Making Your Own Beginner's Running Schedule

Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK, RHN
myTreadmillTrainer.com

In my years as a runner, I have gone from a snot-nosed, know-nothing beginner runner to a snot-nosed, slightly more than know-nothing runner. I know, I know, you’re probably impressed. Believe it or not, what you do as a beginner will set the tone for the rest of your running career.

Not to say that you can’t adapt a program if you need to. But it’s much better to get into a good, solid routine from the beginning. That is why a beginner’s running schedule is very, very important.

No pressure, or anything.

What Makes A Good Schedule?

Creating a schedule for running isn’t a whole lot different than creating a schedule for, say, a wedding or a special event. You have essentially the same elements: what you will be doing, how long you will do it, where it will be, and how you will do it. The only real difference is that you’ll be running outdoors and hopefully not down the aisle.

Let’s look at each one:

Activity
This is what you will be doing. For running, will you be running sprints or miles?
Time
How long will you run? For 30 minutes? Or will you run based on distance, say, 3 miles or five 200 meter sprints?
Location
Where will you go? The track? A spooky, deserted trail in Hangman Woods? (Hopefully not that last one…)
Workout
What exactly will you be doing? Is there a specific workout you will do?

What you decide to do for each of these categories depends mainly on your goal and what you want to accomplish. If you’re a sprinter, your schedule will look very different from someone who wants to run the entire length of the equator.

With that in mind…

Two Sample Schedules

Here are a couple of sample schedules you can use to give you a good idea of what you need to put in your own workout plan, with one for long distance and one for short distance.

Short Distance

Monday:
Location- Track
Activity- Speed work
            4 x 400m, 30-45 second rest in between sprints
            6 x 200m, 25-30 second rest in between sprints
            4 x 100m, 20-30 second rest in between sprints

Wednesday:
Location- Track
Activity- Endurance
            4 x 800m, 90 second rest in between
            2 x 400m, 60 second rest in between

Friday:
            Location- Track
            Activity- Time trials (TT)
            100m TT (see how fast you can run it), 3 minute rest
            200m TT, 5 minute rest
            400m TT

Long Distance

Monday:
            Location: Trail
            Activity: Mileage
            3 miles at 7-9 min. pace

Tuesday:
            Location: Track
            Activity: Mile repeats
            3 fast-paced mile repeats with 5 minutes rest in between

Wednesday:
            Location: Trail
            Activity: Mileage
            3 miles at 7-9 min. pace

Thursday:
            Location: Track
            Activity: Speed work
            6 x 800m, 75 second rest

Friday:
            Location: Trail
            Activity: Long run
            6 miles at 8-10 minute pace

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