Remember how last week I was all about my non-training training plan -- an attempt to give my running some structure without going overboard?



Right, it went well last week. I got in all five workouts -- though instead of three runs and two days of CrossFit, I ended up with four runs and one day of CrossFit. But either way, all good in the end.

But then last night, a friend of mine asked me to make her a training plan for the Biggest Loser 5K that we are running in DC in July. (Full disclosure, I got a comped entry so I could run the race and review it.)

I had so much fun making her training plan, that I started itching to have one of my own.

Next thing I knew, I got sucked down the rabbit hole of training plan creation. I was looking at my calendar, blocking out time for CrossFit and softball and other prior commitments and fitting in training runs around them.



The race is only four weeks away, and creating a training plan that short was kind of fun. I'm used to these long 12-week marathon and half marathon plans that require so much advanced planning.

Having something short and sweet like a 5K in a few weeks is going to bring a nice level of focus to my training without bogging me down with long runs in the hot summer months.

So here's what I came up with. For the most part I nixed all dedicated speed work because I get a lot of interval type training through CrossFit. So my runs are either short and easy 3 milers or slightly longer runs on the weekend.

I'm kicking around the idea of doing one of the local 4th of July 5Ks just for fun (hence the "potential 5K" on that random Thursday.) And I'm also planning to experiment with a run commute on a Tuesday morning, which explains the 7 mile run that day.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Week One	CrossFit	3 mile run	CrossFit	3 mile run / Softball	Softball	CrossFit	Rest
Week Two	CrossFit	3 mile run	Rest	3 mile run / Softball	CrossFit	5 mile run	Rest
Week Three	CrossFit	7 mile run	CrossFit	Potential 5K Race	CrossFit	5 mile run	Rest
Week Four	CrossFit	3 mile run	30 min tempo / Softball	2 mile run / Softball	CrossFit / Softball	Rest	Race!

I'm pretty excited about this plan. All the workouts are short which makes it totally manageable in the hot summer months and gives me plenty of flexibility with my schedule.

And before I know it, it will be time to jump back into half marathon training for my race in September. But for now, I'm going to embrace short and sweet runs to get me through the summer!