With my knee issue and recent days off, some of you may be asking: Is my 30 Minute Runner experiment in trouble?

Fear not!

I had a good weekend of running, which included a solid 10-20-30 workout.  I’m still super conscious of my past left knee pain, but trying hard not to compensate with other areas of my body (i.e. I really don’t want to run too hard on my right side).

While running this weekend, I spent some time thinking about how I can avoid the problems I had last week with finding time to run. One key point kept popping into my head: schedule runs the prior day.

How to Schedule a Run

There was a common theme on the two days this week that I skipping running: I had no plan.  Basically I went through the day hoping to run sometime…but all of a sudden the day was over and I never found enough time.

Things would have been so much better if I would have sit down the day before and forced myself to figure out a 30 minute window to run.

The best way to schedule a run in advance is to divide the next day in hour segments and figure out where room can be made for some exercise.

Example of How I Could Have Planned a Run

For example, if I had taken time on Wednesday to sketch out my day on Thursday, it may have looked something like this:

• 6am-8am wouldn’t work because I had to get my daughter ready for day care, take her there, and then get myself to work.
• 8am-12pm wouldn’t work because I had a bunch of stuff to do at work and just wouldn’t be able to take off for a run.
• 12pm-1pm wouldn’t work because I had a lunch meeting scheduled.
• 1pm-6pm wouldn’t work because I had two meetings scheduled and a few projects that I needed to complete before I caught the 6pm bus to the park and ride.
• However, after getting off the bus at around 6:20, I probably did have about 30 minutes to run if, in the morning, I would have stashed running clothes in my car (parked at park and ride) and run from there.

I probably could have wrapped up the run by 6:50 and still would have made it home to spend a little time with my wife and with my daughter before she went to bed.

Unfortunately, because I never took time to think about time windows for running beforehand, I did not put running clothes in my car and I missed a good opportunity to complete a run.

A Little Scheduling Work Now Pays Off Later

It can be difficult to find motivation to plan out a day like this.  However, it is such a great way to focus yourself to run at a specific time. One day off here or there will not destroy a training program, but consistent skipped days can have a big effect on your level of fitness.

Instead of floating through the day “hoping” that you’ll find time to run, make an affirmative effort to find time to run by scheduling out your day.

Do you make an effort to schedule your run for the next day?

The post Why You Need to Schedule Your Next Run appeared first on The Runner's Resource.

Dates: It is important to give yourself at least 4-8 weeks of solid training before jumping into a race. Try to incorporate at least a few speed workouts such as fartleks or hill workouts. While the routine training run is important, speed workouts are essential in preparing your body for the pace of a race.

What Distance: The right race distance really depends on the type of training that you have been able to accomplish. For example, it is probably not a good idea to run a marathon as part of your summer racing if you have not been able to run a few 20 mile long runs. Also, don’t jump into a race with a hilly course without training on hills beforehand.

What Race: Once you have determined the time and distance for your race, the selection of the actual race depends on your location. Running in the USA is a good resource for checking out races near you. You may also want to look for races sponsored by your favorite charity.

You will also have to ask yourself how far you want to drive to get to a course. Remember that races are usually in the morning, so be cautious about choosing a race that is more than one hour from your house.

Best of luck with your training this summer! Here’s hoping that you have the best summer of races ever.

The post Developing a Summer Racing Schedule appeared first on The Runner's Resource.