Running My First Half-Marathon

Well this is only nearly two months late but better late than never right??

I don’t even know where to start with this so I guess we are going all the way back to the beginning…

I was only a few weeks in to my half-marathon training when I had to say goodbye to my website and kind of just stopped updating on all social media channels. Needless to say, my intention of writing about my experience kind of went by the wayside.

I started my training for my first half-marathon back in March and right from the get go training didn’t really go as planned. I ended up getting sick a week in and between that and snow I started missing days,  not the way I imagined my training going which was pretty disappointing. I managed to get back on track somewhere in the middle and got in most of my runs and yoga once a week until the end of June.

I think by June, between work and training, I was pretty tired, and I was starting to find it hard to find enough time because when runs are 2 hours long you kinda need time…just sayin’. The last couple weeks especially were pretty much a write off, though I did keep up with my long runs and I always tried to make sure I did at least one other short run during the week. In the end with all the workouts I missed I was a little nervous that I would even be able to run 21 kilometers when the day came.

The morning of the race was a chilly one. I was oddly calm waiting for the gun to go off, probably because I went in to the race with absolutely no expectations except to cross the finish line…preferably not last. I was kind of expecting at some point in the race to feel like I was just done, like I couldn’t take one more step but up until the last kilometre I never once even felt close to that. The I ended up finishing in 2 hours and 22 minutes and I loved every minute of it. I am definitely planning on doing another one in the near future.

Things I Learned:

1. It’s okay to miss training days. Sure you can probably have a better finish time if you get in all your workouts but if you miss a few you will still be able to complete the race. So if you are sick or just way to tired…sleep…it’s not the end of the world.
2. Focus on the long runs. Getting in the distance is important to me mostly just for my own peace of mind. Knowing I can run 16km without any problems before hand is a pretty good sign that I should be able to make through 21km so I made sure I got in every long run.
3. Boston marathon qualifiers can run. It is kind of intimidating when half way through the race four guys go past you like you are standing still and you realize they are full marathon runners who have run further than you and have caught up to you.The lady I was running beside at the time and I had a good laugh as they blew past us. (Side note on this one, the first full marathon finisher crossed the finish line only 20 minutes behind me…CRAZY…I can’t imagine ever being able to run that fast)
4. Figure out what to eat in advance. I found that around 14km I would run (no pun intended hah) out of energy…like completely out of energy…like I wanted to curl up on the sidewalk and have a nap. I started drinking Nuun electrolyte, which worked for giving me a little boost, but didn’t really agree with my stomach. I tried eating Starbursts, again the sugar rush was great…not so easy to eat while running. A couple of days before the race I picked up some Stinger Raspberry Lemonade chews…they worked like a charm. They were super easy to eat, tasted amazing and best of all they didn’t bother my stomach. I wish I would have spent more time earlier on figuring it out to eat instead of taking my chances on race day though.
5. Ice is your best friend. Any long run…jump in a tub full of ice after (or as cold of water as you can handle) and your body will thank you. I didn’t have time to ice after the race and I hurt A LOT, walking was kind of painful for a few days.
6. You will be HUNGRY!! Oh man food, food is good when you have run for two hours straight. At the beginning of training I was eating like I normally do but found that I would feel so sick by the end of a long run day. There is nothing quite like a good old fashion peanut butter and honey sandwich for a snack…or any carbs really…or just any food…food is good.

After twenty weeks of running, yoga and eating everything in sight I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed my first half marathon. There were definitely moments I had to drag myself outside to run, or force myself in to the car to go to yoga but it was worth it and I can hardly wait for the next race.

P.S. Thanks Melody for the pictures!!