That’s right, friends! I have signed-up for the Gulf Coast Half Marathon on the Louisiana Northshore – the 1-YEAR anniversary of my first half marathon! And THE half marathon that was my first experience (HERE)! Do I think much has changed over the year? You betcha! I have the experience of one additional year of running – including two half marathons under my belt - but I am still the type of person that needs a goal in mind. And what better goal than to commit to breaking my Personal Record (PR) in the half marathon and document it all here for you to follow along/laugh/wince in pain!
Right now, even though I’m on Week #3 of 12, I’m still debating between two training plans. I did this big internal debate for my 2nd half marathon too (New Orleans Rock ‘n’ Roll)…so I don’t know why I’m surprised at myself for not being a bit more structured. Then, I actually started with Hal Higdon’s Intermediate plan, but I discovered that committing to running 5 days a week the last few weeks of training was a bit of a stressor for me. So I ended up running approximately 4 days and added a bit more cross-training. Ahem, and yes, you will notice the additional two weeks added to the bottom of the schedule…that is in case I want to do the Jazz Half Marathon two weeks after the GC Half! Thought it would motivate me to see it there…
Here is a peek at Training Plan #1 - adapted from Hal Higdon’s Intermediate Runner training plan – complete with 5 days a week of running. I really, really, like the idea of the Sprint workouts every other week. Although I don’t have a track that I can run on, I have the perfect 1/2 mile neighborhood loop that starts/ends at my house!
And here is a peek at Training Plan #2 – it is what I based my first half marathon on – complete with 4 days a week of running, plus one cross-train day!
To be honest, I am thinking I will do a hybrid of these two plans. I am leaning towards 4 days of running, with a sprint workout every other week, and cross-training on Sundays. Another new thing for me will be completing the long runs on Saturdays. This is due to the fact that we got season tickets to LSU football this year. (Yes, I am still a Mountaineer fan!!! But college football is so fun that we jumped at the opportunity!) More to come soon! Thank you for taking this journey with me.
(And a fellow Muskie!)
