Doubling Down, Double Plan

This week I have just finished week one of my "To Finish in the Upright Position" 1/2 marathon plan. I didn't make that title up, that's what it's called. It's a plan created by Jeff Galloway for runDisney and this particular one for the 1/2 marathon. I was entering my 20 week work out plan into my calendar the other day (so I can have it all mapped out to know how far I need to run each workout) and I noticed something. Officially starting the plan this week gives me just enough time run the whole thing through twice and line up perfectly with the marathon. Then Steph pointed out I can run through the beginner plan as I am, then run the time improvement plan before January. Double the plan, double the "fun".

General Plan Breakdown

So, here's the general breakdown of the plan. The core of the plan is two weekday "maintenance" run of 30 - 45 minutes. Then, on the weekend, a longer run of varying length. The weekend run is where you build up your endurance to the longer runs incrementally. The days you do these runs on is up to you, but has the requirement of a day off in between. For myself, I'm using Tuesday and Thursday for my weekday runs. Tuesday is a gym day for me. I get up early and hit the gym at my office before work. The thing I like about this is I have the option to run on the elliptical, as I have been doing. The benefit of this is it allows me to run a longer distance at a faster pace at a lower impact versus running on the treadmill (or pavement). That really is the benefit of the elliptical / cross trainer. For myself, I think that will really help with my cardio and weight loss. I think it's not only good to have one of the two maintenance runs, but being Tuesday, the low impact will likely be even more beneficial after some of the longer runs on the weekends, like when I get into the 10+ mile range. For my weekend runs, it will vary based on the plans for the weekend. I think in general, I'll likely do them on Saturday mornings by default, because it will be the easiest time to do them, when I'm home and running by myself. Derek mentioned wanting to get together for some of the longer runs, which will be nice to have someone to run with. In that case, I'll obviously flex the time for what works both of us.

Something I Noticed

I was checking my training schedule against weekend activities. I wanted to see weekends we'd be away, to start thinking ahead on when I would work my runs in. Could I still run Saturday morning? Would I need to do Sundays? Where am I going to be? One in particular stood out. Towards the end of the summer, we'll be going to Myrtle Beach with my in-laws. They have their timeshare from Florida and are using the points to go to Myrtle Beach. To my head.

Alright, running at the beach won't be so bad.
It'll be August, so definitely early though.
Ok, long run the first weekend. We're probably driving on Saturday, so guess it'll be Sunday morning.
How long is it?
Well, crap. I have to run 14 miles to start my vacation.

So that's where the thought first ended. I brushed it off as no big deal. Sure, I need to start my vacation off with some pounding, but I knew I'd have weekends like that when I signed up to do a half marathon. The fact is 13.1 miles is no easy feat.

Wait a minute... 13.1 miles...
I have to run 14 miles on vacation. That's 3 weeks before the plan gets to "half marathon".
I thought this plan is to BUILD to the 1/2 marathon, but I'm running further 3 weeks before.
What?!?!

So, yeah. I will be running further than a half marathon before I reach the half marathon. I guess, you'll know you can do it when the plan works this way. But when the point is you build your endurance up for the race, it feels a little backwards. But what do I know. I've only been doing this going on 4 days officially, so best left to the professional.