Half Marathon Training + Ripped in 30= ?

   We are just over 2 months away from our first half marathon and 2 weeks into our heavy training. Last week we ran 8 miles, this week it will be 9. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we do 2 or 3 mile runs at Riverton Park where there is a running trail. This running trail contains a hill from hell. The going down is gradual and fun, but the uphill part is a very steep incline of just a couple of yards. Luckily Mark pushes Addison, or I would never make it up the hill. And because the path is only 1/2 mile, we hit it 4-6 times a run. I just keep thinking, "Only 20 more runs on the hill until the half. Only 20 more runs on the hill until the half."  I know, hill training is very important because it builds your strength faster and blah, blah, blah, but I still am against hills.
   I learned a couple of weeks ago that I love sprinting and speed drills. Turns out all my skills lie in running really fast for a short period of time. And now that the snow is gone, we can also do that once a week on the grass where I am a lot less likely to hurt my foot anymore that I already have. Mark doesn't like them, but he has no problems with endurance, so it is a give and take on that point for us.
   We do our long weekend runs on Denver and Rio Grande Western Rail Trail. It is the huge paved trail that runs from Roy, UT to the Draper, UT area and changes names a million times. It is perfect for longer runs because it is mostly flat, only slight inclines and declines. And you can easily go for miles and miles and miles due to it's length. We did 4 miles this weekend. I ran most of it, Mark ran all of it. For some reason, four miles seemed an eternity this weekend. But we got it done and even bad training runs are better than sitting on the couch.
  We are doing all of this as well as Ripped in 30, which we just started last Wednesday.  We do it Monday-Thursday in the mornings before Mark goes to work and run at night. Running long distances can actually take away muscle mass, so it is important to get in strength training. And the stronger you are, the longer you are supposed to be able to run. Anything that helps me with endurance, I am all for. We will be doing Ripped until the end of April. I lost 18.5 inches on 30 Day Shred, so I am hoping for big loses on Ripped too. Swimming suit season is almost upon us, even if we will be too busy running to enjoy it.