The Master Plan

Everyone trains to their own needs, to what makes them feel good. I tend to do a lot of cross training. My running during a week only consist of one long run and two 20 minute runs, but I also teach spinning classes, so I really don't feel the need to run much, I get more than enough cardio. To give you an idea of my long runs, here's what I have planned.

THE LONG RUN PLAN
Date Distance
1-Jul 10 miles
8-Jul 18 miles
15-Jul 12 miles
22-Jul 20 miles
29-Jul 10 miles
5-Aug 25 miles
12-Aug 12 miles
19-Aug 30 miles
26-Aug 10 miles
2-Sep 35 miles
9-Sep 12 miles
16-Sep 40 miles
23-Sep 20 miles
30-Sep 10 miles

As long as I get close to that distance I feel good, some days I may or may not reach the distance, it all depends on how much energy I have and how my week went. As for working out with weights, I do that too. I usually stick with a weight workout for 2-3 weeks, and then I switch it up, just to work other muscles and to not get bored with doing the same over and over. Usually runners lift light weights at high repetitions for endurance, I tend to lift heavy weights at low repetitions, just my preference. I want people to see me and not think I'm a distance runner. I base my workouts on the F.I.T. Principle:

Cardirespiratory Fitness

Frequency - 3-5 days per week

Intensity - 55 - 90% of Maximal heart rate
or an RPE of 12-15 (somewhat hard to hard)

Time - At least 20 consecutive minutes


Muscular Fitness

Frequency - 2-3 days per week

Intensity - 70 to 85% of maximal weight you can lift
or an RPE of 13-16 (somewhat hard to very hard)

Time - 1-3 sets of 8-12 lifts for each set