It's official, the date has been set for my next half-marathon (Georgetown, SC - October 13th), and this is the first official week of training! The schedule is a MUCH simpler version of the build-up we did with TNT. Since I'm not overly concerned with time/pace, and I am REALLY concerned about not becoming injured this time around, we're sticking to a 3-day-per-week training schedule. That means 2 short-to-middle distance runs during the week and 1 longer run on the weekends. AND, we're not exceeding 10 miles for our training runs. I'm training with my tried & true running buddies, the Jennifers (Jennifer that ran with me in Savannah, and my best friend from high school, Jenny). I love the Jennifers, but I promise, I have friends with other names, too!
After my first half-marathon, our TNT coach said he knew the big problem for most of us first-timers was the fact that we didn't believe we could actually complete the 13.1 mile goal we had set for ourselves. That's why it was so important to do lots of long runs before the race, including that awful 12-miler in the pouring down rain. However, now that we know without a doubt that we can do it, we decided to cut ourselves some slack this time around.
I've been running two 3-milers a week for a while now, and the last two weeks I have gotten in a 4.5-5 miler on the weekend, so I'm ready to start bumping it up. Here's what things look like (basically) for the next 10 weeks:
Week 1 (08/04): Long Run = 5 miles, Short runs = 3.5 miles each
Week 2 (08/11): Long Run = 6 miles, Short runs = 3 miles & 4 miles hills
Week 3 (08/18): Long Run = 7 miles, Short runs = 4 miles each
Week 4 (08/25): Long Run = 7 miles, Short runs = 4 miles & 5 miles hills
Week 5 (09/08): Long Run = 8 miles, Short runs = 4 miles & 5 miles
Week 6 (09/15): Long Run = 9 miles, Short runs = 4 miles & 5 miles hills
Week 7 (09/22): Long Run = 10 miles, Short runs = 5 miles & 5 miles
Week 8 (09/29): Long Run = 10 miles, Short runs = 5 miles & 5 miles hills
Week 9 (10/06): Long Run = 8 miles, Short runs = 4 miles & 3 miles
Week 10 (10/13): Long Run = RACE DAY = 13.1
We also had to add hills to our schedule this time around, since our race is the Georgetown, SC Bridge2Bridge 1/2 Marathon, and we have to cross over both of the major bridges in town TWICE. Not gonna lie, that is making me a tad bit nervous. I'm sure most of our long run routes will include hills, but we will make some plans to hit some of the bigger hills in Columbia specifically to prepare us for those bridge crossings. I'll keep y'all posted on our progress!
