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it is time for another training cycle! the chicago half marathon is already 12 weeks away, so it's time to finally start putting on those running shoes again.
(let me take this chance to say thank you GOD i ended up not getting in to the chicago marathon. my hectic schedule has not died down in the way i thought it would, and i know for a fact that i would not have been able to properly train for that distance given my life circumstances right now. so while i was originally bummed i didn't get in through the lottery, i am now eternally grateful. things happen for a reason, people).
i think i mentioned before that i was planning to use hal higdon's training plan again, since i really enjoyed it when training for my second half. however, as i now have a better idea of what my days at the internship will look like, i have to be honest with myself and admit that running four days a week just seems like too much. i also really want to keep cross-training with pure barre, so fitting both in to my schedule requires a different training plan.
and so i made my own! presenting my 3 day a week running, 12 week half marathon training plan.
this is basically a hybrid of a few training plans i found, and i sort of just picked and chose which aspects i liked. i really wanted to run up to 12 miles before race day, i wanted to keep short running distances during the week since i have long work days, and i wanted to be able to do pure barre (my form of cross training) three times a week. you might also notice that i have two 4 milers as my long runs for the first two weeks. this is because i really need a bit of a transition time to get used to running long distances again. but overall, i'm excited for a plan that is custom made for my busy schedule.
may running less while training hurt my performance come race day? possibly. but i'd much rather be happy with my workouts for the next 12 weeks than stressed and dragging myself along. enjoying the process is part of the success, right?
have you ever made your own training plan? how did it work out for you?
