6 Reasons WHY COOKIE CUTTER TRAINING PLANS DON'T WORK
1. They Don't Know You
Have you been running for months and regularly do 6 miles on the weekends? Or are you brand new to running and the idea of running 6 miles is petrifying? The standard cookie cutter training plans don’t take YOU into account. With A Better Run we ask you all those questions upfront and get to know you as runner before we begin creating a plan.
2. Specific Race Needs
Those cookie cutter plans don’t take into account your specific race and incorporate workouts accordingly
You tell A Better Run which race you are looking to run and we use our knowledge of that race to help guide you with workouts that will help you run that specific race.
Not sure what exactly we mean? Is your race known for having a lot of hills? Is the area you will be racing in going to be crazy hot that time of year? Does the race have different terrain in different areas? We will help you train for ALL of that!
3. Vacation & Sick Days
What if you go on vacation or get sick and can’t get the correct number of miles in?
We all take vacations throughout the year; summer travels, holidays with the family, etc. And while we can frequently find times to run even during these vacations, there are instances where you can’t, or maybe you simply can’t get the full number of expected miles in.
Perhaps you wake up with a cold so settled in your lungs that running is just painful. Or a fever that makes your whole body ache. Cookie cutter running training plans don’t take this into account, nor do they know which days you’ll have to take off to take care of yourself. They don’t know how to help you re-adjust your next weeks to fix the miles of deficit, or have the knowledge of whether or not you even need to worry about those miles.
At A Better Run you interact with a personal coach! Should you have a few days that you can’t get the miles in, you can tell us that and we will re-adjust your schedule for you.
4. Switch Races
What if your plans change and you need to switch races?
Life happens, we all know this! Family matters come up, the flu hits, travel plans get squashed. Should something like this happen and you can no longer hit that goal date for a race, or you can no longer run the race you had been planning on running, it can be devastating to feel like you’re throwing away those last several months of preparation.
A Better Run wants you to be successful in your running and racing endeavors. Which is why we are more than willing to help you transition to a new race and a new date should this ever happen.
5. Cross Training
What if you want to run some days but also want to have the opportunity to bike, swim, lift, etc.
Sure we all love running (or are trying to learn to love running), and we know there are those out there that are motivated and want to run 6 days a week…but it’s not a bad thing if you aren’t one of those. And why should you have to listen to a cookie cutter training plan that tells you to?
Do you enjoy biking? Cycling? Swimming? Lifting Weights? Great! We would love to incorporate those things into your training plan.
6. Injury Management
What if you get injured?
What if you get injured and aren’t sure how to train around it? You’re not sure whether or not you can still meet your race date and goals? Or don’t know how to pick back up on training after having taken time off to heal? What if you feel an injury coming on, but aren’t sure how to adjust your plan to ensure the injury doesn’t get worse?
The standard 12 week training plans found all over the internet don’t provide these kinds of adjustments. At A Better Run we build your training plan 2 weeks at a time, basing the next 2 weeks off of your progress and abilities during the previous 2 weeks. Should you feel an injury coming on or have visited a doctor’s office and know you must take time off, we work with you to figure out other activities to do to keep your cardio up, or we let you take a break for a few weeks and help you pick up running again once you are all healed.