Half Marathon Training Plan

Another part of keeping healthy and feeling better about myself is exercise. I will be running the half marathon portion of the Colfax Marathon in May, after an unfortunate bout with tendinitis in the most crucial part of my already suspect marathon training.

This last week has been rough with my running: my 3 miles were easy enough, but I could not run more than that though my plan was to have a couple of 4-4.5 mile runs. Today, I plan on taking it easy with a simple 3 mile run despite it being my long run day, just for confidence's sake. (After I finish this entry, I will be getting ready for it; what is this freezing weather and high winds? The sun is deceiving.)

Here is my training plan to get ready for the half marathon, based off of Hal Higdon's novice half marathon plan with some modifications.

What "Weights" mean is that I will do about 30 minutes of cardio (most likely on the elliptical) before doing some weight training as prescribed by my personal trainer. The weight training consists of squats with a 20-lb barbell, arm curls, lunge (ugh) with hand weights, among other things, including ab and lower back workouts. The purpose is to build lean muscle, which will help in keep up my strength for long distance running as well as burning fat.

Wednesdays will be my speed training day. If the weather is agreeable, I will be doing fartleks; if not, I will go to the gym and do intervals on the treadmill (ugh). Since this is April in Colorado, it is hard to predict the weather patterns--one day it is 80 degrees, and the very next day could bring a blizzard, which is why I have to make a plan like this.

Which brings me to Tuesdays/Thursdays. Those are my easy run days, and I would love to do them outside if possible, but if not... hello, treadmill (again, ugh). I will care little for my speed on those days. The only reason I plan to wear a watch is to practice wearing one during the half marathon, which will be there to keep track of my pace and my timing.

Since I live in an extraordinarily hilly neighborhood, I see little reason to do any hill training. If my easy run days take me indoors, perhaps I will focus on regimented hill training on the elliptical, but I believe that ending my runs on the steep uphill back to my apartment will suffice.

Every Sunday, I'll post an update on how my training is going. Hopefully it'll all go well!