When I signed up for L.A. I received a $40 training plan from Active.com for free and who doesn't like free?
I looked it over and liked what I saw.
Thoughts went through my head, "if you do what you've always done. You're going to get what you always get."
You see, I've been a Runner's World, SmartCoach girl from the get go. The only time I deviated was the 5 weeks between Eugene and Girlfriend's last year when I tried Dimity's plan... that was in Runner's World :)
SmartCoach has treated me well and I have absolutely no complaints, but has it pushed me enough??
Could Active.com help me achieve my dreams??
As the weeks have passed, I've found myself checking to see what my dear old friend SmarthCoach would tell me. Imagine my excitement when down at the very bottom of the plan it said...
"Marathon 26.2 @ 8:23 Time: 3:39:40"
What's my goal time??
That's right, 3:40.
And, my friend says that if I listen to what she has to say, that I could run 3:39:40??
How do I not train with her??
How do I switch my loyalties from SmartCoach to Active.com???
One thing that throws me with the Active.com plan is that it is written in time goals - 1 hour easy. 35 minutes, easy, on hills, etc. SmartCoach gives me mile goals. I like the concreteness of knowing how far I'm supposed to go. I like knowing what my goal pace should be (even though I rarely run what it says and usually find my repeat and tempo times are faster than suggested). I know SmartCoach. It is familiar. It is comfortable...
Why be comfortable when I'm dreaming big??
I like that Active.com tells me to finish with 4X100 m striders. The track workouts look crazy hard and I like that too! I love that it tells me to incorporate hills on some runs and run flat on others. And my favorite? How they spell out some of the runs, "38:00 on hills. 15 minute jog, run hard 4 minutes, run @tempo for 15 minutes, run 4 minutes hard. No recovery." That's a nice run. That is not comfortable. I like that :)
Oh, what's a black and white, rule follower to do?
What's that?
Think outside my little tiny box??
Join the two plans??
That's right! I'll be using the Smartive.com plan. The one where SmartCoach marries Active.com and the two shall become one plan.
The one that gives me a mileage goal, a pace goal and everything in between.
T minus 4 days and counting...
What's your preferred plan??
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4 comments:
I am like you.... I like running for miles, not time. BUT, I do think mixing up training plans is good and can lead to improvement. I have no doubt you can hit that 3:40 goal!!
Maybe you can use the Active.com plan and just adjust it some to work better for you? I wouldn't use any any trianing plan "as is" and think customizing so it works best for you is important. :) Good luck!!!
I was going to say put them together! Haha, you are a genius. I do agree that Smart Coach is comfortable and very black and white. It's the plan I return to after I get outside of the box.
Good luck! So excited for you to start your training.
I am a total SmartCoach girl myself - I've found they work really well for me. But, like you, I think when I begin training again I'll be blending a few different things into my plan. Even the most tried and true methods need a little shake up from time to time, right?
Can't wait to follow along on your training!
i am horrible at following plans. I always think a different one might somehow be better
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