Good morning and happy Monday! I am officially training for my second half marathon which is quickly coming up on April 3rd. I am taking a different approach to half marathon training than I did for my first (back in June 2014) and plan to document it here as I go.

I have had some great workouts lately but didn’t get a ton of running in during the first two weeks with the holidays and getting back into the swing of things. I will get better! So here it all is plus some fun food updates.

Half Marathon Training

Prep Week

Monday: Rest (Wowza, really starting off on the right foot!)

Tuesday: Cross train [S5 XTraining (basically a bootcamp class) + Cycle]

Wednesday: Active Rest [Barre]

Thursday: Cross train [Core, Buns + Guns – a strength training class at my favorite studio]

Friday: REST (Happy New Year!)

Saturday: 3.5 mile run outside with SL

Sunday: Cross train [Cycle and Core, Buns + Guns]

Running Mileage Total: 3.5 miles

Week 1

Monday: a VERY SLOW 3 mile run on the treadmill

My legs were telling me to fuck off every single minute of this run. Then I went home and foam rolled and they told me to fuck off and die.

Tuesday: Cross train [Cycle]

Wednesday: 3 miles on the treadmill (intervals)

3 minutes – run
1 minute – fast run
2 minutes – jog
Repeat 5x for a total of 30 minutes

Thursday: REST – I was planning on cross-training but I donated blood and felt really off for the rest of the day so I opted out of cycle class. Safety first!

Friday: REST

Saturday: Cross train [CoreCycle – 30 mins cycle, 15 mins core work] – I had a 5-6 mile run planned but it was cold and raining. I opted to stay indoors.

Sunday: Cross train [Cycle and Core, Buns + Guns]

Running Mileage Total: 6 miles

On the Menu

I am hoping to get my nutrition/eating back on track after a crazy October, November and December. I learned from almost PRing without training that my weight plays a huge factor in my performance. During my last half marathon I thought I could eat whatever I wanted because I was training so much. False. So I will use this to track my eats as well.

These are all of my dinners. I did not add lunches because I eat leftovers every day and I did not add breakfasts because I eat one of two things – scrambled egg whites with spinach, tomato and mushrooms or a Quest bar or smoothie if I am running late.

Prep Week

Monday – Thursday: Let’s not talk about it…

Friday: Beef with Asparagus* (From Pioneer Woman but she used snow peas. I forgot to buy them so I used asparagus.)

Saturday: Chicken Enchiladas*

Sunday: Red Wine and Roasted Garlic Pork Chops* with brussels sprouts and roasted creamer potatoes

Week 1

Monday: A new brewery pub opened in our town and SL was so excited to go. I don’t drink beer but I drank a solid amount of water and we split and order of mussels and an order of poutine (without cheese). We got home around 8:30 and neither of us we too hungry so I just heated up some leftover brussels sprouts.

Tuesday: Pollo Asado*, Skillet Green Beans and plain old white rice

Wednesday: Skillet Lasagna* (with added onion and green pepper) and spinach and arugula salad

Thursday: Leftovers from Tuesday

Friday: Salad and pizza

Its all about balance

Saturday: Chili and Tater Tots (<— weak moment)

Sunday: Cast Iron steaks, asparagus, vegan pesto and pasta

*From the Pioneer Woman Cookbook that my mom got my for Christmas! I am obsessed.

I can’t say that I am thrilled with how my half marathon training is going so far but I am also not about to say that I am a huge failure. I will work harder to get more miles in during weeks 3 and 4 (a travel week!).

I hope you are all crushing your goals in the first few weeks of 2016!