As the title would suggest, I have taken the plunge and entered my first half marathon. The thought of which scares the crap out of me but I know I will be able to do it with the training plan I have set as well as a lot of ‘talking to myself’ when I run.
I have entered the Ohope Express for three main reasons;
– We wanted to head over to Whakatane / Ohope area for a weekend anyway as my better half is from there and I don’t ever remember going there.
– The course is FLAT!
– It worked out to be 13 weeks away from when I could start my training which appears to be a good length of time to train for.
Once this screen came up I was filled with terror:
What on earth have I done I wondered! Especially since I haven’t run consistently for a few years and even then my longest run EVER was a 10km and I only ever did that a couple of times. Running a half marathon has been something I have wanted to do for a long time and this was the year to FINALLY knock it off the bucket list.
I have put together my own training plan as I didn’t see anything online that seemed suitable. All the half marathon training plans I came across were for three -four runs a week, which to be honest I just don’t have the time for unless I drop some gym workouts which was not going to happen.
I worked out that I could fit in two runs a week and decided I would go for one short run and one long run a week so I set up the schedule below which I have been following pretty well so far:
Keep in mind that I am getting a lot of other exercise in which will help with my fitness, I’m not sure that I would recommend trying to complete a half marathon with only two training sessions a week if you were not doing any other exercise. I do four gym sessions a week and one indoor netball game as well as the occasional mountain bike on the weekend as well.
So there we have it, I WILL be knocking at least TWO items off the bucket list this year (Completing a half marathon and visiting at least one new place in NZ).
Wish me Luck 😉
Do you have any Half Marathon tips for me?
Have you ever run a Half Marathon or considered running one?
Congratulations on deciding to run your first half. I just did my first half this past weekend. I was a lot like you in that I didn’t have a ton of running in my background (I was a barefoot beach runner so transitioning to the pavement was challenging for me) and had only done 5k’s and two 10k’s. My best advice would be to train on different surfaces if you can to save your legs. Also keep up the strength training. I found I got more “gooey” in the middle because I think I didn’t focus enough on toning and strength. I documented my journey in weekly diaries. Good luck and I hope everything goes well!
Ahhh very best of luck to you!
I’ve always considered getting involved in some kind of running event something not as long, maybe around the bays? I totally commend you doing your first half marathon! Exciting times ahead!
Personally, I would love to work up my running, but I find that I can’t keep focussed so I get bored, and then I get de-motivated to keep going. How do you keep so focussed? Especially for 21kms!
You definitely should it’s an awesome feeling once you’ve accomplished a distance you never thought you could do! 21km still scares the crap out of me but I’m working up to it and know it will be worth it in the end. I find having good music helps and its a good time to just be with my thoughts, I come up with good ideas when I’m running. Another idea is to listen to podcasts – I haven’t done it yet but I imagine it makes the time go quickly!
Yay good for you registering for your first half marathon!!! They are actually a really great and very achievable distance, so I wouldn’t worry too much!
I actually didn’t even change up my running routine at all for it, and it went way better than expected. I think the key that helped me was starting off a little slower than I normally would and creating a good, steady rhythm. I didn’t want to burn out like 3 miles in!
I’m sure you will do fantastic, though!!
xoxo
Natasha