Set a Goal for the ING Georgia Half Marathon
January 28, 2010
Run as often as you can, for as long as you can, as fast as you can.
That’s my training plan. One size fits all. Used it for every race I’ve run in the past 10 years.
For sh!ts and giggles, I played around with the Smart Coach Tool on runnersworld.com to see what type of training plan it thinks I should be following. I used my time from the half marathon in October as the reference, and ran it a few times adjusting the variables slightly. I got the same predicted finishing time whether I selected the 26-30 miles/week plan or the 50-55 miles/week plan. So Smart Coach validates that I can run half as much and still get the same results as long as I amp up the intensity of my workouts. Efficiency, I like that. I don’t have time for messing around.
The suggested 26-30 mile a week plan isn’t much different than what I anticipated my training schedule to look like anyway. Saturdays will be long run days with the stroller. Some of the longer weeks I’ll double up the easy runs, so I’m only running 4 days instead of 5. I’ll continue to use the elliptical 1-2 times a week for cross training. I think that’s a reasonable range to shoot for.
So my goal for the race…..
1:43:00 or under
I put it out there. No taking it back now.
It sounds crazy. My best time ever for the half marathon is 1:43:07.
If I’m going to dream, then I might as well dream big.
You see I suffer from Mommy Fitness Dysmorphic Disorder (or MFDD for short and something I totally made up….don’t bother googling). This condition makes it impossible for me to believe I can ever be as fit as I was prior to having E. No way will I ever beat my old PR’s.
What do you think about this theory? Assuming no other changes, the 8 pounds I’ve lost in the past couple months should automatically shave an extra 2+ minutes off my time. Two minutes seems rather dramatic. I’m not counting on it making a big (or any) difference, but to think I have a slight advantage would be nice.
Runners if you wouldn’t mind sharing your feedback. Do you have a specific training plan that works for you? Any tips or words of wisdom to share?
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runningpilotwife.wordpress.com 
Awesome goal time!!!!Since you have been running for years I'm not sure if I have any real advice. I decided to get a custom plan from my husbands running team coach because I am behind the training curve and not getting any younger. Speed will increase naturally with each training cycle, and I don't see why this time goal would be diff…if you were looking for 15 min off your last time then yes more miles would be needed.Feel free to check out my plan for some speed workouts if you want to mix some things up. My mileage will top at 40 (I also plan on doing a full in the fall that is why I have the higher mileage), and the focus is to work on speed so that fall marathon training is about building the miles needed for the distance.Good luck!
I've always been a believer that in order to be a "runner" who "competes" (mostly against my PR's) that you must run 5-6 days a week with one long run, a medium long run, a speed day and the rest "easy runs" at moderate mileage. More recently, I've felt like that has lead to some burnout and injuries, not to mention the same darn times over and over again! I just got done reading the Runners World book "Run Less, Run Faster". It was intriguing and refreshing! The basic idea is to run 3 days and to cross train 2 days. The 3 days you run are pretty intense…a long run, a tempo run and interval speed work. Really made me think and reconsider some of my training! I'm excited to see how it goes….happy running!
You go girl! That's an awesome time! My PR is 1:48, so I am going to try to under that, but the ING is a tough course. I use the Smart Coach for my training plan and like it. It gives me some accountability. Good luck!
Thank you for the feedback y'all! I'll have to check out that book. I'm trying to switch from the mindset "more is better" when it comes to mileage. I do speed workouts like tempo runs and intervals, but it's never well thought out as I only plan my upcoming workouts a few days in advance. I hear you on running the same darn times over and over again. Having some structure should help me to take it to the next level.