Would you like to train effectively, avoid injury and really enjoy your runs? Without dedicating every day of your life to the sport? I have been running for nearly forty years and I think I have a system that provides just those benefits.

For years I worked as a firefighter on a 24 hour shift, basically one day on then one day off. Except for some futile efforts to train while on duty, my running had to be limited to every other day. Oops! There goes the fancy marathon training schedule!

Most of the published Marathon and race training regimens that I have seen demand obedience to a rigid work-out schedule. They must be designed by (and for) professional runners. They make sense if you have the time and energy to train full time. Or if you are so driven that you are willing to abandon your family, your friends and your spare time. Most runners will try to follow such a system, modifying it to suit their needs and to the time available.

But what I discovered was that my body liked the firefighter’s schedule. Of course some of my days off were for sleeping, but most often there was enough energy for a run. The advantage for my body was the scheduled 48 hour recovery. Instead of 24 hours between runs, my body had an extra day to get rid of the lactic acid build-up, repair overused muscles and rebuild my desire to hit the road.

Now I am retired, but I maintain the 48 hour recovery between runs. If it worked for me in my thirties, I knew it would work for me as I aged. So now, approaching 70, I am still running! But I don’t have to run every day. In fact I prefer to run Monday, Wednesday and Friday, taking the week-ends off. It happens that often a run gets pushed back a day, so I am running Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Try it! You have to get past your Type A traits and realize that you can have intense work-outs without running every day. And with less pressure and anxiety, less chance of injury, you may look forward to your runs with new enthusiasm.