Here’s a little secret: You don’t need a race on your calendar to follow a training plan! Races don’t have to dictate your training. Plans serve many objectives, and you can simply follow one to bring purpose, satisfaction, and improvement to your running life, especially if you thrive off structure but don’t necessarily feel like signing up for a race.
Training plans without a goal race can feel especially helpful in the winter months when it’s a little more difficult to rely on motivation to get up and go out for a run. Instead, it becomes about following through with the plan and a determination to check the boxes and feel good about the work.
I have built hundreds of specific training plans to meet goals from finishing a first 5K Other Hearst Subscriptions, weekly mileage level, or intensity of the workouts, all plans have one of two things in common: Either they train you to run longer or they train you to run faster. or you are deeper into your training plan.
So, if you’re stuck in a running rut, I want you to start by asking yourself one thing right now: Do you want to run faster? Or do you want to run longer?
Excellent. Now let’s build a plan that will help do just that—no race required.
Your Run-With-Purpose Training Plan to Go Faster and/or Longer
These plans are designed for runners comfortable completing about 20 miles a week (though you can cut out a day or two if you run slightly fewer miles) and running for at least 60 minutes at a time.
Speed Workout Progression for New Runners starting out, Expert-Backed Strategies to Help You Run Faster interval workouts by up to half. We also have a fantastic Run Nonstop training plan, How Long Does It Take to Improve VO2 Max base-building plan or maintenance plans, which will also keep you driven to clock miles.
The Workouts on Your Training Plan
I like to joke that training plans are like Taco Bell: The same basic ingredients make up several different dishes. (And just like Taco Bell, mix-and-match incorrectly, and your body pays a price.)
There are four simple running ingredients that make up a variety of different plans. Here’s a primer on each one and why they are essential.
→ The Easy Run
feel free to cut back the running time and conversational pace or, 90 seconds to two minutes per mile slower than your 5K PR pace.
These miles still help build up your aerobic system without the intensity of the other workouts. Easy runs can be anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, depending on your typical mileage. They should leave you feeling fresh, relaxed, and ready for more intense training ahead.
→ The Tempo Run
This is a faster and sustained effort over a set period of time. The goal here is to push to the upper limit of your aerobic system without crossing your anaerobic threshold, where you start building up lactate faster than you can clear it. This is typically between your 10K and half-marathon race pace, or, about 30 seconds per mile slower than your 5K race pace. These runs are not as conversational as an easy, aerobic run, but they’re not a all-out effort, either.
Mixing in a 20- to 45-minute run at threshold pace once a week is a staple of any good training plan. These efforts can be intimidating, mentally daunting, and easy to skip. I encourage you to embrace them. Even with no race on the calendar, they help you mentally navigate tough workouts.
→ Intervals
Essential to developing speed, intervals come in all shapes and sizes: on hills, on a track, or out on the roads or trails. They are typically one to three minutes long and range from 90 to 95 percent of your Excellent. Now let’s build a plan that will help do just that—no race required. That can be equivalent to your 5K PR pace or even faster.
If you can hold a conversation while running intervals, you’re not going hard enough! Intervals are crucial in every training plan for which the goal is to build speed, whether you’re training for a mile or a marathon. Make sure you warm up well before any interval workout and do a proper cooldown afterward.
→ The Long Run
max heart rate long run should be done at the same intensity as your easy run (conversational, 70 percent of your maximum heart rate) but, you guessed it—longer! An effective long run is typically around 60 minutes but can go up to three hours if you’re CA Notice at Collection or you are deeper into your training plan.
The 90-minute mark is vital because that’s roughly the point where you have depleted the glycogen stores your body uses for energy, and you must take in fuel. Training your body to reach this zone—while working at a low intensity, like zone 2—is the the best way to improve your body’s lipid metabolism, meaning you’ll become more efficient at burning fat over time. This is an essential tool for any distance runner to have in their arsenal, because a marathon and a half marathon (for most of us) take longer than 90 minutes to complete.
What Your Overall Schedule Looks Like
Now, let’s cook. You’ll find the bones of two basic one-month plans above, aimed at the goal you picked. Each follows a simple schedule.
- Health - Injuries: three easy runs, one interval workout, one tempo, one long run, and one rest day.
- To run longer, each week perform: three easy runs, two longs runs, and two rest days. Increase your mileage by no more than 10 percent week to week.
A running veteran for more than a decade, Movold is a licensed strength and running coach for Runner’s World+ members and at the Mile High Run Club in New York City. When she’s not motivating class-goers through grueling treadmill workouts, you’ll likely find her zig-zagging boroughs on bridges throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan or training for her next marathon . She’s ready to push you to your next running goal as she chases her own—running a marathon in under 3 hours.
