"The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry."

The very same can be said for marathon training.  My first week and a half felt AMAZING and I was in top shape to really get some tough workouts in and have a better chance at a PR at the Missions Heritage Half in February.

Then I felt it.  A sharp pain in the front of my lower leg on a easy two miler.  It was sore for a week after, so I didn't work out, didn't run. I taped it up, soaked in Epsom salts, foam rolled, and iced.  I saw a doctor but he was no help. I'm really bummed that I was forced to stop when I was just getting started.  

Since the week of Christmas, I've run a few times and taken it slow.  It definitely doesn't hurt as bad, and when I run it's never above a 1.  So, I'm going to tweak my training plan and see if I can salvage this training cycle even though my race is a month away.

New and Improved Half Marathon Training Plan:

Week of: December 30: easy 2, cross training, 5 miles
Week of: January 6: cross training, easy 3, cross training, 7 miles
Week of: January 13: cross training, easy 4, cross training, 9 miles
Week of: January 20: cross training, easy 5, cross training, 11 miles
Week of: January 27: cross training, easy 5, cross training, 8 miles
Week of: February 3: crossing training, easy 4, easy 2, RACE DAY!

I'm giving myself more recovery after long runs this time around to see how I feel.  If I feel good, then I will add more cross training throughout the week and tempo runs.  It went from a 10 week plan to 6, but I already had one and half in the bank so I guess it's 7 and a half?

I am extremely competitive, so part of me still wants to get a PR on this race, but I have a feeling I will just have to hang in there and hope I can finish at a decent time now that I've lost 3 weeks of training.

Thanks to KT Tape, compression socks, ice, foam rolling, Epsom salt, let's see if we can get this back on track!

What are some challenges you had to face during training?

Cheers,
Kasey

My Half Marathon Training Plan

I've gone and done it: I signed up for my 6th half marathon! 

Half Marathon 1: Rock 'n Roll San Antonio Half in 2010 (2:44)
Half Marathon 2: Alamo 13.1 in 2013 (3:18)
Half Marathon 3: Cocoa Women's Half in 2015 (DNF)
Half Marathon 4: Alamo 13.1 in 2016   (2:39)
Half Marathon 5: Cocoa Women's Half in 2018 (2:28)

Half Marathon 6 will be the Missions Heritage Half on February 9, 2019.  I have more success running longer distances in the winter in Texas, so I avoid signing up for longer races in late spring, summer, and early fall.  January and February are the BEST times to run long in Texas!

Here's how I'm planning to train for this race:

The main training format I plan to follow involves running 2-3 days a week and cross-training 2-3 days a week.  I know; it seems strange to train for a running race with so much cross-training, but that is what I did for February's half and I came away with an 11 minute PR.  Typically, training includes different types of runs:

1. easy run (comfortable pace)
2. speed work (sprints with rest periods in between; these can be short or long sprints)
3. tempo runs (warm up mile, race pace miles, cool down mile.  Typically a longer run in the week.)
4. long runs (slow, for endurance)

I try to do an easy run mid-week when I'm exhausted, a long run on the weekend, and use Camp Gladiator for speed work.  I may add more longer tempo runs during the week into January. My training plan is only ten weeks instead of twelve because I can run 5 miles at this point in time.  (Sometimes, I need to start earlier because I'm not always in shape...)

My Missions Heritage Half Marathon Training Schedule:

	Workout 1	Workout 2	Workout 3	Workout 4	Workout 5
Week 1: December 2	Cross training	Cross training	Easy run 2-3 miles	Cross training	5 miles
Week 2: December 9	Cross training	Cross training	Easy run 2-3 miles	Cross training or tempo run	6 miles
Week 3: December 16	Cross training	Cross training	Easy run 3 miles	Cross training	7 miles
Week 4: December 23	Cross training	Cross training	Easy run 3-4 miles	Cross training or tempo run	8 miles
Week 5: December 30	Cross training	Cross training	Easy run 4 miles	Cross training	9 miles
Week 6: January 6	Cross training	Cross training	Easy run 4-5 miles	Tempo run	10 miles
Week 7: January 13	Cross training	Cross training	Easy run 5 miles	Cross training	11 miles
Week 8: January 20	Cross training	Cross training	Easy run 5 miles	Tempo run	12 miles
Week 9: January 27	Cross training	Cross training	Easy run 5 miles	Tempo run	8 miles
Week 10: February 3	Cross training	Cross training	Easy run 4 miles	Easy run 2 miles	RACE DAY!

As always, a good training plan needs to be vigorous but flexible at the same time.  I didn't label the top of the chart with days of the week even though I try to stick to workouts on the same days.  We all know that work and life get in the way so there needs to be flexibility.  Right now, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays are Camp Gladiator Days.  Wednesdays and Saturdays are run days. I have a contest for work and two major holidays in there but it should all work out.  If I miss anything during the week I try not to freak out as long as I can get my long run in on the weekends. 

It's also important to make sure I'm watching my diet and fueling properly as mileage increases.  I'm trying to lose body fat right now, but as my runs get longer, I need to add more calories back to my diet. I never try to lose weight when training for a half marathon; especially the last month of training.  I learned that the hard way with my DNF in 2015.  Whole 30 and running long did not work for my body.

I always try to beat my last time for any race that I run, even if I tell myself to just have fun.  I'm very competitive so it's hard to turn that off!  My current half marathon PR is 2:28 which is an average of 11:17 per mile.  I did a lot of walking after mile 8 in that race so I'm hoping to avoid that this time.  I don't have a goal pace, but I think I will be training for under 10:00 per mile on my speed work/tempo runs and under 11:00 for long runs.

I hope this training plan inspires someone out there, and I hope I can stick to it and have a great race!

Cheers,
Kasey

References:
Kara Goucher's Running For Women