Running a Half Marathon

>>>On Assignment<< Amy of Runner’s Lounge has started a meme for fellow running bloggers. She assigns a topic pertinent to running and offers us a chance to run with it.

The theme this week is : Half Marathons

This post is for first time Half Marathon runners. Don’t be afraid – it can be done! Last year, I trained and ran my first 13.1 miles. In the beginning I was positive I had taken on more than I could handle. I was wrong. I completed the training and the race injury free.
The accolades go to Jeff Galloway’s book.
Half Marathon You Can Do It.
His book has easy to follow programs that include all running levels. He divides them by race goal times. This year I’m following the 1:59 – 2:29 program in hopes of getting under the 2 hour window. Last year I came in just over 2 hours – trust me - it felt like amazing!

Some Suggestions:

• Don’t make time your goal – just follow your feet and see where they take you.
• Do those long runs SLOW – listen to music, podcasts or audio books. Having a bike companion along side is nice too.
• Take walk breaks! “Walk breaks allow you to take control over fatigue.” At the 10 mile mark - just keep running to the finish line – You’ll be surprised how many you will pass. The runners that started to fast.
• Watch what you eat along the way. More is not better! I took a handful of Jelly Belly Sport beans with me and drank plain water along the way. That was enough.
• Wear your most comfortable shoes – not new ones.
• Try and relax - just focus on the scenery and the fun folks around you - not on how far you have to go.

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