The Training Puzzle
During my teaching years, I was also a high school cross country and track coach. With a team of 30+ runners all training to improve over the same race distance week after week, coaches "dispensed" workouts, broadly targeting the different group levels of our young runners. We didn't much tailor the training to the individual runners' needs.
So when I retired from coaching, I focused on my own training. I designed my own training schedules--plans crafted from running books and articles I digested. I coached myself.
I'd wrestle with my training plans. First trying the obvious--run more often, more consistently, more mileage. Then I'd experiment with more formal training which became a puzzle trying to fit in all the types of running--short intervals, long intervals, hills, tempo, pace runs, long runs, etc.
By the time I completed a masterpiece training program, all the special planned training represented only a small percentage of my actual running. I tinkered so much with basic running that I was never certain which training plan gems and tweaks were breakthrough factors in my running.
Over the last few years I've backed off the pursuit of brilliant training plans. I still run hard during some seasons of the year, but these days losing weight is my new speed work. When it comes down to it, I just need to keep doing what I've been doing for 90% of my running life--run easy and enjoy ordinary running with ordinary runners.
Coaching yourself doesn't work well. But if we're going to run and train coach-less, I'd suggest adopting a mindset like Kara at Between The Miles who says, "Not every run is easy. But I must run....It took many years to build up the privileged effortless pace I have today...I take nothing for granted... I treasure every mile with mind, body and spirit."
Thanks, Kara, for the coaching.