Don’t you love it when someone randomly thinks of you? That happened to me today. My cousin thought of me after seeing this quote – “The way to know life is to love many things” –Vincent Van Gogh. Her email telling me so really made my day! Love you, Bijalben!
So, I’m not sure if you remember or not, but my sister and I are running a half marathon together in August. I just put together my training plan and wanted to share. Please feel free to give me some feedback if you see something you don’t agree with. We don’t start training until next week, so there’s plenty of time to make changes.
S&S – stretch and strengthen; CT – cross train
When I trained for my first half marathon, I followed a similar plan, but this time around I’m doing things a bit differently and am encouraging my sister to do the same.
- The first time around I didn’t do any strength training/yoga or cross training. I think it’s important to set aside days for this and this alone. Specifically for me, I think S&S will help alleviate (hopefully prevent) some of the knee pain I had when I trained the first time around. And let’s face it, I like muscles!
- Something I am a bit ashamed to admit is that I never, until recently, had proper running shoes that supported MY feet. I started running over six years ago in an effort to lose weight, and since then, I’ve been wearing your run of the mill “running shoes.” I always assumed that if they felt springy when you put them on, you were good to go. I assumed wrong. I got fitted for shoes last October, and what a difference that has made for me. I even made my sister go get fitted a couple of weeks ago. The shoe thing alone makes me feel more confident this time around.
- My weight lose journey actually began my junior year of college, but my true healthy living journey only began a year or so ago. I know for a fact that the first time I trained I didn’t fuel my body properly. I would eat a granola bar and drink a small glass of milk before a long run ( 5 miles and above)…eek! I now realize that in order to maximize performance you have to try to incorporate a good mix of proteins, healthy fats, and carbs into your meals. I know I ate enough the first time around (for the most part), but I could have done better in the quality department. And I’m only human, so there will be days of imperfect eating this time around, but at least I’m going in with a plan.
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Hydration is something I try to work on in general, but I think that it’s even more important when you’re putting your body through 12 weeks of something it’s not used to. I never paid much attention to the amount of water I consumed on a daily basis, but it’s something that’s now important to me so I try to be more cognizant of it, especially now. My goal is to drink at least six glasses a day. Wish me luck!
So there you have it – my 12 week training plan and must dos. Please share any thoughts you may have. There are so many seasoned runners out there that have done lots of different races, and I’d love to hear from all of you!
Thanks, y’all! Have a great night!
Very exciting! I hope I can try a half marathon by the end of this year.
For sure keep tabs on hydration! <3 and best of luck! you can dooo it! =)
How intense but I know you can do it. You’re going to love it 😀
Great training program, very doable and I agree about the nutrition aspect- it makes such a difference when I’m properly nourished. My runs seem to breeze by!
I think that your training looks like a great balance of distance building, cross training, and rest 🙂
I have really enjoyed seeing your eats and recipes and I think you are really on a great path with your healthy eating 🙂
Oh I’m excited to read your training updates! I hope to train for a 10k after Baby D arrives. I miss having a challenge like that to shoot for 🙂
This looks like a good training plan to me – easing your way into things is the best way to avoid injury. But what do I know? I can’t run anymore because I tore up my knee!!
🙂
When I read the first paragraph of this blog, I somehow read “Vincent Van Gogh” as “My Cousin Vinny” and was very confused for a minute 🙂
That’s so exciting! Good luck with the training. I need to get on that myself! 🙂
I like your thoughts on the fueling, Parita! I’m not seasoned but as you know, I’m running little by little (because I’m always doing HIIT with strength training) but if I don’t have a solid snack before running, then I’ll be a lot slower and my muscles seem to cramp up more?? 😛
Yay for starting training! I’m excited for you!
Your plan looks a lot like the plan I did for my half marathon…and I think it paid off! I did yoga regularly in the beginning and I believe it helped so much. I slacked on the yoga in the end, and that’s when I started having a little bit of knee pain.
I just started training for a full marathon and just bought a pair of new actual running shoes! So far they feel amazing…much better than the tennis shoes I was wearing!
Good luck!!!
Thanks so much for your words of support! I want to keep up with the strength/yoga and really think it will help. Glad to hear it helped you!