Conditioning Season

As crazy as it sounds, one of my favorite "hobbies" (I don't know if you can call it a hobby, but it seems the best fit for the word) is training for-and then running in-half marathons!  I have done 3 in the past two years, all in different cities and at different times of the year, and without fail they have been some of the best experiences for me.

Training for a half marathon is grueling but can also be fun if you look at them that way.  For one, the training itself can be difficult; I typically follow a plan that has me running three days a week (2 short runs & 1 long run) plus two days of cross-training with the running distance gradually increasing each week.  Unfortunately this meant having to wake up at excruciatingly early hours for class when in school because of the heat, and it also meant having to wake up even earlier on weekends if I wanted to be done with enough time to actually do stuff during the day.  Regardless of that, I like to make synchronized playlists with fun, upbeat and themed music.  Most recently I ran a half marathon at Disney World and threw in a disney-themed song every 3 songs or so.  The course itself was already fun; there aren't many times in a person's life that they can say they ran through Main Street USA as the sun was coming up or go through Cinderella's castle in a princess running outfit.

I'll get more into the details of why I love half marathons later, but summer is one of those reasons because it is prime time for conditioning!  Few road races over the summer feature the 13.1-mile distance, and most are actually 5K's.  5K is a perfect distance to run (3.1 miles) because the courses are typically out-and-back or a single loop of something.  Not to mention, they are very easy to train for.  Typically I cap my long runs for the half marathon distance at 11 miles; for the 5K I can cap it off at 2.5.  That seems like nothing in the grand scheme of things; in fact, it has been proven that if you can run 3.1 miles you can train for 13.1.  So, this summer I plan to keep myself in shape by following a simple conditioning plan that will prepare me for running season in Washington, DC (and maybe prepare me to train for a half that I want to run in September).  Here it is:

Monday: 25 mins Strength Training + 30 mins Elliptical + Plank Series

Tuesday: 15 mins Stairmaster or 1-mile run + 30 mins Elliptical + Plank Series

Wednesday: 25 mins Strength Training + 30 mins Elliptical + Plank Series

Thursday: Steady Run (mileage depends on the week)

Friday: Steady Run (mileage depends on the week)

Saturday: Off or Steady Run

Sunday: Long Walk

Hopefully this plan will keep me in shape and get me ready to get back on the half marathon training plan grind.  If you think this is planned out nicely, just wait and see what the training schedule looks like!