It's Tinkerbell Half Marathon Training Time!
I printed up my new training schedule (thanks
@DopeyBadger !! ) and put it in my daily planner and set up phone reminders. Going to match my schedule up with roxydad so I can carve out my time on the roads/treadmill. My gym desk people are going to start seeing a lot of me on the weekdays again. I did notice my paces are a touch speedier but at least not too much more than what I'm used to. It's a tad scary looking at all the increased mileage, but at least I know the pace can change for better or for worse (WAIT, strike that...there is no "worse") to match my output as we go along and at least I know my endurance will build by the time I get to those loooooong runs. And hopefully the weather only gets warmer from here on out. One can dream.
Oh, Hey there Winter version of tinkerbell....you are so "fabulous in frost"???....Ummm....you can go away now. Bye!
THE PLAN!!!
Coach B set me up with a purely endurance based plan. I'm looking to get my endurance up so that my half will feel as good as it possibly can. (Honest moment: I've lost some endurance since taking it easy over the holidays) My goal for my half is that I want to enjoy the miles while running strong AND stopping for some pics (as much as one can enjoy running a bazillion miles) If my speed improves as a byproduct of this training, that's fine...but its not my intent. It's also not my intent to "take it too easy" during the race while I'm actually moving. I also just want to "learn" how to be a "half marathon" runner and see if I actually end up liking it
Mondays are my Bachelor watching, couch potato days.
Tuesdays are my "easy days" with lower mileage and slower paces.
Thursdays are my "tempo days" with my speedy pace sandwiched between Warm Ups and Cool Downs. Thur is always the hardest day for me mentally to amp myself up for. But having those cool downs and warm ups really help me. I see some "scary" 6 mile tempos down the stretch, but by then hopefully I'll be like I was at the end of my 15k training where my fitness is better and its not as daunting.
Got a few 4 day weeks!!!! I'm thinking Billy's idea to run a short easy day before a couple of my longest runs will very much help simulate a day in the parks prior to my race.
I've only got one "real" 8k race in April and then Tink on 5/14. Let's GO!
New PACES! (ahhhhh...these are teensy bit faster...can I do them?)
You'll see a lot of these acronyms for the next 17 weeks.
WU/CD 12:49
EA 12:03
EB 11:16
LR 10:52
TEMPO 9:39
1/16 to 1/22 Week #1
Tue 3 miles EA ~36:10
Thur 2 miles WU, 2 mile Tempo, 2 mile CD = 6 total ~1:10:33
Sun 5 mile LR ~54:19
I've joined Strava so I'll be updating how close (or off) I am from my intended paces there but I'll update you all here too. The treadmill will be my best friend in the beginning. But eventually I'll have more chances to get outdoors and test out my "effort" in the wild. This weekend is supposed to be wet but warm, so my intent is LR outside.
I've got two weeks before my first blind run...gotta get my watch stickers ready
HERE WE GO!!!!
