning (depending on Saturday) with a short run at lunch time. Saturday is a single long run or a race. Mere mortals who can only mange one session a day will have to modify the above. 5) Take a rest For this you need new definitions of the word rest. You can do nothing at all, and be irritable all day (after 3 days off you start chewing the furniture -addiction to exercise is real.). It's better to just jog about 3 or 4 miles ; I find this relieves the stress and removes any guilt. For a really big race I have the day before off. The exception is the marathon where I do zilch two days before and jog 2 miles the day before. 6) Never miss a day or opportunity. If you're on holiday or away on business, take your running kit. Evan Cameron was the past-master at this. On business trips he used to use up the time waiting for flights by going for runs round the airport. Next time you've got to pick the car up from servicing or have to go to the dentist- put on your kit and run there. So next time you talk about training schedules, say you're following the Howie Unstructured Method. Next issue , possibly a double portion :- " You become what you eat" and "You are what you wear" Tips on food, drink and kit. By the way. The reason for not shaving on race-day is two-fold. As Mr McGregor pointed out correctly in the last issue, it can be sore if it's a warm day. The more important reason is that it makes you look mean and ugly. I personally recommend 3 day's growth for all hill races and anything over 10K. 10K and under you can get by with 1 day.