How to choose a training plan is a lot like picking a route choice between two destinations; where you are now and where you want to get to.
There are many options available to you, selecting the right one is unique to your situation.
Before you even think about designing a training plan you need to have a destination in mind. That destination might be a race or a challenge event, or it might simply be a personal development journey. Ensure you have some goals identified, both outcome and process, which will guide you in the planning process.
I’m going to use the analogy of how to decide how to plan a journey between two cities to explain our thinking.
So you have decided on your destination, be that winning an ironman or ultramarathon, completing your first marathon, or do your first park run, the principles I will go over here are all the same. The key lesson is; there is no one single way to achieve your goal. Your route choice will depend on a myriad of factors.
Lets take an example; you want to travel from London to Edinburgh. How could you do the journey?
You could fly with a commercial airline.
You could fly by private jet.
You could fly your own plane.
These options would get you there quickly, but each would depend on your finances and skill level.
You could get the direct train
You could get the slow train
You could get the overnight train
These options would depend on perhaps the time you had to arrive and when you could leave.
You could drive up the M1 / A1
You could drive the A1
You could avoid Motorways entirely and stick to back roads.
This might depend on your confidence driving on motorways, whether you are driving an electric car and need to factor in charging points, whether you want the scenic route.
You could cycle
You could travel by canal boat
You could sail up the coast
You could walk
You could even swim
The point being, there is no single right way to get to your destination of Edinburgh. How you get there will depend on what resources you have, your skill levels, perhaps fitness levels, the time available, and the type of journey you wish to embark on. Therefore the route (or training plan) that worked for one person, may not be the right one for you. Yes there are common approaches, most will drive, some will get the train and some will fly. But that may not be what you want.
Now thinking about this in terms of a training plan. What is it you want to achieve? Are you ‘ticking the box’ and looking to do an Ironman in your first season of triathlon, or are you going for a 3year plan (the John Newsom 3yr plan for the fans of IMTalk). Are you working on an Olympic 4year cycle, or pursuing a professional career spanning decades? Perhaps you are on a voyage of self discovery and are happy to experiment and learn as many things along the way as possible.
Your training plan will have to reflect your skill levels, experience, background fitness, opportunities for training, threats to training (eg. work commitments, getting married, moving house), as well as simply your personal preferences.
The answer to all of these questions will determine the type of training plan that will be right for YOU.
And it might be you decide to change your route mid journey (decide to make a detour to the Peak District, or stop off to explore Newcastle upon Tyne), because you decide you want to pursue a related challenge, eg. a marathon pb during your ironman journey, or something unrelated, equally OK to do - it’s YOUR journey.
Once you have considered all these points and decided what type of journey you wish to embark on, you can then sit down and design your training plan, or work with a coach to design the plan with you. Alternatively, you can look to select an ‘off the shelf’ plan, but one which matches your style of journey best (and perhaps customise it a little more for your own needs).
Take home message:
There is no one ‘best’ way to train for an event. There is no single ‘best’ training plan. There are certainly common ‘good’ ways with sound rationale behind them, but deciding which is right for you takes a little more thought and consideration.