Meet Hal

Saturday's sunset was too pretty not to share.

After a lot of agonizing and, let's face it, obsessing, I believe I have tweaked my training schedule just the way I want it. I also believe that I have addressed, and hopefully alleviated, some of the mental roadblocks I was struggling with in regards to my running; which in turn has certainly reduced a great deal of anxiety it seemed to be causing.

So far, I have been using an adapted version of Don Fink's training schedule as outlined in his book beIRONfit. I say "adapted" because his book is meant to prepare you for a full IM, whereas I am only doing a half. Because I had liked the book so much, and because it came so highly recommended by Tri-Guru, I had thought that I could just tinker around with the distance changes myself.

With that said, my little harebrained scheme was to keep the training on the bike pretty much the same, (if not increase it) because I plan on doing other riding events/centuries or double centuries, over the summer, and I need to be prepared for them as well. The swimming hasn't been something I have been terribly concerned about, nor put a whole lot of time fretting over; I could go the full distance from week one. Running on the other hand, I knew would need a lot of tweaking, (since I have no intentions of running any distances over 13.1 miles in 2012! lol)

BUT to be totally honest...the "freedom" I have given myself, makes it all so ambiguous... It just provides me the opportunity to make excuses, or get distracted. Not good.

I am a creature of habit. I like routines and schedules. I love being spontaneous...on days that I have nothing scheduled on; which we all know just means that I scheduled a "Wild Card Day," (I don't really call them that.) Just so you know, I don't think that I am like this (or perhaps as bad) during the "off-season." :D

Actually, I have been very proud of myself this past 15 weeks! In regards to my tight-assedness, inflexibility, and fit throwing, I think that I have shown marked improvement! For instance, I have not flipped out about a missed workout once, (I don't think, but there has been whining). Also, I have been flexible with management, and behaved rationally, when my work hours and days were changed twice! I also went through the trauma of smashing my beloved Cervelo RS! Other than sobbing on the phone with the insurance adjuster like a lunatic, I think I handled that one pretty well!

Anyways, blah blah blah, (jeez, what the hell is this blog even about again??) Oh, right... So me pulling my running schedule out of my ass wasn't working for me, and it was causing this chica a major hitch in her get-a-long. It took me awhile, but a couple weeks ago it dawned on me that there was just too much unknown going on. I have never done a TRI; never done a transition, never bought a tri-suit, never swam in a wetsuit, never worried about drafting rules, never competed in an event this long and hard, can I do it?, will I make the cut-offs?, will there be milfoil that touches my feet?, will I give a crap??, am I going to humiliate myself in front of everyone I know?.... I think you get the picture.

I can't eliminate all of these unknowns, or even most of them for that matter. I can read, talk to people with experience, do a trial tri, and train train train! Another thing I can do is incorporate something familiar into my training schedule; something tried and tested. That brings me to Hal.

"Hal Higdon has contributed to Runner's World for longer than any other writer, an article by him having appeared in that publication's second issue in 1966. Author of 36 books, including a novel, Marathon, and the best-selling Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide, now in its 4th edition. He ran eight times in the Olympic Trials and won four world masters championships. He has served as training consultant for the Chicago Marathon and Chicago Area Runners Association and also answers questions on his Virtual Training Bulletin Board, offering interactive training programs through TrainingPeaks and apps through Bluefin." ~excerpt from his bio. Click here to read Hal's full bio. 

So what does Hal have to do with me, you ask? Plenty! He wrote the training schedule I used when I trained for my first half marathon! If it worked before, it should work again, right?! *breathing sigh of relief* All I had to do was marry the two training schedules, so that Hal's runs fit in with Don's bricks. It took me a good part of the evening, but I managed it, and I am very pleased with my results! I already feel far less overwhelmed, and that must have translated to my run tonight, because I ran an amazingly enjoyable 4.06 miles. Yippy!

I am trying a new thing... I made a new calendar widget so that I could post my training schedule for the week. It's kinda in "beta" at the moment, so we'll see if it stays or goes. I posted this week's schedule as I have it planned now. I don't know if I will add a note if something changes or is missed etc, or if I should just update it... I have to think and fiddle.

Well, I suppose I have rambled on long enough. Sorry 'bout that...a great run tends to leave me less sleepy than I would like at this hour. lol I hope this post makes sense... I don't feel like proof-reading... I swear, I haven't been drinking!! Runners high!! :)

Half Marathon Training Schedule: Novice 2

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
1	Rest	3 m run	3 m run	3 m run	Rest	4 m run	cross
2	Rest	3 m run	3 m pace	3 m run	Rest	5 m run	cross
3	Rest	3 m run	4 m run	3 m run	Rest	6 m run	cross
4	Rest	3 m run	4 m pace	3 m run	Rest	7 m run	cross
5	Rest	3 m run	4 m run	3 m run	Rest	8 m run	cross
6	Rest	3 m run	4 m pace	3 m run	Rest	5-K Race	cross
7	Rest	3 m run	5 m run	3 m run	Rest	9 m run	cross
8	Rest	3 m run	5 m pace	3 m run	Rest	10 m run	cross
9	Rest	3 m run	5 m run	3 m run	Rest	10-K Race	cross
10	Rest	3 m run	5 m pace	3 m run	Rest	11 m run	cross
11	Rest	3 m run	5 m run	3 m run	Rest	12 m run	cross
12	Rest	3 m run	2 m pace	2 m run	Rest	Rest	Half Marathon