Half Marathon Training Update

I am now into the 8th week of my 10 week half marathon training program. I’ll give you a little recap of how training has been going.

The first 3 weeks of training went really well. The longer runs were hard, but I managed to get through them just fine.

Next, I made a big mistake… I missed the 4th and 5th weeks of training because of my Disney World trip and preparing for my Disney World trip. I was supposed to run 7 miles the Saturday after I returned from my trip, but after not running at all, I only managed 5 miles. The next day, I decided to try for 7 again. I made it 6 miles and immediately regretted it. Normally, after running, especially the longer runs, I feel great. Not in this case. Going from not running to running 11 miles in 2 days was too much for my body. My lower back hurt so bad immediately after the 6 mile run I began to think I had seriously injured myself and wouldn’t be able to run the race.

Luckily for me (and my bank account), my dad is an orthopedist. Driving home from the gym, I called my dad. He knows that I am the queen of complaining and whining, so he said I probably just strained my back. He advised me to take a couple of days off, take some ibuprofen and do some core and back strengthening in the mean time. The next night, I was complaining to my boyfriend because my back was still really hurting, despite following my dad’s instructions. It even hurt to walk. He also gets sick of my complaining, so he suggested I call his dad, who is a physical therapist (double win for my bank account). His dad walked me through some stretches over the phone and then suggested icing my back. Since I never really got injured growing up, I was pretty unfamiliar with icing body parts and the idea of it wasn’t so appealing. Nevertheless, I did the stretches and then laid on an ice pack and it was actually wonderful! I continued doing the stretches throughout the week and then decided I should ease back into my training.

That Wednesday, after taking 2 days off, I decided to give running another go. I ran 3 miles on the treadmill and felt fine. I was still having minor back pain but it was mostly gone — nothing like before. I went ahead and took Thursday (and accidentally Friday) off. Saturday I ran 5 miles without any trouble.

The following Monday, I ran 8 miles. I had been nervous about this run because it was my first outdoor run by myself, not to mention the fact that the furthest I had run thus far was only 6 and it had been a while. Yes, I had been running on the treadmill at the gym prior to this. This was partially because it had been cold and getting dark early, but partially because I didn’t have anyone to go with and the idea of running outdoors alone freaked me out. I thought if I didn’t have the treadmill or a buddy to keep me going, that I couldn’t do it. As I’ve mentioned before, running is completely a mental thing. The only reason you can’t do it is because you don’t think you can.

Well, I’ll be honest. This 8 mile run was pretty hard. The first couple of miles were the worst. I kept thinking I wouldn’t be able to run the half, and that I should just quit and pay my dad back for the registration fee. About 2 miles in, I had to stop to wait for a light to turn so that I could cross the street. It was then that I told myself, ‘you know what, you can do this!’ I thought of the 5K I ran on Thanksgiving and how so many people, both much older and much younger than me, do it. I thought of all of my friends that would say ‘told you so’ if I quit. This was the perfect motivation. Instead of all of those negative thoughts. I started focusing on where I was going and how beautiful the area was on that sunny evening. I didn’t stop again until I had completed the 8 miles. It was the best feeling in the world! I had finally experienced the runner’s high! I know people hate when other people post about working out or fitness on social media all the time, but I just felt so great and was so proud of myself that I wanted to share it with others, so I tweeted about it. Sorry everyone, I guess that makes me that girl. Oh well!

It was that 8 mile run, when I knew I could run the half. I also realized that I really love running. I had been toying with the idea of other races in the future, but kept thinking I’d have to wait and see how my first half went. This run was pretty much the deciding factor for me. My first half most likely won’t be my last. This run also opened my eyes to how much better running outside is than on a treadmill.

That week I was able to catch up to where I should have been in my training. That Saturday, which was this past weekend, I ran 9 miles. The best part about it was that I felt like I could’ve kept going. The 3 mile recovery run I did Sunday was honestly harder than the 9 miles on Saturday (mostly because my legs were sore).

So this is where I am now: back on schedule in my 8th week. I’m actually starting to get excited for the half. I just really hope it isn’t freezing or rainy… I’m a wuss when it comes to the elements.

I almost forgot, I have a couple of tips to share for fellow runners training for a half! My older sister, Megan, who has done a million races (okay, I’m elaborating, but she has done a bunch), told me that I needed to start thinking about what kind of energy/food thing I was going to use during the race. This had not even crossed my mind. She said that I need to try some out while I’m training so I find one I like and can use it for the race. I had heard of the goos and nothing about them sounded appealing to me — especially the texture. Yuck! Megan told me her favorite are Shot Bloks, which are made by the Cliff Bar company. I found them at Target and bought a pack. One pack has 6 bloks and Megan said to eat 3 about 40-45 minutes into a long run. The first run I tried this on was the 8 mile run. I bought the strawberry flavor and they were actually pretty good! They are essentially big gummies, so they’re easy to eat while you’re running. The only thing I didn’t like, which would be the same for any of these energy things I guess, was that I had to carry them with me. Megan suggested a running belt to hold them, but that’s basically a glorified fanny pack, which I’m not crazy about. I used the second half of my pack of Shot Bloks on the 9 mile run and decided that they are what I will use on race day. I still haven’t resolved the issue of carrying them, but I still have a little time to figure that out…

My other tip came from my friend Claire. She has completed a half marathon and prior to that, to my knowledge, hadn’t been a big runner, so I really valued what she had to say since I’m in a similar position. Now that I’m thinking about it, she may have done cross country in high school, but I don’t really remember her running much in college. Anyway, Claire said no matter what you do, or how slow you have to go, don’t stop running. She said when you start walking, it is so much harder to run again. I think this is true, just from my long runs. I’m not a fast runner by any means, in fact sometimes I feel like I’m barely moving. Every time I feel like stopping I just think of Claire telling me to keep going. It really does make it easier! When I say I’m slow that is no exaggeration. I run a pretty consistent 10-minute mile. In the future I hope to get faster, but for my first half, I just hope to run the whole thing without stopping.

That’s all for now! I’m sure I’ll post again soon with another update since the race is coming up so quickly!

Half Marathon Training Program

Well, I’ve chosen my half marathon training program. I looked through a bunch of them, but this one just seemed right up my alley. I found it on Pinterest (shocking, I know) via I Heart Vegetables’ blog but it looks like it is originally from Fitness Magazine. Since this is a 10 week program, I will officially start it on Monday, February 17th. So, since that is a little ways off, for now I’m just continuing to run 3-4 times a week and cross-train the other 3-4 days. At this point, the furthest I’ve gone is 4 miles and boy, it felt good!

So I’m running a half marathon…

I’ve always been a pretty healthy person. I tend to like healthy food and I enjoy working out from time to time. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized how important it is to take care of your body. As my mom always says, you only get one!

I grew up dancing, which I loved, but this isn’t really something you can continue throughout your life. The only way to keep dancing is basically if you become a professional, which wasn’t ever something I was interested in pursuing.

In college, I would go through phases of working out a lot and then not at all. Junior year, my older sister, Megan, who is a runner and what I like to call a “workoutaholic,” convinced my family to all run in our town’s Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving morning. I downloaded a “Couch to 5K” training app on my phone and started the program. I realize it sounds silly to train for a 5K, but I hadn’t really run before. A few weeks went by and my desire to continue with the training app fizzled. Next thing I knew, it was time for the Turkey Trot. I completed it, but probably walked close to half of it. Even though I wasn’t thrilled with how I did, I loved the race environment and that everyone was out there doing it together.

Over the years, the Turkey Trot has become a Thanksgiving family tradition. Since the original Turkey Trot, my dad has taken up running. A few years ago, Megan talked him into running a half marathon in San Antonio with her. He continues to run on a pretty regular basis.

My whole family is athletic and has no problem running a random 5K, like said Turkey Trot. I already mentioned that Megan runs all of the time, but she also competes in triathlons! Rachel, my younger sister, has always been athletic and even more so, determined. She played soccer when she was younger, and then moved on to cheerleading and golf. Scott, my little brother, picked up swimming his sophomore year of high school and by senior year, he made state! My dad played sports all throughout his childhood, and as I mentioned now runs all the time. The only one who can’t run the Turkey Trot is my mom. She used to run all of the time until she got really bad bersitis in her hip. After a stint filled with painful shots that required extremely long needles and the ugliest hip brace you have ever seen, she was forced to give up running forever. Being the competitive person I am, I decided this year that I wasn’t going to be the only one in my family (mom excluded) not to run the entire Turkey Trot. This, combined with my desire to take care of my body, lead me to start running.

I went to the gym two or three times a week and ran a mile or two each time, in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. Before I knew it, it was the week before the race and the furthest I had run was 2 miles. Thursday, exactly a week prior to the Turkey Trot, I told myself it was the day to run 3 miles. Up until then, I didn’t know if I could do it. That day, I ran 3 miles without a problem and I realized that I was completely capable. This is when it occurred to me how much of a mental thing running is. The only thing holding me back was all of the negative thoughts in my head — that I was bored or tired, or that I just couldn’t do it.

This year, I ran the entire Turkey Trot. I may not be fast, but I ran all 3.1 miles of it. I was so proud of myself. It felt so good to succeed at something that I didn’t used to think I could do. This is when I realized that I enjoy running. It doesn’t hurt that it is also a great stress reliever and good for my body. The “runner’s high” afterward isn’t too bad either!

Clearly my dad picked up on this. A week or two later I got a text from him asking me to do the Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon with him in April. At first I was hesitant. The most I had ever run was 3.1 miles! How could I commit to 13.1 miles?! The more I thought about it, the more I realized how awesome it would be to be able to say I ran a half marathon. I remembered that race atmosphere that was so inspiring at the Turkey Trot. If that was how I felt at a little 5K, how awesome would a half marathon be?! Needless to say, I gave in. My dad and I are signed up to run the Memorial Half on April 27th.

When I told some of my friends, the response was “Oh Jackie…” or “You mean you’re going to do it again, huh?” or even just laughter. You may think this is mean, but they’re right. I was signed up to run the half several years ago. I piddled around and never trained for it. As the race got closer, I ended up saying that I had an injury, which allowed me to defer my registration to the following year. I did not run it that year either. Basically, I was lazy and that is exactly my motivation this go-round. I am going to prove to everyone, and more importantly myself, that I can do it.

Training for a half definitely won’t be easy. It is going to be a journey. I’m sure there will be days when I want to quit training and just give up. I’m hoping that sharing my experiences publicly will get me through those hard days and keep me motivated. We’ll see how it goes! I guess this is just the first of many new adventures for me in 2014!