This week I have started following a training plan for the first time since my marathon training last summer! I have basically been winging it for the last year without following a “real plan” for any races. But now that I am training for two very different events within 7 weeks of each other I thought a plan would be a good idea.

This summer I am training for:

My first ever SPRINT TRIATHLON on August 21!

And my 5th HALF-MARATHON on October 9!

And the best part of all? I am doing the triathlon with my friend Jamie. And I am doing the half-marathon with Lisa, Lauren and Leigh (I am so the odd woman out in this group with my A name. Ha!)

I AM SO EXCITED FOR THESE TWO RACES, YOU GUYS!

As you can see, training for a sprint tri and a half-marathon at the same time (my half-marathon is 7 weeks after my sprint tri) involved a bit of work on the training plan. I basically meshed together two Hal Higdon plans to make this plan.

I used his sprint triathlon plan and his intermediate half-marathon plan and this is what I came up with. (click to view the google spreadsheet).

A few notes about this plan:

• Based on training in the past I know my body thrives on lower running mileage. This is why my running mileage peaks at 29 miles
• I am kind of antsy about how low my running mileage is the first few weeks during tri training. I’m hoping all the cross-training will counter-balance that.
• I’m hoping that adding in extra cross-training with the lower mileage will still have me in tip-top shape AND injury-free on race day.
• I’m adding in extra yoga days around the races because I know that yoga is what’s helped me stay injury-free so far in 2011.
• The days in pink that have nothing planned are not necessarily rest days. For example, when I go to visit Lisa in MN I know for a fact we have at least 1-2 runs planned and possibly an active day of biking. But I am leaving those days “unplanned” for now because I don’t want to feel like I have to adhere to the schedule. Whatever happens will happen on those days!

As always, feedback is appreciated!!

As with all of my training plans I will be listening to my body and adjusting as need be. I also plan on doing something different with the blog. I got this idea from Kelly and Aron’s weekly summaries of their training, which I really enjoy reading.

Every Sunday night I am going to do a “training round-up” post letting you know how training went for the week and how I altered (or didn’t alter) my plan from what was originally scheduled! This is as much to keep myself accountable to the plan as it is to keep my readers up-to-date on how things are going. It’s a learning process for me as I’ve never trained for a triathlon before and certainly not at the same time as training for a half-marathon.

Let the summer training begin!

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What are you training for this summer?

This morning I chose sleep over running. I actually got up when my alarm went off at 5:00 AM. I went to the bathroom and then I stared out the window for a few minutes thinking it was going to be a gorgeous morning for a run. But I couldn’t get past how exhausted I felt and when I ran yesterday feeling super exhausted I ended up being nauseous for a lot of the run.

So I crawled back under the covers for another 1.5 hours of sleep! I was right about one thing, though: It’s a gorgeous day today! Finally feels like summer is on it’s way!

Maybe I’ll try to squeeze in a quick run after work. And, if not, I will definitely be getting my butt out of bed on Friday morning to run. No excuses!

Since I didn’t workout this morning I wasn’t craving a heavy breakfast like my usual oatmeal. So I went with a green smoothie and 1 poached egg on 1/2 an english muffin.

In the smoothie:

• 1/2 a banana
• 2 handfuls of spinach
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 scoop chunky peanut butter
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup water

Off to work I go! I’ve been insanely busy at work lately with a new project. It’s been fun and full of new challenges and each work day is flying by, which is great. However, due to this insane busy-ness I might be a little quiet around the blog world over the next month or two.

Better go!

How’s your week going?

First, I really need more submissions for the next workplace fashion post! I was hoping to do it next Monday but I only have a couple submissions right now. The theme is CASUAL FRIDAY – but if you work in a casual office, you could just submit an outfit that you wear any day of the week!

If you want to participate, email me (amber@girlwiththeredhair.com) a photo of you in your outfit with the following info:

1. Name

2. URL

3. Where you got the outfit

4. Your thoughts on casual Friday and/or casual workplaces

THANK YOU!

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OK, time for another confessions post!

• I’m so, so, SO ready for Fall. Heat, humidity, sunshine begone! I am ready to see my breath when I head out for a cool, crisp run in the morning, wear boots and sweaters to work and watch the leaves turn colour.

• I am not, however, ready for winter. Can’t it be fall all year long?

• I’ve been having some arch pain in my right foot lately and because of this I’ve cut back on my runs this week. I’m way more upset about this then I should be. I cried about it last night. I hate the feeling that my body is failing me, it is so disheartening when I am working so freaking hard.

• As I’m sure you’ve all noticed, I’m taking the blog in a slightly different direction. More healthy living/food/running focused than ever. I’m excited about these changes and the new direction I’m taking but also worried that my readers won’t like it. Ya, ya, I know blogging is supposed to be “for me”. But my favourite part of blogging is the interaction that happens. So pleasing my readers to some extent IS important to me!

• I’ve barely rode my bike at all. Every Sunday night I BBM Lisa and say “Ya, I’m going to try and go for a bike ride in the morning.” and every Monday morning I BBM her again and say, “Ya, I didn’t go biking this morning…” Training for a marathon is hard enough as it is. I’m just glad I didn’t spend $800 on a bike now!

• Eric is going back to school full-time this fall (more details on this in later post) and I think I’m more excited to go school supply shopping than he is. Scratch that, I’m DEFINITELY more excited than he is! Dare I say that I’m a little sad I’m not returning to school this September for the first time in 17 years. Well, I am. Just a little bit.

What are your confessions this week?