Time to Train...Again

I've signed up for my next half marathon, the Zooma Atlanta in April. What's that you say? I told you I wasn't running any more half marathons? I said I didn't want to run so much? Well, it turns out that I can't resist half marathons. They give me great training structure, something to look forward to and a shared experience for my husband and I (he gets to watch me run a lot, so I owe it to him to change the scenery now and then).

After a lot of thought and consideration - and realizing I can't run by the beach all the time - I've come to some conclusions about how to approach 2012 from a fitness perspective. I really lost my mind training for my last half marathon, so I took a step back and reevaluated what I want and need to do to be healthy, look good and have fun. I took half marathons completely off the table and then (clearly) brought them back.

I've decided to take the training approach of spreading the love, which means I am going to mix up my training as much as possible, but still make a half marathon my short term training goal. Also, I will not run the same race twice unless at least two years have passed since the last time I ran it.

I love swimming and would never want to give that up as part of my training routine. My 6 month stint at CrossfitAF last year also made me really appreciate weight training and cross training. So the progression of my half marathon training philosophy has gone like this:

2009 (Berry, Chicago): Just take it easy, run as little as possible, but give it a try and see if you like it (this was really good)
2010 (Seaside, Silver Comet): Train seriously, but have fun with it (this worked even better!)
2011 (Silver Comet): Just run, try to run more and faster and see what happens (this didn't work)
2012 (Zooma): Train, mix it up, get strong and run as little as possible. 

I experienced most success in 2010 - I must have really had it figured out! So, my plan is to try to get back to that state of mind, which if I remember correctly included only running 3 times a week, swimming twice and doing no weight training. This year, I'll add in weights and see if I completely die training or come out stronger and faster on the other side. And then there's the third possible outcome - I'll keep fit, stay trim and have a nice trip up to the lake in the spring.

I'm already looking forward to the post-race wine...