Week One of Half Marathon Training Has Begun

This week marked the first week of half marathon training. I successfully completed every workout on my schedule and am extremely proud. If you know me, that never happens! I workout and run a lot but I can rarely stick to a strict schedule. This time around I am really trying to see how I do with a stricter training regimen. I want to try to beat my personal best of a 1:53 and am aiming for a sub 1:50 time. I know I can do this if my training goes right and all the stars align on race day. Finger's crossed my training pays off!

I am training for the Nike Women's Half Marathon in Washington DC for the second straight year. I had one of the best races of my life there last year and can't wait to go back. The city, the atmosphere and the good friends are all what set this race apart. Last year the race was on my actual birthday which made it extra special. This year it is the day before my birthday, so it will still be a great moment. I also get to tour around DC after the race with my family. I'm excited for the journey and for the race. It may be my last year going considering the cost of travel there, so I will savor the moment. 

As for training, I am using the Nike Women's Marathon DC Training App and am happy with it so far. Later on in training I may have to substitute some of the running days for cross training days to keep my body healthy, but all in all, it's a good plan. My training is a mixture of easy running, tempo runs, track workouts and long runs. I am also doing yoga once or twice a week and mixing in some strength and agility training days at the gym and with the Nike Training Club App. I find that I run my best when I mix up my training and that I stay away from injury this way. 

I have to give a shout-out to the Running Diva's SF Crew that sent me one of their tanks this week. It definitely gave me some extra motivation to push through those miles and stick with my plan. The ladies of this crew are an inspiration and I am proud to be repping the crew! A few of them are running DC! I will wear this proudly during training!

Are you training for any upcoming races or maybe even DC? I'd love to hear how your training is going!