After posting about my half marathon PR earlier in the week, I got a few emails requesting my training plan, and asking about what I did differently this time around. 

Ask and you shall receive, my friends!

I am more than happy to share what I have, however… I don’t really have much.  My “plan” was sort of thrown together as I took some things into consideration….

First of all, I love all types of exercising.  I do not love getting bored.  When I was thinking about what kind of training to do, I realized I didn’t want to do 4 runs a week.  I knew I would get bored, and I didn’t want to burn out.  I didn’t want to be taken away from other types of fitness that I love so much.

Second of all, if you’ve been reading my blog over the past few months, you know how insanely busy my weekends have been recently (I’m not always this cool, I just happen to have a lot of weddings recently ).  Between all the bridal showers, bachelorette parties, and weddings, I didn’t have time to fit in every long run on the weekends. 

When I first took a look at what my training schedule would be, I thought that my pace would suffer… however, it was quite the opposite. 

Two years ago I ran my first half marathon…

… and since then, I managed to shave 24 minutes off my time.

So what was different this time around? 

Strength Training:

source

Before my first 1/2 marathon, my only form of excercise was running with the occasional fitness DVD thrown in.  It wasn’t until after my first 1/2 that I joined a gym and fell in love with Bodypump and weight training.  I’ve kept it up ever since, strength training 2 or 3 times a week.

I’ve noticed such a huge difference in my running since I’ve gained more muscle.  Running just comes easier now, and my recovery time is much quicker!

Cross Training:

source

During my first half, I ran… and ran… and ran some more.  I didn’t do much else.  This time, I looked at running as something “extra”, and I still continued participating in the other forms of exercise that I love.  Not only did I feel that I was targeting different muscle groups (helping me to get stronger), but it stopped me from boredom.  I was much more flexible with my schedule this time around.

Nutrition:

source

When I run, I get hungry.  When I get hungry, I eat.  Before my last half marathon, I looked at all the running I was doing and told myself that meant I had a free pass for whatever I wanted to eat.  It wasn’t that I was eating “unhealthy” things, but I was eating way too much of the healthy things.  I gained about ten pounds throughout my training (which of course, I told myself was all muscle.  Ha.) 

This time, I didn’t use my running as an excuse to overeat.  I ate the amount of calories that my body needed for that type of activity.  I’ve lost about fifteen pounds since my first half marathon, and having that extra weight gone definitely helped with my running pace.

My Plan:

Like I said, my training plan was sort of thrown together based on my individual needs and wants. 

Each week, my workouts usually included:

• 2 shorter runs (usually 2 or 3 miles each)
• 2 Bodypump classes
• 1 or 2 spin classes
• 1 long run

I began my long runs about 12 weeks before the half, starting at 4 miles and working my way up to 11.  Of course, some weekends didn’t allow for a long run, so I was forced to do a few of my longer runs during the week (which I hated).

Overall, this plan worked for me.  I felt strong and confident going into the race, and that confidence seemed to have paid off! 

Now, if you’ll excuse me…. today was the last day of standardized testing and I have a glass of wine (the size of my head) that is screaming my name….   Have a good one!

You can find my long run recaps below:

7 miles

8 miles

9 miles

10 miles

10 miles

11 miles

What has helped you PR?

Do you use excercise as an excuse to indulge?

What are you doing this weekend?!?!