We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
So, I finished my half marathon on Sunday! ย (see original post here) ย It felt really good. ย I was healthy. ย The weather was fabulous. ย The energy was great. ย My time was 2 hours and 4 minutes (9:28 pace). And the results are in:
I placed 858th out of 4080 women! ย I am thrilled! For some reason I thought that I was more in the middle of the pack. ย I think I got 156/678 in my age group of 30-34.
Would I do it again? ย Yes, yes and yes.
Do I plan to run a full marathon? No, no and no.
I love the distance of a half at this point in my life. ย It was easier to fit in the training and to accomplish. ย I plan to run a few more and try to get that time under 2 hours. ย Then when the kids are a tad older and I can escape for 15-20 mile training runs then I might try for the full.
Many of you have asked me about my training so I will share with you what I did. ย I use the MapMyRun app to track my runs. ย Please keep in mind a few things. ย First, I am not a professional and this is my experience. ย You can google loads of official training regimens. ย I skipped a few workouts. ย I put the skip in there. ย I want to be honest. ย It’s hard to always stick to a plan. ย So, most skips should have been a cross training day. ย Rest days are legit. ย Second, I trained in 6 and a half weeks but have a running background and could easily run 5-7 miles at a time before this 6 weeks. ย So, gauge your body. ย Challenge your mind.
Basically each week consisted of 2ย mid length 3-5 mile runs, 1 long run that increases by a mile per week, 2 crosstraining days to bike or lift and 2 days of rest.
Week One: off / off / 5 mile / long bike ย / rest / 6 miles / rest
Week Two:ย 3.1 miles / long bike ride / 5 miles / lift weights / rest / 7 miles / rest
Week Three:ย 4 miles / skip / 5 miles / lift weights / rest / 3 miles / 8 miles
Week Four:ย light bike ride / rest / 4 miles / lift weights / 5 miles / rest / 9 miles
Week Five:ย rest / skip / 3 miles / lift weights / 4 miles / rest / 11 miles
Week Six:ย rest / 4 miles / skip / 5 miles / lift weights / rest / 7 miles
Week Seven:ย rest / 3 miles / fartlek / bike ride / 4 miles / rest / Race Day
So, wherever you are at. ย Good luck! ย If you love to run then go find yourself any old race to sign up for. ย That is the motivation in and of itself. ย I know that many of you guys were training for runs too! ย Comment below! I want to hear about them!!
PS. ย I didn’t lose a pound. ย And no it wasn’t one of those gain muscle type things. ย But I did find an unexpected award. ย Peace and freaking quiet. ย Those long training runs cleared my head and kick started my soul. ย And my kids think that my medal is amazing and that I ‘won’ the race. ย Ehh, who am I to disagree. ย I kind of think I won too!