The Half Marathon Project: Day One (dun, dun dah!)

Okay, maybe my title is a bit melodramatic, but hey, why not. This is the Internet afterall. So yes, today I start a 12 week half marathon training plan that will get me to the last MEC trail race on October 26th in top trail-running form. I did my research, I checked out crazy intense plans that I quickly rejected after over training this past winter, looked at some easy plans that I don't think will push me hard enough, and eventually found a somewhat-happy-middle-of-the-road plan that I'm determined to give 100% to until race day. Why you might ask? Well this year has been a disappointment in terms of racing. I've struggled, been injured and DNF'd more times than I want to count and I want to end this season off with one personal achievement, running my best half marathon. That means anything less than 2:15 would not only be awesome and take some of the sting out of my performance so far this year, but I also think it will be motivational going into the winter build-up season. The bonus side to my plan is that it's a half marathon. 21 kilometers. I can totally run 21km, I just want to do it faster, so the mental barrier of the distance isn't there for me, just getting to the speed I want to run that distance really, really well. The trail race is on familiar ground, I've run trail races and done training runs many times there so I know by Jodi and Karine's standards this trail is a very easy one. Okay, so the distance and the conditions don't freak me out, the biggest hurdle I think will be sticking to my eating plan (I think that sounds better than diet plan), for the duration. To battle that I've got a handy app on my phone to track what I eat and how much I exercise each day so I can be held accountable - even if it is just to an app on my phone! As for the fine details of my eating plan, my goal is to eat less than 25% carbs a day, keep my fat and protein ratios about even, when possible, and keep my overall calorie intake to less than 2000 a day. So here goes. Today, being day one, is pretty easy. I've got a 3 mile run and a strength session on tap. I'm doing my 3 miler during my run-commute after work and plan to do my strength session once I get home, get supper made, get the laundry done and get the next day's bags/lunches packed. I'll let you know how it goes each day and hopefully in the next few weeks I'll have that 2:10 or less half marathon in my sights!