Training Season!!

Yikes! I have been a bad blogger! Now that winter break and the holidays are over I am happy to be getting back into training mode. I always work better under a deadline, even if it is a manufactured deadline, I need the pressure to get motivated.

Currently, I am signed up for a 10K and two half-marathons. The 10K is in early March, the first half-marathon is in early May and the second half is in late August. I am strangely excited to finally be training for a half. I wanted to last year and just could not make it work with my schedule. This year I am getting promoted to the big 3-5 and it feels great to have such a concrete goal as my prize.

My challenges for training will likely revolve around the weather, the health of my kids and my husband's work schedule. Right now our weather is cold but manageable. However, I am really not going to get out and run on snow and ice covered roads. I know some runners do and I applaud them, but I am not as coordinated or sure enough on my feet to brave icy roads. So far my route has been in great condition and I hope it stays that way.

Sick kids and and a non-traditional work schedule for my husband will just have to be handled as they happen. My plan for dealing with those obstacles is to allow extra weeks in my 13 week training plan. Or send my kids to school hopped up on Tylenol and run fast enough to out pace the Tylenol wearing off. ;)

This week's training plan is pretty basic and focuses on getting used to running 4 days a week again. I ran very little (once a week) while the girls were on winter break. I ran 3.15 miles on Monday and 3.30 today (Tuesday). Wednesdays will always be my rest days and I plan to do my long runs on Thursdays with Friday being a slow easy recovery run or cross-training. This Thursday's long run will only be 4 miles and Friday I will run 3 miles at the insanely hot gym.  

I hope to share my training each week and hopefully keep my self accountable through this blog. Next week I plan to post my training schedule. It will be a mixture of a Hal Higdon's schedule and the Train Like a Mother's Finish it half-marathon schedule. I can't have any weekend runs and only can run 4 days during the week so I am trying to work out a happy medium between the two plans.

What training plans do you like best? What are the biggest obstacles to your training plan? DO you have any special goals or prizes in mind while you are training?