Sub-2 Half Training: Week 1 & 2 Update (May 4 - May 17)

What to do when you don't have a target race to train for at the moment? Pick up a random training program that will be challenging and scary AF but will ultimately make you a better runner of course! Once Rock n' Roll Seattle was cancelled for June, I found myself with many months stretching between myself and my next scheduled marathon (Chicago in October). I'm not someone who is great at just running for the sake of it, so in order to trick myself into continuing to get out on the road, I decided it was time to take on a training program that will (hopefully) make me a faster runner. It's been a long time since I PRed in the half marathon distance (2013!!!), so I thought it would be good to start focusing on shaving down my half time by taking on a really scary training program - a sub-2 half training program!

I find that physically copying down a program in a notebook helps me stick to it!

I took this program from Runner's World. It includes plenty of mid-distance and long runs which I'm used to doing during marathon training, but there's some really scary speed work in there including tempo runs and mile repeats which I don't typically incorporate in my training blocks. I know that in order to become a faster and more accomplished runner at any distance, I need to take on these really challenging work outs that I'm scared of. I'm happy to report that I'm currently two weeks into this plan, and I'm already seeing that pushing myself is already paying off! Here's how these first two weeks have gone:

Week One: May 4 - 10, 2020

Monday, 5/4 → 20 min. body weight workout

Tuesday, 5/5 → 4 miles easy, .11mi cool down walk
(10:18 pace)

Wednesday, 5/6 → Rest

Thursday, 5/7 → 5 mile tempo run: 1 mile easy, 3 miles with 8:54/mi target
(8:50, 8:44, 9:01), 1 mile easy (9:19 overall)

Friday, 5/8 → 4 miles easy + .11mi cool down walk
(2.23mi for Ahmaud Arbery @ 10:00 pace, 1.88 miles @ 10:03)

Saturday, 5/9 → Rest
Sunday, 5/10 → 7 mile long run @ 9:52 pace

Week One: May 11 - 17, 2020

Monday, 5/11 → Rest

Tuesday, 5/12 → 5 miles easy
(10:09 pace)

Wednesday, 5/13 → Rest

Thursday, 5/14 → 2x1 mile repeats @ target 8:25/mi
(8:23, 8:38)

Friday, 5/15 → Rest

Saturday, 5/16 → Rest
Sunday, 5/17 → 4 miles easy @ 11:32 pace

I've been really liking this program thus far and even though I've come into this program with the idea that these target paces might not necessarily be attainable or me I've been finding that I'm able to push myself hard to achieve them! I'm hopeful that my the end of this training ~experiment~ that I will be a stronger runner and will enter in training for Chicago feeling confident and excited to shoot for #Sub5orBust for a third time in October!