Happy Monday! Today is Cesar Chavez Day. At my university, we get the day off.

Anyway, I am here to tell you guys that I am planning on running my 2nd half-marathon in June! I ran my first one in October 2013, with the time of 2 hrs 1 min 48 sec. My goal is to get under 2 hours this time, even if it is just one second under. By the way, my uncle is going to run his first half marathon on Sunday! I am so happy and excited for him. I’ll be there, cheering him on!

Anyway, here is my plan.

I am guessing some of you guys are wondering, “Where are the tempo runs?” Well, I decided to do what I know is best for my body. I don’t think tempo runs will help me.  I added interval training this time, which I didn’t do when I trained for my first half-marathon. It’ll be interesting. I might change the mileage on Fridays, depending on how I feel.

For my first half-marathon, I ran 4 miles twice a week (Monday and Wednesdays), 6 miles twice a week + 1 hr boot camp (Tuesday and Thursdays), one long run (Sundays), and an easy run on Fridays. Saturday was my only rest day. I ran the full half-marathon distance two weeks before the race just to see if I could run it. I ended up running it in 2 hours and 10 minutes. But, when the real race came, I cut the time to 2 hrs 1 min 48 sec.

My first training was brutal, with  one rest day, boot camp, and 30+ miles a week. However, it did help me get a good time. I’m going to cut down on it just a little bit to give my body a little more rest. I want to set a new PR. That would be hard if my body is overworked! I’ll be stretching and foam rolling after every workout. I’ll also be adding in core based moves (such as Pilates), which will (hopefully) help improve my running.

Have you guys ever ran a half-marathon?

If not, are you guys training for any races? 5 k? 10 k? Let me know! It’s always great to have support!