Mississippi Blues Half Marathon Training Plan

I'm running my second half marathon January 7, 2012 in Jackson, MS! I'm excited to run a half in the state I've lived in for the past 3 years and also run alongside all the Elvis impersonators :)

Now that I'm recovered from my half this past weekend, I've taken what I've learned from this round of half marathon training and used a Runner's World Smart Coach plan as well as the "Run your best half" guide and mixed and matched to build a half marathon training plan for the MS Blues Half.

Feel free to click to enlarge or if you'd like to see the plan up close, let me know and I'll be happy to email it to you. This plan is heavier on longer runs and speedwork compared to my last half, since I felt those were the areas I was lacking in this past round of training. I'm also going to be more consistent with weight training considering I way fell off the wagon on that while I was training. I think incorporating speedwork, building off the endurance I have to gain better endurance, as well as building strength will help me become an overall better runner and I'll have an easier time at the half marathon in January. I also need to cross train more. You'll see in this plan the weeks are very mileage-heavy. I'm mostly concerned with hitting the long runs and speedwork days. If I'm not feeling running on a day with 4 miles or another "easy" run, I'll cross train instead so I don't burn out on running. This may happen, especially with traveling for the holidays, so I need to be flexible some days with my workout options.

Another thing I want to concentrate on is better eating. I did lose weight while marathon training, but I think I ate too much junk food. I always counted the calories for them and put them in my tracker, but I could have felt better and more energized with a more balanced diet. At the same time, this is the holiday season and I don't believe in depriving myself from seasonal favorites. I'm just going to choose better options on the days I'm cooking and at home and enjoy in moderation gingerbread cookies (my Christmas favorite!) and other baked items.

I'd love to hear your feedback and advice, as well as answer any questions anyone may have for me! I love learning things from more experienced runners and also pass along tips I've learned!