Friday, March 16, 2012

My first half marathon training

I'm trying not to let myself get stressed out about this.  I have to just not think about it too much.  I started off strong and had a plan, but now that it is down to crunch time I realize I am a little behind in my half marathon training and these next three weeks are basically going to be hell.

Here is what I have done so far and my plan for the remaining time left before the race:


I didn't stick to the plan I had and things got kind of all over the place.  And please note that when I say "run" it's more like slow jog.  Like 12-11 min/mile pace.  And there might be some walking in some of those "runs".

Now I am kind of freaking out.  Today I am going to try to run 9 miles with a friend.  I say "try" because I have never ran more than 7 miles.  The week after we did that 7 mile run is when it all started falling apart.  The next week we did 6 instead of 8 and then the next weekend we just skipped it all together and when I tried to go out to do 8 by myself I could only force myself to do a little over 4 miles.  

Tomorrow I am running a 5K in Chapel Hill and next Saturday I am running my first ever 10K in Raleigh.  I've already signed up for the half so no matter what I will be attempting to run 13.1 miles on April 15th.

I'm trying not to freak out about it.

And as a bonus, here is a really cool marathon infographic I came across a few weeks ago (click to go to the original source where it is much easier to read):


Have you ever done a half marathon?  Were you freaking out your first time?

5 comments:

Paula Grace said...

You will do great! I did my 9 miles yesterday. I won't lie, it wasn't a breeze... but I did it. And you will do it too! My one suggestion is to hydrate the heck out of yourself today and tomorrow. I did not, and sureley felt the effects!!!! Good luck and let me know how it goes!

Jessica V said...

I did a 1/2 in May 2010 (a month before I got knocked up! perfect timing!) I was a little nervous, but if you can run 8, 9, 10 miles, you can do it. Just pace yourself - I also had 2 GU's which helped. I took the first after mile 5 and the second at mile 10. You will do GREAT!!

Cynthia Carlson said...

Just do it! If you believe you can, you will. I believe you can. Keep focused on doing it and seeing yourself crossing the finish line. Visualize. Visualize. I look forward to the glowing report - in fact I see it!

Amber @ A Little Pink in the Cornfields said...

I'm so proud of you and you're totally inspiring me!!!!!

The thin seeker said...

Wow!! You' ve inspired me to join a 5Km race, but I will have to finish my C25K training first.