10 Things to do When Training for a Half Marathon

I signed up for my next Half Marathon. It is May 8 and it is in DISNEYLAND!!! doing the Tinkerbell half with one of besties.  It’s her first half, so figured lets make it a fun ass girls trip (so she can have a weekend break from her lovely little ones) where it’s warmer than where we live.

The last half I did was  The SeaWeeze Half Marathon (lululemon) which was nearly a year and a half ago. The only training I did for it was a 10k the Sunday before and said “Guess that’ll do”.  I would never recommend not training for a race.  You can injure yourself that way, but to be honest I’ve never trained 100% for any of the half marathons I’ve ran. I’ve trained well for most of them, but never completed every training run.

So since I’ve been such a lazy couch slob for like a year I’m slowly working at building up my endurance up again.  I’ve been running 3-4 km at least 3 times a week and slowly adding distance or increasing the pace.   I’m doing this because I have a month and a half before I start my 4 months of “hard core” training  that I am going to follow through with.  Plus it gives me time to start working on my training to dos.

Here’s my list of to do’s when training for a Half Marathon ( or any race)

1. Make you sure you have a really good pair of runners.  It actually makes a huge difference.  If you can afford to go to a specialty running store where they watch you run while on a treadmill and fit the shoes to you, do it.  Wear them for training and the run.
2.  10’s & 1’s.  Run 10 minutes and walked 1 min.  I think it’s an awesome way to train, especially when you are like fml how am I gonna run 18km.
3. IF, and I really mean IF, you find you don’t have time/can’t get a run in one day…the MOST IMP’T run is the LONG DISTANCE…you have to get your km’s in, so just make sure you do that one….every single week.  Life happens, things get in the way, we get lazy, have excuses. Don’t miss your long run!
4. STRETCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot stress that enough.   Get a foam roller/tennis balls/bands….just seriously stretch (especially your glutes and calves after EVERY RUN) even if you don’t feel tight……seriously……it will help!!
5. Epson salt baths truly are helpful for us runners as they help in relieving joint pain, reduce inflammation, relieve muscle pain and cramps.
6. A great outfit.  lol I don’t just mean a great looking outfit, although I usually treat myself to a cute new one for a race, I mean one that feels right to you.  I CANNOT stand running when, for example, my pants feel like they’re falling off, the tag is scratching me or I’m too hot.  I’d rather start out shivering at the start line then feeling like I need to strip out of my clothes.
7. A great play list and add that will play it.  My last half marathon I was 10km in when my phone just died.  It was fully charged before, but apparently was just not up to working that day.  Let me say it was a challenging 11.1km for me.
8. Visit your: Chiropractor, Massage Therapist, Acupuncturist and or Physiotherapist.   They become my best friends while I’m training, keeping me healthy before, during and after training.
9. EAT! I do run to help aid in weight loss, but I can’t even explain how much more I eat when I’m running 25+km a week.  Stick to those proteins and tons of veggies if you’re wanting to lose weight and treat yourself to a carbo-load before long runs.  When I say long runs I mean 15+KM.
10. Drink you’re water. More than you normally would. Much easier to get dehydrated when you’re sweating so much while running that you stop sweating.

What things are your running training to do list?

 

 

 

A Reliable Running Partner

I started my half marathon training on saturday. Got my long run in, which was just a nice little 7km. Took me a little longer than I like because I brought along my slightly distracting running partner

KODA

 

 

He’s my best bud. My husband and I adopted him back in May. He’s my most reliable running partner because he thoroughly enjoys the outdoors and would jump through a window to get out for a quick run (he did that). He’s my distracted running partner because he’s a brat who likes to mark his territory, everywhere. When I’m in full run mode and pretty much forgotten that there is a dog attached to me, he brings me back to reality by stopping, which in turn pulls on the leash which is clipped onto my leggings. He’s ripped a hole in my lulu’s!

Any who for me getting a big dog was another excuse for more exercise. So even though I have been slacking over the past few months at working out, I have walked my dog every Mon-Thurs before work for at least 30 minutes. I also hit up the dog parks and stroll around and tend to run Koda on Saturdays. He as been a great addition to the family for me as I see him as a huge supporter in my running habit. I don’t think he’ll be able to do the longer runs when they are longer than 10k but I guess if he trains with me, he might! I’ll keep you all posted on Koda’s half marathon training as well as mine.