Putting this out there

Welcome to my little corner of "if I put it out to the universe, I'll be forced to actually train for this half marathon and reach my goal. That, or everyone will laugh at me." 

At the end of 2013, I jokingly FB'd a status that said I wanted to do 3 things in 2014: Read more books (my Insta is a testament to this going great; I'm down 14 so far!), be nicer (jury's still out on this one, but I have given it the old college try) and to PR a half mary. I clocked in my first half last November at 2:28:00 on the dot, and instead of just willy-nilly aiming for a "better time," I've resolved to cut it down to 2:20 or less. I'm not one to put specific parameters on goals, and maybe that's because I don't like to set myself up for failure, but this time around I'm forcing myself to actually stick with a game plan. I feel like putting my training plan and adventures on this here blog for all the world (or, ya know. General friends and family) will force me to do my best.

It blows my mind that two years ago, I'm pretty sure I hadn't run more than a mile at a time in my entire life. My first MapMyRun entry shows a 2.84 jog on October 14, 2012. The first official 5K I ran was part of Arizona Wine Grower's Great AZ Grape Stomp Series, a fun little rinky-dink jaunt around Fountain Hills's fountain, followed by a breakfast burrito. (Still not sure why I don't end every run with a breakfast burrito.)

Last year's half was something I never envisioned doing, and I immediately wanted to die afterwards. 

 

(you can't tell, but I want to throw up)

It took about 6 months for me to want to run 3-4 times a week again, and I happily chose yoga over any other form of exercise in the interim. But, I have to make good on my 2014 goals. So here we are. It's going to happen.

I've mapped out a training calendar based on Hal Higdon's Novice 2 Program. The plan officially starts today, with a rest day. (So, I've already conquered my first day of training. Woohoo!) 

My weeks will go a little something like this:

Monday: REST

Tuesday: A "faster" run that starts with 3 miles and will end up going to 5 miles

Wednesday: A "faster" 3 mile run followed by weight training (I love this superset workout.)

Thursday: YOGA

Friday: Easy 3 mile run and maybe some core work

Saturday: Long runs. They'll start with 5 miles and HOPEFULLY build up to 12 the week before the race. From my experience last year, I know I need to get a few more 10+ long runs in.

Sunday: YOGA (I attend a Sunday "power" class where I try to find a space in the back and not make a fool out of myself while people are expertly propelling themselves into side crow and handstands.)

Seeing as how temps are averaging around 110° lately, I've been spending tons of time with the treadmill. It's not ideal, but it gets the job done. I see several 4:45 a.m. wake up calls in my future, just to make sure I get my runs in before the heat attacks.

So. This is my plan, laid out for the world to see. If I don't stick to it and reach my goals, you all have permission to publicly shame me. Here we go.