How to build a training plan? What you should take account? What is periodization training cycle? This post will answer these questions and help to put your goals in the training plan.

Periodization training cycle

When runners and athletes want to make progress, training should be organized and there should be a clear structure. There should be long term and short term goals. Many athletes make a periodization training cycle, following the Olympic cycle. Also, non-professional runners can make many year plans, especially if they have multiple goals or bigger once.

Periodized training cycle can be divided quadrennial cycle (multi-year, >4 years), macrocycle (complete training cycle, ~1 year), mesocycle (singular training cycle, 3-6 weeks), microcycle (1 week, include number of workouts and efforts) and workouts (structure of one day hours/minutes).

How to build own periodized training cycle?

Write down your goals, if you have only one bigger goal, broke down it smaller one. For example, the main goal is running sub 3.00 marathon, and now you are sub 4.30 marathoner.

Your quadrennial cycle would be sub 3.00 marathon, it will include all the step towards that’s, your marathon progress for each year. Macrocycle will include your next training and race season, where you will race and time goals, when base training, speed training, peak training, preparation, recovery, etc. take a place.

Mesocycles include all the 3-6 weeks training phases, you don’t need to make the whole year ready beforehand, make a rough plan and focus next 3-6 weeks at the time. This allows you to modify the next mesocycles, depending on your progress.

Microcycles include all the training sessions for one week. There will be all the workouts, their effort, pace, time, strength training. Include also all recovery, example massage session and others extra.

How specific you need to be?

Remember, it’s difficult to know what will happen during the next four years. You can always make plans, but unexpected things might sometimes happen, such as injuries. It’s good to put some extra time on your goals than make strict plans. Keep your main goal in mind, but put to focus the one year at the time.

It’s also good to write down all the weaknesses, and list them where to start. If you want to become a faster runner, but you struggle with muscle imbalances, inactivation or weakness. Focus them first, use the first year to make you stronger and fix technique, that doesn’t mean you can run any marathon during this year. But you need to do base work first, start from the bottom, you might need to take set back first, so you are able to make progress.

Besides the listing goals down, list what you need to do. It doesn’t matter how amazing your goals are if you don’t recognize things that are necessary. They can be anything, training your weaknesses, arrange again daily schedule.