2012 Half Marathon Plan

People ask us, “Are you training for anything?” and our reply is, “We’re always training for something.” We train year round, possibly having the most lax period of time in November & December, but even then, we try to keep our mileage to 20/week with a minimum 5-6 mile long run so we’re ready to amp up for a half on a moment’s notice. Most people follow a 12-16 week training plan for their half, but by keeping up the running volume, we can train in 8 weeks. The benefit is that you don’t suffer as much for weeks on end as you regain your running strength. Plus, you’re immediately ready to run a spur of the moment 10k :)

As you know, we began our Canyonlands training last week. Utah is only 57 days away! I’m aiming to run solid, without walk breaks or injury, but have no illusions of PR’ing so soon after my hamstring strain. While our attention is on this red rock race (nice alliteration, eh?), we’ve been busy registering for the others. Saturday May 5th, we’ll run the Wisconsin Cheesy Half Marathon in Kenosha. This is a relatively flat course along Lake Michigan, so this may be the race where I hit my stride and perform as well, if not better, than I have in the past. In personal training, Aaron and I are working on building explosive strength to aid my speed in running. If I don’t peak in Kenosha, then perhaps, the Summerfest Rock-n-Sole Half Marathon on Saturday June 23rd, will be the one for me.

After last year’s hot weather water debacle, we said we wouldn’t consider this race again. Famous last words. The race is under new management, will have an early morning start time, and offered a 20% savings with extra Summerfest tickets to those who participated last year – their way of apologizing and inspiring a second chance. When you register for a race that expects a large field of runners, registration typically asks you to estimate your finishing time. Joe’s expected finishing time flagged him for a special starting corral – Corral A – where are the speedsters can have at it without getting delayed behind us plodding types. As if a switch has been flipped, after a year of solid running, Joe’s steadily getting faster. He is routinely running long runs around a 7:00-minute mile, and on his treadmill runs (usually 3-4 miles), he’s clocking a 6:48 pace. If this means nothing to you, take my word for it, this is super fast. This is top 10% of all runners, or better, fast. This is you having a heart attack and/or legs turning to cement if you try this pace for even one minute.

If my first three PR attempts don’t pan out, I have yet one more shot. Our final half marathon will be the Monster Dash in Chicago on Saturday October 27th. The course runs along Lake Michigan and scenic downtown spots (i.e. Grant Park), and as luck would have it, our friends Shine & Mary live a few blocks from the starting line and have offered us a place to stay. The Monster Dash does away with t-shirts (cause who really needs yet another race shirt?) for fleece jackets instead.

If all goes well with the 2012 plan, by the end of the year, I’ll have 10 half-marathons under my belt, and Joe will have 9. And no, we have no plans or desires to bump this distance up to a full marathon!