Back in the very beginning of December, perhaps even the end of November, I felt myself hating the moment I would have to get my butt outside to run. It could have been due to cold weather or the gluttonous holiday season that had overcome me. So I decided to sign up for a gym membership and take a running hiatus. I thought it would last for a week or so, but I actually haven't set out on a run in over a month. Which is good (not good) because I signed up and put money down to run 13.1 miles with my sister Nicole through the hills of DC on March 16th, 2013! This is our second half marathon together- our first one was in VA Beach (very flat, potentially even a slightly downward sloped course :D- and we came in with a solid 2:15:00 or so PR. I hope to break 2 hours on this one...but, like I said, I haven't ran in a month!
I don't think yoga, cycle, body pump classes, and going to the gym with my boyfriend will get me to the finish line without suffering a mild heart attack first.
That being said I might be panicking and trying to figure out how I can physically tackle this half marathon in the healthiest, safest way possible and avoid injury or over-training. I googled "2 month half marathon training plans" or "couch-to-half marathon in 2 months" and all results were "run a half marathon in just 3 months!" Eesh. Because I am the only person to ever need to train for a half marathon in 2 months, I made my own training plan and thought I would share for anyone else who googles the topic :).
Half marathon is 10 weeks away. These will be workouts in order of weekdays with each day of the week separated by a comma (Sunday-Saturday).
Week 1: Rest, 30 min run/walk, 2 mile jog and 1 mile run/walk, cross training (XT), 4 miles (run as much as possible), XT, 5 miles.
Week 2: Rest, 40 min run, 3 miles, 5 miles, XT or rest, 6 miles.
Week 3: 4 miles, rest, 6 miles, XT, 4 miles, XT/rest, 7 miles.
Week 4: Rest, 5 miles, XT, 7 miles, 5 miles, rest, 9 miles easy.
Week 5: Rest, 4 miles, XT, 7 miles half marathon (HM) pace, 4 miles, XT, 10 miles easy.
Week 6: XT, 3 miles, 8 miles HM pace, XT, 5 miles, rest, 8 miles easy.
Week 7: XT, 4 miles, XT, 9 miles, 4 miles, rest, 11 miles easy.
Week 8: XT, 5 miles, rest, 7 miles, XT, 9 miles HM pace, XT.
Week 9: 4 miles, rest, 6 miles, XT, 6 miles, rest 12 miles HM pace.
Week 10: XT 2 times, 3 miles 2x, rest 2x, HALF MARATHON!
This looks like it may be for non-beginning runners. Maybe people who consistently run and know what long distance runs feel like and what they require. I'm not a certified personal trainer or anyone registered. Just sharing my thoughts on running plans for people in a pinch!
Of course all of these runs can be moved around to your liking! Happy trails!
Natalie.
P.S. Nicole, as my only subscriber and running partna, ready to run?! :D
