Seems to be the latest trend! Half marathons!  Here’s a step-by-step for how to prepare!

1) Makes sure the idea of running a half marathon actually appeals to you.  When my friend Jacqui suggested running the Lake Placid Half Marathon and starting to train, I just felt like..yeah..I DO want to do that.  If it sounds like a horrible chore, DON’T DO IT.  Do something that feels right to YOU.

2) Download the Half Marathon Coach powered by MapmyRun App.At least this is what I did, which made training SUPER easy.  You could join a team or find a running coach instead.  Again, whatever works for you.

Regardless, training kinda goes like this:

Pick a day of the week you’d like to designate as your “long run day.”  Mine was Sunday.

Monday and Tuesday will be rest days.  Wednesday and Thursday will be something like a 40 minute run on Wednesday and a 30 minute run on Thursday and Friday and Saturday are two more rest days.  The app tells you what kind of run you should aim for each day.  For example, a pace run would start out with 20 minutes of nice and easy jogging followed by a minute of a little faster pace and a minute of easy again, and repeat this 5x.   And then the last 15 minutes or so is nice and easy again.  Friday would call for an easy jog for the whole 30 minutes.

So essentially you’re running 3 days a week, which was a lot less than I had anticipated for training, and you’re working on length of time you’re running instead of mileage, which was also a new concept for me.  The mileage comes with time of doing intervals here and there and pushing yourself to go a little bit longer once a week.

3) Sign up! Nothing like paying $80-$100 to motivate you to get out there!

Extra TIps for Training:

Entertainment: I liked to listen to radio shows/podcasts/books while running for distraction sometimes, as I find music can get a little redundant.

Nutrition: I don’t know if I could have trained and ran as well in the marathon if I hadn’t been using Isagenix’s all natural nutritional system that seemed to amp my body up with all the right nutrients to energize me and prevent cramping. I can’t recommend the product enough. They have these little energy shots that look like 5 hour energy bottles but the ingredients are things like pomegranate extract, apple juice concentrate, cramp bark berry extract?? yerba mate, green tea leaf extract, etc. All things that excite me to put in my body because they’re REAL.

Footwear: My dad sold me some orthotic inserts that were made from molds of my feet, which probably kept my knees from falling off, etc. I know Fleet Feet on Wolf Road in Albany has some great shoes and running paraphernalia as well as experts in the sport for extra consultation, but if you go to a physical therapist or can make it work with insurance with a podiatrist, you can get the orthotic inserts as well.  Mine were $75 from a PT, which I hear is a lot cheaper than you can buy them from a podiatrist.  Definitely important to invest in good footwear so as not to hurt yourself “down the road.”

Hope this helps, guys!

I honestly was thinking of SO MANY of you who have supported me and inspired me up to the point of doing my first half marathon.  It was an achievement that I once said I would NEVER be able to do or WANT to do, but I again proved to myself that anything is possible that you put your MIND to, and I only hope that YOU believe in YOURSELVES too!  I thank you for being with me on my run in my thoughts, and I hope to actually SEE you out there on the course with me one day (if that’s what you want)!

 

Cheers! 🙂