Thursday, September 22, 2011

My Half Marathon Training Plan

Yesterday I woke up at 6:30 am, planning on going for a run. Planning to, until I heard the rain and looked outside and saw it was still dark out. There are some very quiet neighborhoods nearby that I can run in, but I have to run on a narrow road with no shoulders to get there, and visibility isn't that great, so I'm kind of worried about cars seeing me, especially if it's still dark and it's raining.

So instead of going for a run, I put in an exercise dvd and did a 20 minute workout.

Last night I rethought my half marathon training plan. I had planned on running in the mornings before Mr M heads off to work, but since it's only September and the mornings are already getting darker, I don't think that's going to be a good solution for a fall/winter training plan. Summer, yes. Winter, no.

There's 14 1/2 weeks till the half and I found a 9 week half marathon training plan on RunnersWorld.com, so I have 5 1/2 weeks to build my mileage base before starting the training plan. While my original early morning training plan is out, I think my new one should work.

Monday through Thursday mornings we do schoolwork, with extra activities Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday afternoons (we leave right after lunch each day). No activities Wednesday afternoons and Friday is reserved for fieldtrips and other fun stuff.

The training plan calls for 4 days of running with 3 days of rest each week. After looking over the schedule, I figured out a schedule that should (hopefully) work.

Monday
get up early and run on the treadmill (looking on craigslist now) before Mr M leaves for the day
do schoolwork as planned before lunch
Tuesday
get up early and do an exercise dvd before Mr M leaves for the day
do schoolwork as planned before lunch
run around with the kids at soccer practice in the evening
Wednesday
first thing in the morning after Mr M leaves go for a run with LMS in the stroller
come back and do schoolwork, continuing after lunch if needed
Thursday
get up early and do an exercise dvd before Mr M leaves for the day
do schoolwork as planned before lunch
run around with the kids at soccer practice in the evening
Friday
first thing in the morning after Mr M leaves go for a run with LMS in the stroller
then do fieldtrip activities
Saturday
first thing in the morning go for a run without LMS
come back and run around with the kids at soccer
Sunday
rest day

If I'm having an off week, I can skip the dvd workouts and get a little more sleep, and my training plan won't be disrupted. Soccer ends the middle of October, just before the 9 week training plan starts, which will lighten the training load a little. In the meantime, the soccer really is a great workout- playing keepaway with the kids gives some good sprinting opportunities.

It does change the school schedule a little (specifically on Wednesdays), which I had hoped to avoid, but I couldn't figure out any other way to fit the training in.

And here's another reason to change the schedule:
Mr M was leaving for Scouts this evening when he saw a bear (the same one as before?) walking through the trees in our yard. If that bear has decided to hang around the area I'd rather not make his/her acquaitance while on my own.

I especially have no desire to have a run-in with a bear in the early hours of the morning. I carry pepper spray, but I don't carry bear spray. Maybe I should....

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Women's Four Mile Race

Sprinting past Mr M and LMS on the way to the finish line

This year I ran the race in 43:55, which is about a minute and a half slower than when I ran it last year. Not bad since I didn't train enough and I walked a  lot more this time. I haven't run more than 2 miles since Thanksgiving, so I really didn't train properly this year.

I got a good start running the whole month of June, but taking 5 weeks off for our road trip, plus missing last week due to an allergic reaction (even a few fumes of paint give me massive sinus pain and congestion) that had me feeling less than wonderful did a good job of derailing my training schedule. Despite that, I felt pretty good during the race. I did have to walk because my endurance is fairly non-existent right now, but my shins didn't give me problems and my asthma didn't give me issues like it did last year. Though that's probably due to the ratio of walking:running, which kept my lungs from spazzing out.

This race was a good reality check for the half marathon I'm running in January. I must run more often and buy a treadmill so I can run when the weather is crappy since let's face it, I wuss out when the weather gets crummy. I need to work on building my mileage and strengthening my lungs and building my mileage. Definitely have to make sure I get my longer runs in :)


Walking past Mr M and LMS to the starting line.