Week 8- Half Marathon Training update

Being someone who is very motivated by accomplishments (although I'm trying to be more intentional about living in the present!), the 13 in 2013 Running Challenge I've been participating in this year has been a HUGE motivator for me. Not only is it a push forward when I register for my next race; it's also a commitment to follow through on, a challenge to build more speed and add more miles.

Case in point is the Detroit Free Press National Half Marathon in October. I signed up in January, knowing that I would have a long time to train and that a "stretch goal" could be a great motivator. When I started my most recent foray into fitness back in September, I'd run two 5ks in my life previous; not necessarily defining myself as any kind of runner! When I first hopped on that treadmill in September, I started out at a "Couch to 5K" level, essentially: Run 3 mins, Walk 1, repeat. It was hard for me to even finish 3.1 miles this way; it took me about 45 minutes.

Fast forward 6 months to now- Last weekend, I ran 3.1 miles without stopping, in 25 minutes and 48 seconds- What?! Today, I ran 9 miles, my new longest distance. I've averaging between 10-15 miles per week.

Here's what my running log looked like this week:

Overall, Half Marathon training is going well. I've been running 3x a week- this usually takes the form of 1 easy run, 1 hill rep, and 1 long run. Easy runs are averaging between 2.5-4 miles, hill reps are usually 3.1 miles, and I'm trying to build my mileage base on my long run days with a .5 mile increase each week. I'm thinking about stepping up to 4 days of running a week- ideally I'd like to add a race-pace run for whatever upcoming run I have.

On "off days" or "non-run days" to be more accurate, I am doing 45-60 minutes of strength training, along with some core work and at least one yoga class per week. Although I am definitely loving running and looking to improve, building strength through weight lifting is a big fitness priority for me as well- I don't want to have to choose one vs. the other!

This week's workout schedule:

Mon: Easy run (2.5 miles) & abs
Tues: #stronglifts 
Wed: 5 mile run @ race pace
Thurs: #stronglifts & yoga 
Fri: Hill reps run  (3.1 miles)
Sat: #stronglifts 
Sun: 9.5 mi run

Total Mileage: 20.1

What are you workout plans for the week? 

Planning to get a run in? How about some weight training? Please share!