OK... Lets Begin.

Time to put the pedal to metal. I have slacked long enough. The time has come. The time to start a new training plan/cycle that is.

Truth is, I am learning that training plans are an incredible aid to keep me focused. This is a very fancy way of saying that if I don't follow the structure of a plan I become lazy mass of cookies and soda that barely goes out to run. While I was concerned that starting a plan too early might cause burnout, it seems that following a plan of some sort is simply my natural running state so, with 20 weeks to go until the Philadelphia Half Marathon and a huge sub-3 hour PR goal to accomplish I am now in official training mode.

Basically, I have stitched together two training plans of ascending difficulty. I will start out around  three to four runs, 20-25 miles per week and build from there. Eventually that weekly mileage will go up to 40 with a peak week of 43 miles and 5 to 6 runs a week. This build-up is slow and gradual to avoid injury and get used to the work load. It will also have different types of workout runs to add variety and build strength and speed. Speed work, hills, tempo runs among others.

This plan is also a "pre-Goofy" primer of sorts. I'm gonna be adding a run on Saturday, the day before my long run. This is in preparation to running long on consecutive days which, of course is the secret to surviving the Goofy Challenge and while that is still a long ways away, it's never too early to start preparing for it.

By the way, assuming everything goes as planned, this will be the highest mileage/volume I have yet to do for a race so far. If you plan to accomplish something you have never done before, you have to be willing to work like you have never worked before. Sounds logical to me.

Right now, my running week looks like this:

Monday: Off
Tuesday: Regular/Easy Run 
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Tempo Run/Speedwork (Alternating weeks)
Friday: Off
Saturday: Regular/Easy Run
Sunday: Long Run

Eventually, most of those days you see as "Off" will become running days but trust me, there is no hurry. It's risky (and stupid) to build things up too fast so for the next 4 or 5 weeks, this is where it's at. 

In the spirit of getting faster and gunning for the sub-3 PR, it stands to reason that losing some weight will help get me there. I already told you guys about My Fitness Pal and how wonderful a tool it can be to help you keep track of your nutrition. Well, on the next post I will talk about a little challenge I have entered to aid me in the battle of the bulge.