16-Week Half Marathon Training Plan

It’s time to get back to one my passions again which is running, it’s a love hate relationship as I love getting my running gear on, grabbing my running shoes, water and music to go for a nice run while clearing my mind of all the chaos. But not every run is awesome, unfortunately there are many day’s I have to fight through due to my lack of breathing, sore legs or knees or just feeling tired and not wanting to get in those miles, that is why I love to run and hate to run.  I know overall it’s good for my health and to be honest I can do it anywhere we go.  It’s easy to pack some running clothes and my running shoes anytime we travel, it’s just getting up early to get it done. My cousin is getting married end of June so I have 18 weeks to get back into shape so I can feel good and back to my old self. I have decided to find a 16 week training program to help me stay focused and get back on track.  I found this awesome running schedule on SkinnyMs website, this program is perfect for what I’m looking for as it has a mixture of running, strength training and rest day’s all built in for each week.  I will be doing different full body strength training workouts on Monday’s and Wednesday’s to change things up so I’m not doing the same workouts over and over.  I’m excited to start back small and build off that each day, I plan on doing Paleo and Whole30 as my healthy meal plan of choice since I’m still having stomach issues and need to stick with what I know works for me.  I will take a before picture, log my starting weight and measurements and then journal each month. I will then post an update at the end of each month with my current weight, measurements and updated picture so I can see my progress. 

Here is link for the training program I found and will be using: https://skinnyms.com/how-to-train-for-your-first-half-marathon-2/2/

Here is the exact notes from the author who wrote this training program: by Erin Miller

This training program will require you to run 3 days a week, with 2 shorter runs on weekdays and one longer run on the weekend. For this program we’re going to say training days are Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday. It will slowly progress in total mileage as the weeks pass, but every 4 weeks will be a recovery week. The last 2-3 weeks will taper off into shorter runs in an effort to allow your body to be fully prepared for race day!

I want you to always give yourself a day in between runs, where you either rest or perform a lower impact form of cardio like biking or swimming for no more than 30 minutes. Don’t over do it! Rest is just as important as training. Each week, you also need to get 2 days (Monday/Wednesday) of strength training for your lower body and core. Low impact cardio can be done on the same day as strength training. As rest is extremely important to recovery, you must take at least 1 day off of all exercise, but preferably 2 (Friday/Sunday).

Let’s get started!

For weeks 1 through 4, if you’re a beginner, you should use a walk/run style of training. Try to walk for 30-60 seconds and then run for 30-60 seconds. Depending on whether or not it’s easy or hard for you, you can decrease or increase those increments of time.

Week 1: (5 Miles)

Monday: Strength Training – Legs

Tuesday: 1.5 Miles

Wednesday: Strength Training – Core

Thursday: 1.5 Miles

Friday: Rest/Stretching

Saturday: 2 Miles

Sunday: Rest/Stretch 

Week 2: (5.5 Miles) 

Monday: Strength Training – Legs

Tuesday: 1.5 Miles

Wednesday: Strength Training – Core

Thursday: 1.5 Miles

Friday: Rest/Stretching

Saturday: 2.5 Miles

Sunday: Rest/Stretching 

Week 3: (6 Miles)

Monday: Strength Training – Legs

Tuesday: 1.5 Miles

Wednesday: Strength Training – Core

Thursday: 1.5 Miles

Friday: Rest/Stretching

Saturday: 3 Miles

Sunday: Rest/Stretching

 Week 4: Recovery Week (4.5 Miles)

Monday: Strength Training – Legs

Tuesday: 1.5 Miles

Wednesday: Strength Training – Core

Thursday: 1.5 Miles

Friday: Rest/Stretching

Saturday: 1.5 Miles

Sunday: Rest/Stretching

Week 5: (8 Miles)

Monday: Strength Training – Legs

Tuesday: 2 Miles

Wednesday: Strength Training – Core

Thursday: 2 Miles

Friday: Rest/Stretching

Saturday: 4 Miles

Sunday: Rest/Stretching

Week 6: (9 Miles) 

Monday: Strength Training – Legs

Tuesday: 2 Miles

Wednesday: Strength Training – Core

Thursday: 2 Miles

Friday: Rest/Stretching

Saturday: 5 Miles

Sunday: Rest/Stretching

Week 7: (10 Miles)

Monday: Strength Training – Legs

Tuesday: 2 Miles

Wednesday: Strength Training – Core

Thursday: 2 Miles

Friday: Rest/Stretching

Saturday: 6 Miles

Sunday: Rest/Stretching

Week 8: Recovery Week (6 Miles) 

Monday: Strength Training – Legs

Tuesday: 2 Miles

Wednesday: Strength Training – Core

Thursday: 2 Miles

Friday: Rest/Stretching

Saturday: 2 Miles

Sunday: Rest/Stretching

Week 9: (12 Miles)

Monday: Strength Training – Legs

Tuesday: 2.5 Miles

Wednesday: Strength Training – Core

Thursday: 2.5 Miles

Friday: Rest/Stretching

Saturday: 7 Miles

Sunday: Rest/Stretching

Week 10: (13 Miles) 

Monday: Strength Training – Legs

Tuesday: 2.5 Miles

Wednesday: Strength Training – Core

Thursday: 2.5 Miles

Friday: Rest/Stretching

Saturday: 8 Miles

Sunday: Rest/Stretching

Week 11: (14 Miles)

Monday: Strength Training – Legs

Tuesday: 2.5 Miles

Wednesday: Strength Training – Core

Thursday: 2.5 Miles

Friday: Rest/Stretching

Saturday: 9 Miles

Sunday: Rest/Stretching

Week 12: Recovery Week (7.5 Miles) 

Monday: Strength Training – Legs

Tuesday: 2.5 Miles

Wednesday: Strength Training – Core

Thursday: 2.5 miles

Friday: Rest/Stretching

Saturday: 2.5 Miles

Sunday: Rest/Stretching

Week 13: (16 Miles)

Monday: Strength Training – Legs

Tuesday: 3 Miles

Wednesday: Strength Training – Core

Thursday: 3 Miles

Friday: Rest/Stretching

Saturday: 10 Miles

Sunday: Rest/Stretching

Week 14: Taper (12 Miles) 

Monday: Strength Training – Legs

Wednesday: Strength Training – Core

Thursday: 3 Miles

Friday: Rest/Stretching

Saturday: 6 Miles

Sunday: Rest/Stretching

Week 15: Taper (12 Miles)

Monday: Strength Training – Legs

Tuesday: 3 Miles

Wednesday: Strength Training – Core

Thursday: 3 Miles

Friday: Rest/Stretching

Saturday: 6 Miles

Sunday: Rest/Stretching

Week 16: Taper to Race Day! (17.1 Miles) 

Monday: Strength Training – Legs and Core

Tuesday: 2 Miles

Wednesday: Rest/Stretching

Thursday: 2 Miles

Friday: Rest/Stretching 

Saturday Race Day: Half Marathon 13.1 Miles!

Since taking January and February off from all activities due to COVID “running” through our house, I can’t wait to get back out on the open road to start adding miles to my individual and team stats.  I really need this to get my head back in the game and on the right path to burning calories and losing weight.  Tomorrow February 28th begins the next 16 weeks of commitment to achieve another training plan for a half marathon. I have not chosen a race yet but I have my eye on a few, it will just depend on dates.  Thank you Run The Year for always having a yearly running challenge and thank you to my Sole Sisters Team for joining me on this crazy fun running journey. 

Run The Year 2021 Challenge - Sole Sisters Team

 

Happy New Year, we finally made it to 2021.  I'm not sure about you but I'm sure glad 2020 is over, what a horrible year it was for all of us on many different levels mentally, physically and emotionally, it was just tough all around.  I'm sad to say I did not complete last years challenge like I wanted, I just could not focus or get myself in a good place to want to run and that is very sad as I love to run even in the dead heat of summer.  Now that last year is over it's time to move forward and focus on the new year of 2021 and I could not be more excited to get moving again, it's been way too long for me and my body can feel it.  I'm also very excited for our Sole Sisters team who will be competing again in the Run the Year Challenge to run a total of 2021 miles in 2021, we have a great group of ladies who are always so motivating and supportive of this journey.  This year we have added a new team member who is a friend of my so we are at a full team with 5 ladies and we all enjoy running and walking even if we can't do it together. Our Facebook group is going strong, so it will be fun to share our post runs and walk selfies along with running/walking articles or just overall get moving motivational quotes and pictures.  It's easy to get motivated in the beginning of every year but it's not always easy to stay motivated throughout the whole year, it's nice to have others who can provide support for when we need it the most.  

My goal this year is to just keep moving, I would love to get my running back up to where it use to be when I was actually training for a race, I know I can get back there just need to take one day at a time.  I need to get myself back on a running schedule and then put it in motion, always easier said then done.  I'm also going to change my eating habits for this year since my daughter is vegetarian we have decided as a family to all jump on board with this by really focusing on eating healthy plant based foods and less meat and dairy.  I'm not going to be 100% perfect but I want to be able to enjoy healthy cooking and not add so much stress to my life with cooking so many different meals for the family.  Nutrition is just as important as working out, I remember going vegetarian after my oldest was born back in 2012 when I wanted to lose the baby weight I had gained during my pregnancy.  I began with going vegetarian as my lifestyle of choice and created a training plan for a half marathon that I was going to run later in the year and it was the best decision I made.  I loved seeing my transformation not just in my body but mentally too, I know I can get back to that place it just takes hard work and dedication which I have.  

As we move through the new year I will be logging my individual stats each months below to see how I'm doing as it will be a good accountability for me.  I will also share our teams monthly stats to see how we are doing overall and make sure we are staying on track to reach our goal.  Lets make this the best year yet for our Sole Sisters Team!!!

June 2021 Total = 93.07 Miles

Running Miles: 10.34

Walking Miles: 14.28

Total Steps (miles): 68.43

Sole Sisters Team Total Miles = 281.13

May 2021 Total = 81.80 Miles

Running Miles: 3.17

Walking Miles: 1.30

Total Steps (miles): 77.33

Sole Sisters Team Total Miles = 304.29

April 2021 Total = 125.64 Miles

Running Miles: 22.09

Walking Miles: 17.86

Total Steps (miles): 87.67

Sole Sisters Team Total Miles = 329.82

March 2021 Total = 161.13 Miles

Running Miles: 51.24

Walking Miles: 25.74

Total Steps (miles): 84.15

Sole Sisters Team Total Miles = 358.61

February 2021 Total = 27.89 Miles

Running Miles: 3.59

Walking Miles: 0

Total Steps (miles): 24.31

Sole Sisters Team Total Miles = 210.11

January 2021 Total = 44.23 Miles

Running Miles: 18.49

Walking Miles: 0

Total Steps (miles): 25.74

Sole Sisters Team Total Miles = 184.78

Time to start Training...10 week 15K Training Plan (Running)

10 week 15 Training Plan (Running)

It’s that time of year, now that the weather is starting to warm up, the trees are blooming, the grass is growing green and all the beautiful flowers are starting to grow that means it’s time for outdoor exercising.  I have gotten back into running when I can especially being quarantined but I’m very much a schedule girl, so for me I like to be on a training plan to achieve goals.  

I found this awesome 10 week 15K training plan that includes running 3 day’s a week, strength training 2 day’s a week and cross training 2 day’s week with one day off for resting.  That is perfect for me considering I need to slowly get back into all of these areas before going out hard core.  I have decided to continue using my cousin’s workouts as my strength training sessions during the week which means I may be doing those more than the 2 day’s on my schedule which is totally fine. I’m going to include riding my bike either indoors on my trainer or outside when the weather warms up as my cross training day’s. 

I have printed this schedule out and will take pictures of my daily exercise to post when my training is done or when I can actually race after the Covid-19 is over and we can all do back to a semi-normal life.  I won’t be signing up for any races until we know for sure when it’s safe but it will be nice to be race ready for any 5K’s, 10K’s or a 15K.  I found this awesome training schedule using the following link http://www.driftdesignco.com/blog/2014/04/15k-training-guide.html?rq=15 that I will be using and wanted to share with everyone in case anyone else is interested.  It’s a great and organized plan for those starting out or just wanted to get back into running like myself.  

I will continue staying on my healthy eating plan as well which is mainly vegan and/or plant based as I will be limiting my meat intake over the next few months.  I’m completely off dairy already as I eliminated that when I was doing Paleo but now that my daughter is Vegetarian I’m doing my best to cook and prepare meals for her that are healthy and going to try and incorporate that more in my dietary needs to see how I feel.  For those looking for more healthy recipes or meal plans check out my blog as I post weekly food menu’s and new recipes all the time.  Please be safe and stay healthy!

Website this can be found: http://www.driftdesignco.com/blog/2014/04/15k-training-guide.html?rq=15

Workout - Lose Weight and Get Ripped

Now that I have completed another round of Whole30, my nutrition is back on back but I still haven’t gotten back into my workouts quite yet.  I have been running here and there however that’s not going to cut it as I know I need to get weights back into my routine.  I have been looking for some easy routines to get myself back into it that I can change around so I don’t feel like I’m doing the same things day after day. One of my goals is to get back to working out with a friend of mine who is an awesome weight training partner but I want to ease my way back in by building some of my muscle back before I go all out.  I found this workout on a great website I use called SkinnyMs, she has lots of great fitness information.  I wanted to share this one as it’s a great beginners workout plan that can be done a few days a week, I’m going to give it a try this week and see how it goes.  Here is some information from the article and the link to find the full article is listed below.

This workout works because there is no traditional rest. The only rest you’ll get is in between switching equipment or moving into a different workout area.

Perform each exercise for 30 seconds, with no rest in between. Try to get through as many as you can before you rest, whether it’s after four reps or ten. Then, move on to the next exercise. When you need to stop, take a quick 30-second breather and jump back in. Complete four sets and you’ll be on your way.

• Burpees: All good things come from burpees. Although they are draining, it’s for a good reason.

• Bicep Curls: Grab your medium weights and slow your heart rate down a bit. This exercise lets you catch your breath while still pushing your muscles.

• Dumbbell Row: Grab your heavy dumbbells and row one arm at a time. Be sure to keep your elbows toward the body.

• Floor Dumbbell Chest Press: No bench is needed with this exercise, so you can do them anywhere! Grab your heavy dumbbells; once you feel your tricep hit the ground, press back up.

• Bicycle: This is one of the best full-purpose ab exercises. Perform the first half fast and the second half slow.

• Dumbbell Squat with Overhead Press: Grab your medium weights to enjoy this two-part exercise.

• Single-Leg Deadlift: This is one of those overlooked leg exercises. They help strengthen and build your hamstrings and works on minor muscles.

The full article and workout videos of how to do these exercises are on SkinnyMs’s website, here is the link to find them: https://skinnyms.com/try-this-workout-to-lose-weight-and-get-ripped/

Whole30 Round 4 Week 1 - Workouts and Training

Monday 3.18.19

Today was my first day back on Whole30, I did not think I would go back on this so soon but with my race only 3 weeks away I need to get my butt in gear and get my training underway.  Now normally Monday’s are my weight training days and meal food prep days but I could not past up the beautiful day so I decided to get my riding gear on and head out the door for a morning ride.  I ended up riding one of my normal routes hoping I would just make it there and home.  I ended up having a great ride, don’t be wrong my legs were tired and sore and I had a weird side stitch but I pushed through.  I was very happy once I got home and realized that I could still make it there and back as that was the same distance I will be doing when I race in a few weeks.  Now as far as speed I have a lot of work to do on that as I was much slower than I would like but that’s what happens when time is taken off.  So today’s workout was a huge success and I’m glad I decided to go out and enjoy the nice weather. 

Tuesday 3.19.19

Well it was another beautiful day out today, today was suppose to be my double workout day.  I was suppose to run in the morning and then head to the gym for an indoor swim session but I’m sad and disappointed to say that my eye was not feeling it today.  I did not feel comfortable going into the pool with my eye yet, tomorrow marks 4 weeks and that is when I’m technically allowed to go in so one more day of rest won’t kill me.  Even though I was not able to make it to the pool I did go for a run to get some miles and conditioning in as I definitely need that.  My legs were feeling sore but that is expected after running this past weekend and yesterdays bike ride.  It was not my best run but it also was not my worst run so I’m just thankful that I was even able to run.  Every step and mile count even if I’m slow..hahaha.

Wednesday 3.20.19

Today marks 4 weeks since I had my eye surgery done, which is great news since I haven’t really been able to do any kinds of workouts.  Today I decided to try out the pool for a swim workout and see how I felt.  I was nervous about my eye in the pool but I wore my contacts and swimming goggles to help.  I ended up swimming for 60 mins and felt great, well the first couple hundred meters I was struggling to breath but then I got into a rhythm and felt good.  My eye ended up being okay thank goodness, it was a little dry after my swim but overall it was good.  I’m happy I was able to finally get that in since I’m less than 4 weeks away to race day. 

Thursday 3.21.19

It’s day 4 of this round and I’m happy to say I got my workout in today before getting my hair done.  I went for a 46 min run for a total of 4 miles, I’m very happy with that since I’m going on my fourth day working out in a row.  I will be happy when the sore stage is over but then again I don’t think it’s ever over.  Lol

Friday 3.22.19

Woke up feeling blah today which means I may not be drinking enough water or I didn’t get enough sleep last night.  Either way today is my day to ride so I have a choice to either do it on the indoor trainer or outside, with today’s beautiful weather I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to do it outside.  In the past I don’t like riding outside during the weeks when my husband is not home in case I get a flat and need help with changing it or having someone pick me up.  I told myself I need to get over that fear and just do it, especially that my neighbor told me she would help me out if I need to be picked up.  So I overcame my fear and went for an outdoor ride and it was amazing.  I rode 13.7 miles in under 1 hour which is record time for me, considering I did that same route on Wednesday and shaved off 5 minutes which is huge for me.  I’m very proud of myself for not giving up and just going out to get it done, it’s much better than doing it on my trainer.  

Saturday 3.23.19

Well I’m sad to say I didn’t get a workout in today, it was a weird morning as it was suppose to rain and then my daughters had soccer games throughout the day and I wasn’t prepared to run before their games.  So no workout for me today.

Sunday 3.24.19

Since I wasn’t able to get my run in yesterday I decided to do it today before my daughters soccer game.  I ran 50 minutes for 4.22 miles, it was windy, hot and tough out there today plus I was running in a new area that I was not familiar with so having a new route was a little distracting.  Today was suppose to be my long ride day but with the girls game schedules I couldn’t make it work and trying to do two workouts would not have worked.  I’m happy I at least got a run in so I don’t feel as guilty as I did yesterday.  

Week 1 is officially over and I had an awesome training week!!!

Run the Year 2018 Challenge - Monthly Mileage Stats

I believe accountability is huge especially when joining any kind of challenge, this is my 4th year doing this and I have yet to complete my full miles for each previous year.  This time around I asked a few family members if they wanted to embark on this journey with me and all 3 other team members said yes.  Our team name is Heart and Soles, our team consists of my self, my husband Richard, my mom Gale and my Auntie Rita.  Now each of us track our miles individually which then adds to our team's total miles for the year, I first started this challenge out only tracking my running miles but since I'm not yet a strong runner I decided to track all steps (in miles) and miles (running or walking) to my individual total.  I will break down each month how many miles were from steps, how many were from running and how many were from walking so I can keep a closer eye and make sure I'm improving on my overall running miles which for me is the goal of this challenge.  Both my mom and aunt are doing what I'm doing but my husband is just tracking his running miles this year.  Either way it's all a team effort as well as individual goals, everything can be tracked by foot only, no cycling or swimming can be counted, at this point it's really game for all of us.  The best part about our team is that we are from all over, my husband and I currently live in Dallas, TX while my mom is in Las Vegas, NV and my aunt is in FountainHills, AZ so we have created a Facebook Messenger group for all of us to communicate on a daily or weekly bases to help us all stay motivated and focused on our goals, it has really worked out and has been a huge motivational boost for all of us.  I will use this blog post to update my individual monthly miles and our total team miles at the end of each month.  I'm very excited for this years journey and to see what our team is made of.  Go Team Heart and Soles!!!

January Total = 109.8 Miles
Running: 40.29
Walking: 0 miles
Steps (miles): 69.51

February's Total = 29.79 Miles
Running: 2.32
Walking: 0
Steps (miles): 27.47

March's Total = 131.2 Miles
Running: 37.68
Walking: 2.63
Steps (miles): 90.89

April's Total = 137.14 Miles
Running: 40.89
Walking: 3.47
Steps (miles): 92.78

May's Total = 107.98

Running: 14.34

Walking: 1.71

Steps (miles): 91.93

June’s Total = 105.12
Running: 17.16
Walking: 0
Steps (miles): 87.96

I’m sad to say I didn’t keep up with my monthly stats like I wanted too, life got in the way but I’m happy to report I kept up with my running and training and I finished the year strong.  I’m very excited for next year as I learned a lot about my diet and training in 2018.  I will be joking Run the Year again as this is my favorite yearly challenge, especially when doing it with family and friends.  

Run The Year 2018 Challenge - Team Heart and Soles

I got into running about 9 years ago after my oldest daughter was born, my goal was to lose the baby weight I had gained during my pregnancy with her.  I had really gotten into it and signed up for my first half marathon, 15 weeks into my training I had injured my knee and was not able to race the event I signed up for.  It was a very heart breaking moment for me as I had worked so hard and I was very excited for all that I had accomplished along the way.  I changed my eating habits and with all the running I was doing I had lost a significant amount of weight, I was very proud of my self and how far I had come.  Then after I got injured I was unable to workout for months and although I didn’t have surgery on my knee it was a long road to recovery for me.  I had gained most of my weight back and was back where I started.  I was not in a good place with my self confidence, I knew I needed to get back into running and healthy eating again.  

I did some searching on the web for some local races and training plans and came across Run the Edge which was an awesome running website that had tons of valuable information.  Within the site I came across their yearly challenge called Run The Year, which meant that every year you would have a full 12 months to run those many miles, it was a fun way to get people motivated to workout with an awesome support system.  This group was amazing, not everyone in the group ran, there was a nice mixture of marathon runners all the way to walkers.  I decided to give it a shot and join the group as a solo runner, I had no idea what I was getting my self into.  It was so much harder than I expected, running over 2000 miles in one year was insane especially by my self.  At one point I felt very overwhelmed and felt like I was playing catch up all the time and it made me very stressed out but then when I went to our support group and read other people’s posts that were struggling just like me I didn’t feel so alone.  I took a deep a breath and keep pushing along, it wasn’t about completing the full miles it was about setting goals for myself to become healthier and learning from others.  I loved reading other people’s stories, their victories, their triumphs, their weakness and their failures it make me realize that we are all human and things always happen in our lives that are out of our control.  It’s never easy to get back on a horse once you have fallen as it’s much easier to walk away and say “I’m done” and give up.  This is my fourth year doing this challenge, the last three years I did it solo and have yet to complete the full miles of that year. 

At the end of last year I reached out to some family members to see if anyone would be interested in joining me this year for 2018 as a team and support system, I received a positive response and created our "Team of Heart and Soles" which consists of my self, my husband Richard, my mom Gale and my auntie Rita.  I was so excited to finally have an amazing team to get this year going, we all have different personal goals and a nice mix of running and walking in our group the best part is that it’s with family.  We have created a group in Facebook messenger for all of us to talk daily by posting motivational quotes, daily check-in’s, support, encouragement and positive conversations, it really has made a difference for all of us.  The year started off amazing for my husband and I until he caught the flu and was out for two weeks and then I have caught two nasty head colds, the weather here in Dallas, Texas is like nothing I have ever experienced before.  I have not been running now for over 3 weeks which has really set me back.  I'm finally on the road to recovery as I'm starting to feel better each day but that means I'm back to the beginning of my running program again.  I have a few upcoming races that I'm interested in doing over the next few months but I'm nervous to sign up for anything due to my past with allergies and colds.  I will also be reevaluating my nutritional plan to help get me back on track.  I'm still hopeful and excited for a good running year with my team!!!

It's time for change.....let the training begin!

It's been a while since I have actually trained for anything but I think it's time to start setting goals and focus on something for me.  As busy as life gets and as stressful as times can be, I feel much better when I'm able to workout and see results in my weight loss journey.  Since I have stopped training I have gain a lot of my old weight back and I'm feeling tired, gross and just out of shape.  I don't have an actual race in mind but I figure this is a good starting point for me, as we get closer to summer and my training progresses I will look at a race to see what races are available to complete a half marathon.  Here is the link for this training plan along with many others interested in running - http://www.halfmarathons.net/half-marathon-training-schedule-for-beginning-runners/

12-Week Half Marathon Training for Beginner Runners

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
1	off	3 miles	3 miles	3 miles	off	3 miles	4 miles
2	off	3 miles	4 miles	3 miles	off	3 miles	4 miles
3	off	3 miles	4 miles	3 miles	off	3 miles	5 miles
4	off	3 miles	5 miles	3 miles	off	4 miles	6 miles
5	off	4 miles	5 miles	4 miles	off	3 miles	7 miles
6	off	4 miles	4 miles	4 miles	off	4 miles	8 miles
7	off	4 miles	6 miles	4 miles	off	4 miles	9 miles
8	off	4 miles	6 miles	4 miles	off	4 miles	10 miles
9	off	4 miles	6 miles	4 miles	off	3 miles	11 miles
10	off	4 miles	5 miles	4 miles	off	4 miles	12 miles
11	off	4 miles	5 miles	4 miles	off	3 miles	6 miles
12	off	3 miles	5 miles	3 miles	off	2 miles	13.1 miles!

Rest Days

Especially for beginning runners or those who may be experienced at running but training for their first half marathon, it’s important to take two days off from running during the week to allow your joints and muscles adequate time to rest.
I’ve always taken two days off during the week, on Mondays and Fridays, as that allows a day off after your long run as well as a day off after your three mid-week running days.

Water

On your weekend long runs, make sure to bring plenty of water to drink after your run and during your run. It’s important especially when your long runs start reaching distances of seven, eight and nine miles or longer, to have water at the mid-point of your long run as well as at the end.

Sports drinks such as Gatorade or Powerade are fine as well, but you can’t go wrong with water. Also, this will get your body accustomed to what your race conditions will be like, when you’ll be able to have water most likely at every two miles in the race.