Day one of my new training cycle got off to a rough start this morning. I went to bed last night at 10 p.m. anticipating my 4:30 a.m. wake-up call, but instead of easily falling to sleep, I tossed and turned and didn't sleep a wink until 1:30 a.m.

At that point, I decided there was just no way a run at 4:30 a.m. was going to happen. So yes, it's the first day of a new training cycle and I've already skipped a run. Major fail.

I'll make the run up tomorrow, and chalk up my terrible sleep to a fun weekend that completely threw my normal sleep schedule out of whack.

Here's a glimpse at the rest of my training plan.



This is another one of my customized training plans, based loosely off Hal Higdon's intermediate half marathon plan.


Training plan highlights:

• Two days of strength training and one day of yoga
• Three days with two-a-days
• Speedwork on Wednesdays
• An extra run day on Fridays that can be swapped for cross-training or rest as needed.

I'm hoping that by upping my mileage and getting back to dedicated speedwork, I'll start to see a drop in my times. I'm also hoping that the extra emphasis on cross-training will help me avoid injury.

How many days of cross-training do you work into a training plan? This is one of my first plans where I have several workouts dedicated to something other than running.