So, you’ve been running without a plan for a while now and you’re starting to see these training plans online. Maybe it’s couch to 5K, maybe you have hung out, seen one of my videos, seen one of my training plans that I’d put out, maybe you’ve seen somebody else’s. In any case, you’re seeing these training plans and you’re wondering, are they any good? Can they help me be a better runner? Well, I’m Jesse Funk and on today’s episode of Runner’s High, we’re going to talk about online training plans and figuring out are they worth it? Are they any good?
Before we get going, hit that subscribe button, stick around with me. Besides having training plans, which I got at least one out there for half marathons right now, I do offer a lot of advice on running and the best ways to get the most out of your run, both physically, mentally, and in some ways spiritually. So, stick around with me here on the channel, as I do videos every week, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Now, we want to talk about online training plans. And of course, as I mentioned, I do have an online training plan out that you can get if you want it. You’re doing a half marathon, that’s what I made it specifically for. I’ll leave a link down in the description below. But the thing is, online training plans can be good if they apply to your situation. This is the case of every coach and coach is the ultimate training plan, right? They’re going to tailor to you. Every coach has this idea of ‘it depends’.
If you watch the Smart Athlete Podcast, which is the other show I do on this channel, then you’ll hear that a lot when I ask these coaches very pointed questions. They say, “Well, it depends.” It depends, it comes up a lot. And that is really the crux of these online training plans. And are they good? Is it good for you?
First, you have to make an honest assessment of where you are. Now couch to 5K is a good descriptor because it’s couch to 5K. It’s literally, here I am on the couch. I’ve not done this before and I want to run a 5K. So, it is a great specific training plan to know exactly this is where I was, this is where I want to go. From there, there can be a lot of ambiguity. Where am I now? Where do I want to go? What do I have time for?
Now, if you’re in school, you got a coach most likely and they’re going to help you train according to your school schedule. Whether that is high school, middle school, college, they’re going to fit that in. But for the rest of us
The problem being if you pick a training plan that doesn’t actually fit your schedule, you’re not going to be consistent with it. And if I harp on anything more than anything else on this channel, it is consistency. I also talk about RPE alot, but we can do that in another video. Consistency is the key to getting the most out of your training.
So, if you get overly ambitious with choosing a training plan that’s really aggressive, and you don’t have time to follow it to a T and then feel, “Oh, training planners aren’t good or this training plan sucked.” Well, then the fault actually lies with you because you had good intentions. You wanted to get the most out of your training plan, but you weren’t honest with your schedule.
So, it’s a matter of, again, being honest with where you are to begin with, what is my fitness level? Where do I want to go? And what do I actually have time for? There are plenty of training plans out there that can help you fit all this together. Some of them will even adjust to you.
You can say, “Hey, I only have these days available at these times.” Or you can move your schedule around to fit them. But the idea is that yes, there are plenty of good training plans online that can help you, especially if you’re just beginning because you have a big, big way to go, a long, long way to go before you hit your ceiling.
Now, if you’re really fine-tuned and you’re trying to drop five seconds on your 5K, you’re already sub 14, you probably need a coach at that point. An online training plan is not going to be it for you. But you already know that. You’re probably not even watching this video if you’re running sub 14 5Ks.
But in any case, it’s all again about being honest with where you are and picking a training plan that suits your situation. And then it’s going to be a good training plan for you, not a bad training plan because it fits your situation, your fitness level, and does that role that a coach would normally do where he says, “It depends.” You figure out what it depends on, and then pick the thing that’s going to get you to where you want to go. So, I’ll see you next time on the next episode of Runner’s High.