I have a cunning plan......

Right, so I may not have done any more running since I last blogged but I have researched and found what will hopefully be a good training plan for me.

My first port of call was the Willow Foundation website (the charity I am running for) as they have a few training plans up there and former Arsenal physio Colin Lewin also works with them.  However, their plan is a 14 week schedule and I have a little more time on my side than that, and would also like a more gentle run up.

So, as ever, I tuned to google and put in “marathon training schedule” and was faced with millions of hits. To narrow it down, I put in “beginner marathon training schedule”. After hunting round for a bit I narrowed it down to the Bupa plan and the runnersworld plan. They are both 16 week plans and handily have a ½ marathon planned for 12 weeks time, which is roughly when I am planning on doing the Windsor Half. On top of this it means I should be good and ready a few weeks before the race itself, and if I get injured and miss a couple of weeks I have enough time to get back on track.

There is no time like the present and thus the plan starts tonight! I am still feeling a bit coldy and have loads of stuff lined up for this week but I should hopefully be able to fit in the early stages of training as well as my social life. It is only after Christmas that I reckon I will have to start turning things down and instead go running.

The rough idea is that I start off with three small runs a week and a longer one at the weekend.  All the running times/distances build up gradually to the big day itself, while there are also a few rest days in. I might have to jiggle the order of runs round a little to fit in with my life but generally I should be able to stick to the straight and narrow. I have even printed off a copy so I can stick it to my wall and tick off each session. It is here.

First up: 15 mins jogging apparently. This shouldn’t be too difficult, so I will probably do closer to 25 and some weights at the gym, before going home to cook a healthy Sheppard’s Pie. Plus beer (less healthy).