My 2022 Rock ‘n’ Roll DC Half Marathon Training Plan
Prologue
After the 2021 Boston Marathon, my boyfriend and I spent a day at a spa in the Poconos and then returned to Washington, DC. Physically, I was fine – I hadn’t run the race all out. But mentally, I was sore from not re-qualifying for the 2022 Boston Marathon and maintaining training momentum for two mostly race-less years. But, I only took four days off from running before hitting the roads again.
By late November, I felt the pull towards training again (but not necessarily blogging about it.) However, looking ahead, I wasn’t sure marathoning was the way to go. In January, I took on a temporary promotion at work – another reason why I knew it was not the time to start training for a marathon again. Besides, if I wanted to get my speed back, running long and slow wouldn’t accomplish that.
Long-term Goals
Watching the 2021 New York City Marathon from home was tough. It made me realize that I want to run both the New York City and Boston marathons again! My current thought is to:
- enter the lottery for the 2022 New York City marathon in March, but if I don’t get in,
- run a marathon in early September and hopefully qualify for the 2023 Boston Marathon there.
Last summer, training for the 2021 London Marathon, I reconciled that I’m getting older, and running needed to be about more than racing and personal bests. To that end, I’ve stopped comparing current training times with past ones. Going forward, I would like to start some “grand” master personal records as motivation for improvement.
Self-assessment
I’m already writing the post 12 weeks into my training plan, but here’s where I was last November.
Strengths:
- Health. I’m feeling the best that I’ve felt in two years. My blood pressure is under control, and the lab work from my end-of-year visit to the doctor came back within normal ranges.
Weaknesses:
- Age. I turned 50 last year and can already tell it’s harder to get back in shape.
- Weight. I’ve gained about 10 pounds during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Consistency. I have more family and work demands now. It’s a lot easier justifying a day off here and there to do other things.
The Plan
Choosing or Designing a Plan
There were three plans that I considered for this training cycle.
- Jack Daniels, Daniels Running Formula, 3rd ed.,
- Hansons Coaching Services, Advanced Half Marathon Plan, and
- Brad Hudson and Matt Fitzgerald, Run Faster from the 5K to the Marathon.
In the end, I chose Hansons. With consistency being my biggest challenge, I wanted a plan that I didn’t need to obsess about. With this plan, every day of the week has the same type of workout throughout the entire training block.
Setting a Start Date
I selected the Rock ‘n’ Roll DC Half Marathon, on March 26, 2022, as my goal race. Counting back 18-weeks, I would start training for it on Monday, November 22nd.
Arranging workouts
Again, I chose this plan because the workout schedule would be consistent. I entered these workouts into my training plan on RunningAhead unaltered.
Long runs on Sundays. Sundays tend to work better for me because after a long work-week, I like to spend Saturday winding down.
Speed runs on Tuesdays. These workouts are done on slightly tired legs. Repetition distrances range from 400m to 3 miles at 5K to 10K pace with recoveries in the 400m to 1-mile range.
Strength runs on Thursdays. The foundation of Hansons plans is doing work at the goal race pace. These workouts occur on Thursday after a rest or cross-training day and range from 3- to 6-miles.
Contemplating a race goal
One of the changes I made to the training cycle was adding the 2021 Alexandria Turkey Trot to my schedule to have a current race time to base my training paces. My time was 39:46 (7:58 pace.) I entered that time into the McMillan Running Calculator and came up with a goal half marathon pace 8:29, which converts to a goal time of 1:51:00.
Selecting tune-up races
I am hungry to race again, and with some COVID-19 restrictions lifting, I thought I could set a goal of racing a race a month. Unfortunately, there aren’t many races during the winter months. The only race I selected was the Reston 10 Miler on Sunday, March 6th. I’m excited by the prospect of returning to the last race I ran before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other Considerations
Cross-training
Given how I’m already concerned about having time to run, I’m not going to try to add cross-training to the mix at this time.
Final thoughts
I am filled with the idea that this training cycle is a chance to start over. Like everyone else, I’m grappling with conceiving what my life will look like after the COVID-19 pandemic.
My work life will potentially change dramatically. For running, will I find that I have more time due to telework or less if I get a promotion at work?
And, now that I’m a grand-master, what will my racing experience feel like as I become slower? As I get passed more than I’m passing, will I still enjoy it?
And finally, will I ever get back to the New York City and Boston marathons again? When I finished the 2021 Boston Marathon, much as I did after the 2012 race, I accepted the fact that I may not see that course again. But, I wouldn’t want my 2019 New York City Marathon experience to be my last.
