Half Marathon Pre-training

One big downfall of my 2013 race season was that I didn't have a good running base.  I'd done most of Couch to 5K, then swapped to the Galloway Method and immediately started training for the Tower of Terror 10-Miler.  Probably not the greatest plan in the world for someone who had never run before.  This year, I'm making a point of building a good solid base and upping mileage before the training plan starts.

After I finished C25K this go-round, I added a couple of minutes of running to each run until I could run 35 minutes straight, which is the minimum for the Coach Jenny 10K run/walk plan I've picked to get my mileage up.  I'll finish up this plan about 2 weeks before my half marathon training plan begins, so I will have about 3 weeks of 6 mile long runs and 12-15 mile weeks.  The plan also adds a fourth day of running to my week, which should make it easier to do the same as I move into HM training.  I'm really working to up my miles per week for upcoming HMs.

I've chosen a run/walk plan because I believe at this point in my running career that is what is right for me.  What I like about the Coach Jenny plans is that they increase not only the distance, but the running interval, so by the end of the plan you are running 3-5 minutes per segment more than at the beginning, automatically making my pace faster.  For this training cycle, I'm running only for time and not for mileage.  This seems to take the pressure off for me to hit distances and paces.  I might change to running for distance for future cycles.

Half Marathon Pre-training

Week 1
Mon: run 35 minutes - the heat & humidity really killed me here.  I thought I was going to die.  My pace is really taking a hit as the summer rolls in.
Tues: yoga  Rest - work event
Wed: run/walk 42 min - my mileage is starting to creep up, and I can feel it by the end of the run.
Thurs: weights  yoga - finally!  I haven't been in a couple of weeks, and my hips were SOOO tight, they were sore the next day!
Fri: rest  weights
Sat: run/walk 42 min - I might be starting to acclimate to the humidity.  This run was slightly faster, but more importantly felt a lot better.  And no cramps!
Sun: weights