This week’s question for Take It And Run Thursday on Runner’s Lounge is:

How do you decide how far/long to run when you aren’t following a predetermined training plan?

Erin from Eri-thon is the host of this week’s question and she mentioned that she would be doing some 5K and 8K races (after finishing a half-marathon earlier this summer) and doesn’t have a specific plan.

Whenever I am without a plan, I still try to make some guidelines for myself that allows for a longer run on the weekends and alternating hard/easy efforts during the week. The “hard” midweek run can be a longer distance than the easy days or it can be a harder effort (speedwork, hills, etc.). But most of the time I don’t do too much with speedwork, I keep the intensity a little lower.

I also make it a point to appreciate the world around me more. Veer off onto different streets, take in a little new scenery, things that I may not do if I have an exact route with precise mileage dictated by a plan!

In the case of doing 5K or 8K races, if the weekly long run is longer than the target race distance and you keep moving during the week then I would imagine you should be fine to do any of those races.

The thing about training without a plan is that it doesn’t allow you to specifically target a race for max performance, so as long as you are running the race for the pure enjoyment of the race environment then you should be fine.

And most of all, my goal when I have no official plan is to just keep moving. I recall somebody telling me once, “I’ll never stop running. Just because I don’t want to have to START running again.”