Write Your Training Plans in Pencil

And make sure that pencil has an eraser

You've committed. You've signed up. Maybe you even paid the entry fee already. Could be a race or a training group that you've decided to join. Now comes the work. It arrives as a PDF or a detailed calendar with dates set for this recovery run and that long run and that next speed run. Maybe it's an app with a charming and dare I say ravishing mustachioed man that will serve as your "coach" as you run your way through the program. Suddenly things got real really fast.

WEEK 1

Monday. Easy Run.

Tuesday. Speed Run.

Wednesday. Day off or active recovery.

Thursday. Easy Run.

Friday. Day off or active recovery.

Saturday. Long run.

Sunday. Day off or active recovery.

Wow. This looks and feel very impressive. It's obviously well thought out. I mean an expert made this plan! That means they must know what's best for me. They must have made this plan with my life and all its ups and downs and slips and slides in mind... right? I mean I did enter three (or was it four) bits of very general information about myself when I signed up for the group, run, race, program, whatever.

And that means I MUST follow this plan that was spit out. I must not depart from said plan. I must not alter, adjust, adapt this plan in any way shape or form to any alterations, adjustments or adaptations that have been made in my life. I must change for the plan. The plan does not change for me.

Hogwash. Horse manure. Rubbish. Balderdash. Gobbledygook. Bilge.

That's what I think about that mentality. Training plans are many things. One thing they are not is sacred. They are not and should never be written in stone. Training plans should be written in pencil. And that pencil should have a healthy eraser at the end of it.

Let's pull back the curtain and I'll tell you a little bit about how coaches write training plans. The creation of a training plan is usually done in a climate controlled room. The plan is put together while the coach sits in a comfy chair or on a cozy couch. There are no rainy days in this training plan. No brutally hot and humid days either. There are no snowpaloozas or severe thunderstorms. The training plan doesn't get sick or roll an ankle stepping off a curb. There are no late nights with the baby or early mornings with the the other baby. There are no arguments with mom or dad or the boss or the jerk that drops their cigarette butts at the bus stop. There are no days with low motivation written into that training plan. There are no moments when inspiration seems lost.

But there needs to be. And a great training plan has the flexibility to add all those things in and make the needed adjustments as a result. That's where you come in.

Remember, your training plan is for you! Not for her or him or they or them. And for a training plan to work you need to work with the plan and the plan needs to work with you. So, grab that pencil! Today is brutally hot and humid and the day calls for a 20K long run. Well, you can erase the 20K for today and pencil in a 5K and erase that 5K for tomorrow when the weather has broken and pencil in that 20K there. Maybe you had a really long day at work or in school and you're a little stressed and you feel like an easy run on your favorite trail would help you decompress a little bit. But the training plan calls for a day off? What to do? Find that pencil. That's what you do. Suddenly the training plan is working for you. Nice.

Let me fill you in on a little trade secret... great coaching isn't dependent on a training plan. Great coaching is dependent on adjustments to the training plan. And a great coach makes adjustments to the plan pretty much all the time. Why? Why are all those adjustments made? Because the athlete has changed or their circumstances have or their fitness has jumped forward or they have gotten sick or injured or the weather they are running in has taken a turn for the worse (or the better).

In order for the athlete to run their best they need to run the best run they can in the environment or circumstances or with the new context of their situation taken into account. That demands changes to the training plan that was written in that comfy chair in that climate controlled room weeks or months ago. . There are an infinite variety of reasons why the training plan may needs to be adjusted and there are an infinite variety of ways to change the training plan so it better serves the athlete. You do know that the plan is in service to the athlete and not the other way around, right? Well, now you do.

So, remember, if the coach writing your training plan knows what they are doing then they are making sure they not only gave you a schedule of runs but also a nice sharpened pencil with an eraser to go along with it. Because every great coach will need to make adjustments to every training plan. And every great coach knows that the best coach an athlete can have is themselves. So, pick up that pencil. Because you're your own best head coach. And you always have been.

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RUNNERDS OF THE WORLD UNITE

You gotta have Faith!

Oh baby have there been some big ass-kick ass-bad ass performances taking place around this glorious space rock of ours over the last ten days. No one has been more epic than Kenyan star Faith Kipyegon. Kipyegon is making the case (and it’s a very strong case) for being the greatest middle distance runner of all time. Last week Kipyegon absolutely annihilated the World Record in the Womens Mile.

This is the third World Record of the Summer for Faith. She has already set the all time mark in the 1500m and the 5000m. With the World Championships coming up in August and the Diamond League Final taking place at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon in mid-September it’s safe to say that no records are safe for the next two months.

Check out this article from Outside Magazine about Kipyegon.

Watch the video of the Mile WR set by Kipyegon at the Monaco meet here.

And the race in Monaco where Kipyegon set the World Record just might be the greatest mile race of all time! Check out all the Area and National Records and personal bests set behind Faith and her World Record! Just an all time great mile.

By the way, are you following Faith Kipyegon on social media? Because you should be. You have room in your digital rolodex for another great follow. And if you don’t have any more room for one new follow… drop one of the people you’re following that offers nothing positive or inspiring to your life. Faith Kipyegon will more than make up for that non-loss.

Follow Faith Kipyegon on Instagram here.

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Need More Coach Bennett?

Duh. Of course you do!

Make sure you are getting your recommended daily allowance of Coach Bennett. Check out the latest episodes of Coach Bennett’s Podcast on Spotify here:

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What’s Better Than One Coach Bennett?

Two Coach Bennetts Talking!

That’s what!

Check out the latest Two Coach Bennett’s Talking here on Apple Podcasts:

Here are the last two episodes on Spotify:

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NOTHING COMPARES 2 U

And it wouldn’t be a complete newsletter unless I placed some absolutely glorious music in front of you. So, here is an updated Coach Bennett’s Mixtape. You’ll notice the playlist starts with a number of Sinead O’Connor songs. The supernova of an Irish singer just passed away. She’s without a doubt one of my favorite singers. If you’ve never listened to her utterly unique and beautiful voice… I can’t recommend strongly enough to listen to the playlist (and her catalogue) with a pair of great headphones. Rest in power and peace Sinead.

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Cheers,

Coach Bennett