After a good three weeks of marathon recovery, today I started training for my next race: The Woodlands Half Marathon on February 28, 2026.
Since I have now raced a full marathon and three half marathons, I can safely say that the half marathon is my preferred distance. I loved my marathon journey and will do it again, but there's no doubt that training for a half marathon is much more manageable as far as a time commitment goes...and it's just more fun. Our that's my current thought, anyway!
I am trying a new training plan this time. In the past I have used this intermediate plan by Hal Higdon:
Intermediate 1 Half Marathon Training | Hal Higdon
It's great, and I highly recommend it for a newer to early intermediate type runner, but I was ready to up my game, especially after completing a full marathon.
So, I found this more advanced plan that I am super excited about:
8 Week Advanced Half Training Plan - Runtastic Events
It has a bit more challenging speedwork than the Higdon plan, and keeps my mileage up a bit higher, which I also appreciate for marathon endurance maintenance.
I'll keep you posted on how it goes!