My Half Marathon Journey
Introduction
Oh boy oh boy this article has been IN MY SYSTEM since the beginning of January. Now that the Brooklyn Half Marathon is complete, I can write about how it ACTUALLY feels to train for a half marathon when you are not that good at running.
It started with a plan
The first thing I did back in January was create a “plan” in Notion. This was loosely based off of training plans I found online. Let me tell you, this plan shifted and changed so many times over the weeks. I found myself adding rest days, changing long run distances and workout frequencies based on new trips that popped up on my schedule.
The details of the plan
Whatever is written in this plan is what I ended up doing. For those who are curious: NTC=workout on nike training center app, Cycle=one time that I did CycleBar, AH=some at home workout that I found on Youtube, F45=F45 training workout ❤, Rest=didn’t move my body at all that day.
The mileage is pretty self explanatory and the column on the right is the total miles I ran that week. I used the Nike Run Club app to track my workouts and Strava to post how I felt about the run. I did not achieve my goal of a 10 min mile average but I did do a 10:52/mi average WHICH I AM PROUD OF. woot.
The January runs
Oh man it was SO COLD on some of these runs. I was at home during this time and would bundle up in so many layers and run on the track. Running in the cold is not something I enjoy at all and would really plan my runs based on if the temperature was above 10 degrees that day. This was a TOUGH stretch. Make sure you have a nice hat and gloves if you are running in cold weather, it helps so much.
February and March ❤
Ok looking back this was my favorite time during this training. I think it’s because I was doing F45 and running pretty consistently. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE WORKING OUT. It really does help build muscle and makes the runs feel so much easier. I actually felt myself gain a lot of endurance during these months. The weather was also pretty nice and I enjoyed the long runs a lot. I also HIGHLY RECOMMEND doing long runs with a friend, they go by so much faster.
April lol
LOL is right. I got pretty fed up at this point and didn’t even want to run the half anymore. I had two long trips and it became really difficult to find time to fit running into my schedule. At this point, I stopped going to f45 and it felt so much harder to persist on the long runs. It also felt difficult to run after a 4–5 day stretch of not working out or running at all. I was pretty exhausted from all the traveling but I did accomplish a 10 mile run which was the longest distance I would run before the half. The last 2 weeks before the half were also pretty nice and I found myself getting back into the swing of things.
The actual race
WOW so the actual race. it was fun. This particular half marathon had around 20,000 people racing. It was definitely chaotic to get there and the beginning of the race was very packed. After we set off, it was honestly smooth sailing. The first 7 miles were flat and they went by so quickly. There were so many spectators along the route and running with other people felt so genuinely motivating. I swear I was smiling for most of the race. Around mile 9 the hills picked up and the race became a lot tougher. I was proud of myself for not stopping or walking at any point. I definitely slowed down towards the end but it felt SO INCREDIBLY GOOD TO FINISH.
I’m so thankful for all of my friends who ran this race and kept me motivated to run it. I am also so thankful for all of my friends who showed up to support us, it really uplifted me and kept me running through the harder parts of the race.
Concluding thoughts…would I do it again?
Before the race, if you asked me if I would run a half again, I would have vehemently said no. However, after running the race I would say that I would definitely run one again. NOT ANYTIME SOON THOUGH.
Training for a long distance race like this is a fun goal and a nice way to stay occupied for a long stretch of time. It becomes difficult when you have lots of other commitments or high stress at work. If you are someone who is considering running a half marathon, I would recommend looking at your schedule for the next 3 months to see how busy you are and evaluate based on that metric. As someone who is not very good at running, I do believe that everyone can run one with just 2–3 months of consistent training.
In the future, I would really like to run the full Boston marathon. I don’t know when or how but I think it would be so fun to run in my home city ❤
