So Reach the Beach is in 3 months. Tour de Patrick starts in 11 days. And I think I’m going to run the Cox Half Marathon again this year, as it would be a great final long run prior to Reach the Beach.

And I haven’t started training for any of these yet…

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been working out 5-6 days a week as I always do, but with no specific goal other than to stay fit and in shape. Which, by the way, is truly fantastic.

I think I continue to put off training for these events because I’m enjoying my lack of training plan. All through 2011 and most of 2012 I trained and trained for events, followed plans, long runs, tempo runs, interval runs, you name it… I was always “stuck” to a plan. I haven’t been training for anything specific since August, but just going with the flow of whatever my body wanted to do – run long, run short, run fast, run slow, spin, weights, yoga, whatever.

I’m going to start tomorrow. It’s supposed to be 39 degrees and sunny around 10 a.m., which is when I should be able to get my run in. So it’s time to start – step 1 is training for Tour de Patrick. I would REALLY like a 5k PR – I did not get one in 2012 (I also only ran 2 5ks so there is that…). I’m not aiming for any specific time other than a PR – I was going to try to break 24 minutes but I don’t want to put that kind of pressure on myself with only a couple weeks to train. The best part about Tour de Patrick is that I have 3 opportunities to PR. The first race was a PR race for me in 2011 and so was the second. I know the second race has fantastic PR potential because it’s a flat out and back, so I’m going to try for it the hardest on that race. The third race is the most popular, usually super crowded, and has a couple of really nasty hills, so I’m just going to run that one for fun!

Here’s my plan:

Tuesdays: Intervals (1/4 mile @ 7:30 or better, 1/4 mile recovery) – whatever distance I cover with a proper warm up of course.

Wednesdays: Recovery run – again, whatever distance. Most of my running courses take me at least 3.5-4 miles so I’m not really worried about not covering enough distance.

Fridays: Tempo run. At least 3 miles, at least 7:55 or better if I want to PR.

I have all of this week and all of next week to complete these before the first race, then another week to complete them before the next two races. I’m going to add in yoga on Wednesday nights and kettlebell training on Thursdays and either Saturday or Sunday. One rest day per week, of course, it’s necessary.

It’s a very loose plan, but after being stuck to such stringent plans for so long, I’m just feeling like being a bit more free. Once it comes time to really crack down for Reach the Beach and (potentially) Cox Half, my plans will become more organized.

I also need to really start thinking about my Tough Mudder and Spartan Race training – but I think I’m going to leave that one up to the bf, since he’s experienced in these kind of things.

How do you train? Do you find you train better with a strict plan or a loose plan?