[Martyn]

Hi all!

Been a while since I posted here. I´ve just ran a 5k race and missed out on a PB by 5 seconds. Considering I haven´t trained in ages I´m pretty happy.

Anyway I wanted to ask if anyone on here doesn´t bother with training plans at all? I´ve been running recently with no apps, no heart rate monitor, no plan and just start and stop when I feel like it. It makes running much more enjoyable. Does anyone else do the same?

 

[Runningfox]

Hi Martyn, great to see you back. My running is almost exactly as you describe, though when I was race training I didn't do much stopping or slouching around. I never had a plan as such, never copied any of the popular training programmes that marathon runners follow today. I did whatever I felt like doing, deciding each morning what I was going to do that day. It worked for me. I never got bored. My runs never became stale.
Strength and stamina for faster marathons came from long runs in wild country, over rough Pennine trails and high, steep mountains in the Lake District and Scotland. All very enjoyable stuff, away from fumes and tarmac, running in places I love.
Speed came mainly from lots of 10K and XC races in the build-up to important events. Occasionally I'd go down to the track to do fast mile reps which I'd churn out at sub 6 minute pace. I like to think I got it all right, trusting my own judgement rather than putting my faith in someone else who couldn't have a clue how my body would react to their training ideas, or how I'd feel when I got out of bed each morning.
Now, in my dotage, I'll admit to increasing amounts of stopping and staring, listening to birds, taking photographs, watching sunrises with a few occasional (mainly downhill) sprints thrown in just to remind me what it feels like to run fast. I've had 31 wonderful years, the best of my life, and I've no intentions of stopping until circumstances force me to.

 

[ade1966]

Welcome back Martyn , how's the rugby going ? I train just like you , no plan , i have a hrm but ignore it , i just do sessions that i think I need according to my up and coming races and it seems to work , this year I am on the best form I've been in for a few years and it suits me but I do wonder that a more rigid plan might get me to improve even more ????