At the beginning of this month, I ran my first half marathon. It was a big event for me because I achieved what I thought would be impossible a couple years ago. I couldn't run around the block and now I'm circling Seattle??? It was amazing! I finished in 2:16.
Anyway, this what I take away from my first 13.1 race and training:
- Running expos for larger events are awesome! I ran the Seattle 13.1 and the expo set the perfect tone for me to get excited. Allow yourself some time to explore and be ready to pick up some free goodies.
-Trust your training. My training schedule was 12 weeks and at the longest, it had me run only 12 miles. I was worried that never completing the actual distance would be a problem. If you trained for 12, your excitement will carry you 1.1 more. In many ways, doing my first 13.1 at the race made it much better!
-Remember your safety pins. I forgot to pick some up at the expo and spent a panic filled 15 minutes looking for some at the runners village.
-Stick to what you know! Don't wear new shoes, clothes, eat something strange, change your form, or even wear new headphones the week prior to the race. Your body and mind will lose focus trying to adjust.
-You're gonna have bad days. It's a fact of life... just finish what you can and know that tomorrow could be better! So what if you didn't run as fast as you planned today? You still ran, right? How many miles can you knock out on the couch?
-Get there early so you can pee before the race, not during. Enough said.
-You're gonna have bad days. It's a fact of life... just finish what you can and know that tomorrow could be better! So what if you didn't run as fast as you planned today? You still ran, right? How many miles can you knock out on the couch?
-Get there early so you can pee before the race, not during. Enough said.
-Recruit support! My girlfriend was at the 8 mile mark cheering me on. That was after some rough hills. I gave me my second wind to finish strong.
-Time doesn't matter! It's impossible for me not to set a goal time, but don't let it control you during your first race at a new distance. I knew I wasn't going to be under 2 hours by the fourth mile. That's when I started to really love what I was doing.
-Seattle is truly beautiful. I'm glad I took the the time to take in the scenery.
-This won't be my last half marathon. I started shopping for the next race that afternoon!
I'll probably add more to this later as I have more time, but if you've come across this and you haven't ran your first half, do it!!!
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