My goal for the New Orleans half marathon in February is to have fun and cross the finish line. I'm not looking for a PR. I'm looking for a good race to cap off a fun vacation in the Big Easy.

After some tinkering, I think I've put together a training plan that will get me there.

Here's a look at what I'll be doing for the next several weeks:

Mondays: Mid-length run in the morning. Starting at four in the early weeks, these runs will eventually cap out at 8 miles. Bike and Ball class in the evening.

Tuesday: Cross train or rest.

Wednesday: Speed work either in the form of tempo runs or intervals in the morning. Strength training class in the evening.

Thursday: Yoga

Friday: Three to five mile run.

Saturday: Long run.

Sunday: Rest

One of the big things I'm working into this training plan that I was lacking in the fall is a serious focus on cross-training. I know I have muscle imbalances all over the place and I'm hoping with the addition of strength training twice a week, I'll be able to fix some of those issues. I'm also hoping that helps clear up the nagging pain left over in my knee. I'm also going to make an extra effort to take yoga class at least once a week to help stretch out lingering muscle tightness.

If this sort of varied training plan works for New Orleans, it's something I plan to adopt when I move into spring race season and serious training begins again. For now, I'm using New Orleans as a test race. It's a low key event for me and a good chance to experiment with a new type of training plan to see what kind of results I get.