I can't believe it's been almost four months since I've been on some sort of training plan. I'm used to spending the summer in hardcore training mode for an early fall race, but it's been really nice this year to kick back, relax and not stress about training.

But with the Philadelphia half marathon about 12 weeks away, it's time to get back on the training wagon.

I spent a lot of time yesterday trying to craft a training plan that was challenging enough, but realistic. I made sure to take into consideration the start of football and soccer season, which means I spend a ton of time tailgating.



I also made sure to use my schedule to my advantage. Since I spend Saturdays tailgating, I'll be doing my long runs on Fridays when I work from home.

I also know I'll lose Sunday mornings to my flag football league. Tentatively the schedule has me doing a few three mile runs on Sundays before football. If that seems manageable, I'll keep it up, but if not I'll dump the run in favor of the football cross training.





My plan also has a good mix of speed work, tempo runs and hill workouts to keep me challenged. The Philadelphia half course isn't extremely hilly but there is a long climb between miles 8 and 9 near the zoo that really took it out of me last year. There's also a really short, steep climb right near the finish that slays me every year. I'm hoping with some dedicated hill training I'll be a bit more prepared for those.

I'm really excited for this race. I'm excited to train in some cooler temperatures and I'm excited to be back on a running schedule.

I'm not so excited for the start of 4:30 a.m. wake up calls during the work week, but I love morning running, so it won't be all that bad.