Training, Month 4

I’m not prone to whims. But signing up for a half-marathon certainly falls into that category. So does deciding last weekend – 3 hours ahead of race time – to do a half- marathon might, most definitely, qualifies as a whim.

The race was in the neighborhood, at night (dark so non one can really see me too well) and the toughest part, other than the sheer distance, was the “hill” that I have been tackling in my training on a regular basis.

I had in my training plan that I needed to do some practice races. I did not plan to start those practices off with a 13.1 but I guess it eliminates the needs for the other ones.

So, luckily my husband is a good sport (and in much better shape than me) and said let’s do it. I have been doing a lot more walking than running in my training. I have accepted that my first 13.1 will be more walking than running but I still only have 3 hours and 30 minutes to finish it in.

So, some good lessons learned.  Get my race playlist done and local – I could not access any of my music and had to walk with NO music.  Not how I’ve been training.  Most importantly, I can do it! I walked the 13.1 under the time limit.  I would like to shave 20 more minutes off but I’m not sure that is realistic unless I add a lot more running into my mix.

I learned that my ankles need a bit more strengthening, going down hill sometimes really sucks and it is time to step up my training and work on getting a bit faster.

And like I said in the beginning of this 13.1 journey, Run. Run. Run. (or maybe now, Run. Walk. Run… repeat).