Running a Half Marathon on Three Training Runs a Week

Half Marathon 2015 is getting closer.

It's May 2, as a matter of fact ... a mere 24 days away. 

I still don't have a hotel. I have just one long outdoor run under by belt. I'm feeling heavy and not eating very well. I'm temporarily out of fish oil capsules so my knees hurt a bit more than usual. 

And I'm starting to find excuses to add a "total rest" day during the week. None of these things are good signs. 

On the bright side, I did 11 miles on Saturday with no major malfunctions and no significant additional aches and pains on Sunday. 

This might be the strangest training for a half I've ever done. 

It's strange mostly because I'm only really running three days a week. 

And it's quite a contrast from my first half. 

Back in 2012, I was running nearly every day. I'd hit my treadmill each morning for 4 miles and then I would run at least 6 on one weekend day and longer on the other weekend day, working my way up to a pre-race 12 on long run day. I was regularly getting in 30-ish miles a week, even on a slow week. 

Fast forward to 2015. My knees are in worse shape and my body has an idea of what I'm asking it to do. After a year of fairly heavy strength and cross training, I'm stronger and more well-rounded than I was then. 

So this time through, I spent the first couple of months with two, sometimes three, weekday 4-mile runs and one slightly longer run during the weekend. Then I'd cross-train on two or three days a week. I gradually started adding a mile to the weekend run. Plus, I religiously took one full rest day each week. 

So that's 12-16 miles a week in the beginning. Once I was at the 8- or 9-mile mark for the long weekend run, I added a mile to both of the weekday runs, too, increasing my overall mileage to 18-20 per week. 

And that's where I am now. I go five miles a day, two mornings a week. This past Saturday, I put 11 miles in for my long run. That's only 21 miles in a week. 

I'm not sure if this is a smart way to go about it. But it is the way I have attacked it this time for any number of reasons. I am pretty sure my time will be considerably slower than that first time, too. 

Or maybe it won't. I can't wait to find out.