I wasn’t planning on registering for the George Washington Parkway Classic until after the new year, but today I started putting together my training plan and got excited enough to sign up early. I cannot wait for this race.
The GW Parkway Classic is a 10 mile race and I could not find a 10 miler specific training plan that I liked, so I took the Jeff Galloway Half Marathon (2:20 Goal Time) plan on RunKeeper.com and tweaked it just a bit so it would fit my training needs for this race. It is an 18 week program that consists of 2 short runs during the week and one long weekend run OR one weekend speed-work session. The race is in about 16 weeks and after cutting the two extra weeks I only made two tiny changes:
- Cut out 2 weekend runs on days that I know I’ll be out of town and forget about them. I really want my training for this race to be fun and I don’t want to get hung up on making sure I cover every single mile.
- To prevent boredom I took the two short weekday runs that are scheduled for 45 minutes each and changed them up – varying them from 2.5 miles-5 miles, with occasional weekday speed-work. I’ll still get about 90 minutes of running in but the variety will hopefully make it a little more fun.
I know this plan is longer than most – Hal Higdon’s beginner half marathon plan is 12 weeks – but I’m someone who needs a plan to be motivated. If this turns out to be too much or not enough, I have plenty of time to change things around before April. If it works, I can adjust it for my half in September.
Now for the fun part: shopping! I haven’t needed to run with water or fuel because my longest run to date has been about 6.5 miles. I’m torn about what to get to take with me. I’m leaning towards the CamelBak pack, which is a women’s fit smaller pack that holds 50 oz. (20 oz. less than the standard CamelBak) because I’ll be starting double digit long runs at the end of January and the only thing I can think about is how cold my hands will be.
What do you do to stay hydrated on long runs?
CarlyBananas 
You can run 6.5mi without any water? I can only make it about 4 before I need to hydrate! My mom’s like you though – she will only take water for runs that are 6mi or longer.
I use a hydration belt – I can’t stand holding a bottle in my hands & camel baks annoy me while running b/c I’ve never gotten the fit right for running. I use them a lot when I’m cycling though!
Happy training!
I drink water every mile if I’m on the treadmill but I just can’t make myself carry a water bottle outside! I’m such a wimp about holding things when I run.
I already use a SpiBelt for my phone/keys so I’m kind of hesitant to add another belt to the mix (how many belts and a runner wear? lol). I’m glad to hear that you like the CamelBak for cycling though! Have you worn it in the summer? I get a little concerned it will make my back even more sweaty/less able to breathe.
The fuel belt I wear actually has a pocket on it for stuff like keys/phone/etc, so I only need to wear the one!
For the camelbak in the summer, it really doesn’t get noticeably warm! I always fill it with water & ice so it’s nice and cool on my back when I start out. By the time it’s melted, I’m hot anyway and don’t really notice it! The material on the back of the bigger camelbak’s is pretty breathable too – so it’s not like wearing a “regular” backpack on you while you’re riding. MUCH more sweat-friendly!
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