Training: New Plan?

So now that I've registered for my second half marathon (!!), and have finally set up my membership at the gym (I guess one perk to working at a university is a cheap membership - $18 a month, straight out of my paycheck? Yes please!), I've been thinking a lot about how I want to set up my training plan for this next race. Now that I can really incorporate cross training and some weight training into my regimen, I want to make sure I'm still running as much as I did for the last race but providing my body time to recover and be at its best.

The last training plan I had was one that a friend found online - I liked the way it was set up, that it was set up for 4 runs, 1 XT, and 2 rest days a week, which I thought was perfect for my schedule. Of course, as you know, I didn't do any cross-training for the last race. If I needed to adjust a day, I did it, but it still worked well. I may continue with this same program, but I also just spent a little time searching to see if there are any other training plans that I think might fit. I have eleven weeks still until this race, so I have plenty of time to either start a new plan and see if it works or if I will just continue with the original plan.

I found this one from Shape that I like, for the most part - I like the two XT days built in, but I felt like I regularly made progress with 4 runs a week. Runner's World provides a series of training guides; I just downloaded the half training guide, which includes everything from weekly plans to recovery to eating during a long run, to speedwork and hill suggestions. Thorough, I like it! Cool Running has this plan (this is linked to the beginning one, ther's others); I like the way this one is set up, but high mileage in the middle of the weak warns me off a little bit. There is, of course, the Hal Higdon plan (one of many), which (with tweaking) I think would work well for me.

This training cycle is already looking to be darn busy as well, considering a number of upcoming festivities and races I already have planned:

• February 11: Georgia Collegiate Leadership Conference (conferece my students are hosting)
• February 18: Taste of Athens 10K, Athens, GA
• February 19: Volunteering at Taste of Athens
• February 24-26: Phoenix for Tina's bachelorette! Arizona 5K
• March 10: (posibly) Sham-ROCK 10K, Atlanta, GA
• March 22-25: Phoenix for Tina's wedding!
• March 31: The Color Run, Atlanta, GA
• April 8: Hoppin' Easter 10K, Madison, GA
• April 22: Race Day!

So you might say I have a busy few weeks coming up - already confirmed registration for the Taste 10K, the Arizona 5K, and the Color Run. Not sure I'm doing that Sham-ROCK race, but more than likely doing the Easter 10K, since that's two weeks before the race and will be a great indicator of how training has gone (and at only $17 with a shirt, why not?!).

What do your training plans look like? How many true rest days you do allow yourself per week? Cross-training?