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I’ve received a lot of questions and comments from runners regarding my unconventional training that is resulting in faster and happier races, so I’m going to write a bit about what I’m doing. Disclaimer: I make no claims that it will work for you, so please don’t sue me if you do try it!

Quick summary about me: I have flat feet, I pronate (feet point out, duck-like), and I think I’m the most injury-prone person I know. I’m also just hard-headed enough to keep running. It’s something that both calms and excites me, and I can no longer imagine my life without running. I’ll never be one of those crazy fast runners, but I do love trying to get faster and break my own records.

Quick summary of how this plan is going: In March, I came back from injury and broke 1:50 in a half-marathon — something truly unexpected and unplanned. In June, after stressing out my Achilles tendons and having to take some time off, I ran a 4-hour marathon, shockingly beating my previous best time by eight minutes. Also, in March I ran the Oakland half-marathon solely for fun and to see if I could hit a specific time of 1:58 (9-minute miles); I ran it in 1:57:13. I had an absolute blast through that whole race:

Along the way, I wrote about the carefree marathon training plan, and how I wasn’t sticking religiously to a training plan. Instead, I was doing things like drinking a lot of alcohol and then running a great 16-miler mere hours later. I was running what I wanted, when I wanted. No stress.

Quick full disclosure: After that post, I DID subsequently stress out a tendon near my Achilles, resulting in very little running for three weeks. Then I had a Blister Incident, resulting in nearly another whole week off running. The tendon thing actually taught me a lesson and resulted in some very good changes, which I’ll include below.

So now, after that absurdly long preamble, we come to Basic Rules of Layla’s Unconventional Training:

1. This only works if you don’t need the motivation of an actual “plan.” If you have trouble getting out the door for a run, or you find yourself cutting runs short, an actual plan is probably best for you.
2. If you’re new to running, it’s better to follow a plan. Pre-made plans will help you learn some good general rules for staying healthy, such as not doing too much speed work or increasing the distance too quickly. (The Runner’s World and Hal Higdon plans are good places to start.)
3. If you’re still interested after reading numbers 1 and 2, you also have to be willing to ditch the idea of checking off runs every day. You won’t be printing out a complex color-coded 16-week schedule to post on the refrigerator and scrutinize 20 times a day. If that sounds impossible, believe me; I’ve done the same thing. I’ve spent hours in Excel, perfecting a plan that spells out each run leading up to a targeted race. Then I’ve gleefully crossed off the runs as I’ve finished them. Well, until real life gets in the way. Which leads to…
4. You will not beat yourself up if life happens and you don’t nail each run. You won’t have a gaping hole in that sparkly training plan — because it wasn’t there to start. I know you’re thinking I’m nuts, but here’s the next key:
5. You can still log all your runs, but instead of looking ahead at the yet-to-be-conquered runs, you’re going to look back at what you’ve accomplished and how you’ve improved. It’s OK to stare at and analyze those numbers a little bit, because they are the truth. If you want to improve, those are the numbers to work on, not some numbers plugged into a training plan by some stranger.
6. Look at your goal race and mark a couple key dates on your calendar. If you’re training for a marathon, you’re going to need some long runs before the race. Pencil those into your calendar, but leave the rest open. For instance, I’m running the New York Marathon on Nov. 6. I want to run 20ish miles two weeks before the marathon, so sometime on Oct. 22 or 23 I’ll run “20 or so” miles. Two weeks before that, I’ll aim for something similar. I should be in shape to run those properly, but I’m not putting specific numbers of miles on the calendar.
7. Run by feel and instinct. Four weeks before last month’s marathon, I set out to run 16 miles. I was dying and couldn’t even breathe by mile 8, and barely made it 14.5 miles. So that was it. If you have to cut it short, do so. If you want to run an extra mile, go for it. If your legs are feeling good, pick up the pace for some speed work. If they’re unhappy (but not actually hurt), slow down the pace and run to conquer the mind games so you know you can keep going.
8. Run consistently and regularly. This goes back to the concept of being motivated to run without a detailed schedule, and it’s not going to work for everyone. The bottom line is that, the more naturally running is, the simpler a race will seem. You should be able to get to the starting line of a race and know that you can do it.
9. Cross train. I need to take my own advice about this one, but I am making an effort. Get yourself to the gym. Use your bike. Lift weights. Stretch. Walk. Dance. Swim. Find ways to work other muscles so that your running muscles aren’t the only ones doing the work. Your muscles, tendons, joints and ligaments need to be team players.
10. Live life. Do not let running take over your life. Don’t sacrifice a fun adventure with friends just for one run. That 16-miler that I ran after consuming too much alcohol the night before? Of course the alcohol consumption wasn’t planned — in fact, it was a very last-minute invitation that resulted in all sorts of scrambling and sleep loss. If I’d had “must run 16 miles; this is crucial, according to my plan” on my brain, I might have skipped it. And I would have missed out on insane amounts of laughter and fun times. Instead, I said yes and got the best of both worlds. My lesson: “Just say yes.” If you’re doing things right, you will always have running. But other experiences won’t always be there; don’t miss out on them.

I don’t profess to know everything about running. In fact, I’m constantly reminded of how little I know. What I do know, though, is that we’re all different. This is why no training plan will work for everyone. This is also why my loose, low-maintenance training plan won’t work for many people. Who knows, maybe it won’t always work for me, either.