Saturday, November 08, 2008

The plan! The Plan (Boss-ton)!

Yes, I finally have a 'plan' and some of you may even remember this 70'ies show Fantasy Island which made me think of my title. Now just as long as my scheme is more than a pure fantasy I may survive.

Pretty isn't it? It's a mixture of Pfitzinger and McMillan with a dose of Lydiard and a sprinkling of hope and prayer. The basic plan is for 24 weeks with 4 major blocks (colored) for base building, stamina, speed and then the taper/race. There is gradual mileage buildup to what I'm able to handle (50-70) without getting injured and cutback weeks every 4th week.

The long run is 1st in importance and there are some twists including Fast Finishes (30-90min MP+) or extra long 3+ hour runs. The medium long runs (from Pfitz) are there as well, even though I despise them, but they help build stamina and determination to keep going on days when you don't want to. The 1-2 weekly workouts come from McMillan and I'll be using his Pace Calculator with my latest races to calculate proper paces. Whether I can manage more than one workout per week will have to be determined as this 'plan' goes along. I've also build in weekly strides and a series of test MP runs to monitor progress on a monthly basis. I might do these on the treadmill to attempt to control weather conditions.

Anyway, a lot to chew on and I'm going to think about it now by going for a long run with Andrew in the morning. Well, maybe not too long but long enough to hear his opinion I'm sure!

The pushup challenge is also going along reasonably well and have survived Week 3 which was the level I started at. You can log your workouts at the Pushup Logger site and let others follow along.
The workouts get much harder quickly and there's a 'test' at the end of next week too! I hate tests!!

The past few weeks have been very easy with alternate days of running and then not running. Mileage totals have been a measly 16 and 27 since the marathon and the legs are still tight as ever. I guess some stretching and strengthening exercises will need to be added in to 'The Plan' as well as icing and massage.

Have a nice week and don't forget to Remember the Veterans on Nov. 11th.

8 comments:

Ewen said...

I remember Fantasy Island - it was a must see on Sunday evenings. We had to rush home playing games out in the paddocks to see it.

With a plan as pretty as that Mike, you're sure to show Boston who's boss.

Ewen said...

That was 'from playing games' :)

Thomas said...

What a coincidence, I've started writing my Boston training plan, too. Mine is not finished yet, and it doesn't have you pretty colours, I'm afraid.

Jamie Anderson said...

Looks like a good plan to me. The countdown is on (tic toc, tic toc, tic toc....)

Grellan said...

Great looking plan Mike and well structured - certainly plenty of testing runs.

It's always good to post your plan as an incentive (or stick) to staying with it.

Andrew said...

I cut out everything except 'hope and prayer'.

Dubs said...

Boss, de plan! I love it!! I loved that show. I remember the invisible guy that had to take off his clothes to be completely invisible and I just knew he'd get caught naked. I would giggle (I was like 8). haha!

Congrats on BOSTON!!! I like the plan!

Oh - and I accepted your push up challenge, but I'm waiting to start until I get back from Bob's race when everything is sore anyway. Hold me to it!

Michael said...

I like your plan Mike. How does it compare with other years, any differences?

I almost find making a program more enjoyable than getting out and running it.