Training for the 2015 Pittsburgh Half Marathon starts next week, and I couldn't be more excited! I wanted to share my training plan. Click on the graphic for a larger view. A few notes:
- This plan was created for me by a running friend, Mike,
who got it from his running coach. It is based on a marathon training
plan with modifications. I have previously used Hal Higdon's plan, and
this seems similar.
- While Monday is devoted to stretching and strength training, I'll
stretch after every run and do yoga several times a week. Monday is
devoted to a longer session of stretching. (I do Yin Yoga, where you
hold stretches for long periods of time. This works the connective
tissue and helps with injury prevention and also helped me rehab a hip
injury.)
- Strength training isn't included in the plan, but I added it in. I
do strength training not only for fitness and injury prevention but also
for weight maintenance (muscle burns more calories than fat, so the
more muscle you have the easier it is to maintain weight loss). I'll do
more sessions in the beginning when I have lower mileage and will
decrease the number of sessions as my mileage
increases. I posted yesterday about my current strength training routine, which I'll do until the week of February 9 before creating a new routine.
- I'll run the two races in the middle of my training as training runs.
- Last year I posted about wanting to improve in the 5K distance, and I got great advice to add 5K races to my training as speedwork. I couldn't really find any 5K races that fit, though. They seem hard to come by in the winter months. I'll keep looking, but if I don't find any I'll look for races after the Pittsburgh Half Marathon race.
- Total mileage in the plan is 380.6, a 62.25 increase from my mileage during the Buffalo Creek Half Marathon last October.
Labels: Pittsburgh Half Marathon, training plan