Running Joke, Part Six - "Plan C"

Plan A had failed after two attempts. Plan B had failed as well. (maybe the plans hadn't failed - maybe I had failed the plans)

It was time for "Plan C". Let's see . . . how many letters are there in the alphabet?

I was simply not in good enough shape to attempt any of the training plans I had come across in my reading.

Taking what I had read and learned over the past 10 months, I decided to sit down and devise my own training schedule from scratch. I also had a new factor in my training - a 10-week-old puppy-dawg.


I didn't have time in my schedule to walk a dawg and run separately. I wanted to combine the two. But a 10-week-old dawg can't just go out and run (neither could I at that point).

I started taking calcium supplements twice a day for bone development and glucosamine condroiten twice a day for my joints.

So with my condition and the dawgs abilities in mind, I came up with Plan C:

1) Walk 10 minutes a day, everyday for one week

2) Increase the time 10 minutes each week until I reach 1 hour of walking every day (i.e. it takes 6 weeks to build up to one hour)

3) Run 1 minute, walk for four minutes for one hour. Do this every other day for four weeks - take the in-between days off.

4) Run 2 minutes, walk 3 minutes for one hour every other day for four weeks

5) Run 3 minutes, walk 2 minutes for one hour every other day for four weeks

6) Run four minutes, walk 1 minute for one hour every other day for four weeks

7) Run one hour every other day for four weeks

8) Add one mile a week to the weekend run until I am up to 10 miles

9) Add two miles a week to the weekend run until I am up to 20 miles (conventional wisdom says that if you can run 18 miles, you can run a marathon)

10) Add three miles a week to the weekend run until I am up to 30 miles

So far, I am up to 8 miles on my weekend run without injury. This schedule has also worked really well for the Dawg as he has grown into the 85 pounder that he is today at 10 months.

I have found that one hour is about his max so I have stopped taking him on the long weekend runs (Dawgs are sprinters, after-all - not distance runners)

I have also decided not to purchase anymore $100 t-shirts (by failing to run races I have paid for) until I am up to 18 miles in my training. At this point, I am looking at doing a marathon the first 1/2 of 2009 - but we shall see . . .