Category: Half Marathon Training
Philadelphia Half Marathon Recap (Part 3)
| November 21, 2012 | Half Marathon Training, Races, Running |
This is the last part of the Philadelphia Half Marathon Recap, I promise.
After running 13.1, what’s next?
So what will I be doing now that the half marathon is over? I’m not entirely sure just yet. I know I want to register for another 10K in the new year and maybe even a 5K before Christmas like I did last year.
One thing I’m looking forward to is weight training. I’ve said numerous times in the past that although my half marathon training plan allowed for a day of weight training, I never did it because I was just too tired. Now that I won’t be necessarily running ten miles every weekend, I’ll have extra time to grab the weights.
I’m toying with the idea of putting together my own weight training program integrating many of the workouts from the Jamie Eason Live Fit Trainer that I did in the beginning of this year. But, I’m open to other suggestions.
Another thing I am looking forward to is getting back into my yoga practice. I was very diligent with going to classes this summer, but with the craziness of getting acclimated to a new job and training for the Half I didn’t have time to add it into my schedule. Now that I have more time for other exercises, I can’t wait to get back into it! Since I first started practicing yoga back in college, I fell in love with it. It’s a calming experience, but gives you a kick-butt workout. First step: new yoga mat! I have my eye set on “The Mat” from lululemon. It’s a black non-slip mat that I’ve used at yoga studios before and it’s basically amazing.
Giving Thanks
With Thanksgiving right around the corner (literally… tomorrow) I just wanted to give thanks to all of those who gave me well wishes for my half marathon. It was absolutely painful, but amazing and I couldn’t do it without the support and love. I also want to give thanks to Bryan for being patient with me every weekend when I had to get a long run finished, and waiting around at the Philly Marathon in the cold weather for me to cross the finish line.
Talk to Me
- What did you do post-marathon/half marathon?
- What was your favorite part about your first marathon/half marathon?
- What holiday runs are you looking forward to this season?
Philadelphia Half Marathon (Part 2)
| November 20, 2012 | Half Marathon Training, Races, Running |
Now that you’ve already read about Part 1 of the Philadelphia Half Marathon weekend that covered the expo, dinner the night before, and race day… I bring you the second part of my recap series.
.
Freezing, but ready to go!
The Race
After waiting in a long line for a porta-potty, I finally made my way to my corral. I made it just in time, because my corral was moving towards the starting line shortly after I got there. It took us 21 minutes to cross the starting line, and I could feel the runners around me getting excited.
Thank you Bryan for taking this photo
Mile 1 – Benjamin Franklin Parkway to Love Park: My feet were numb. No, not from running but actually from being so cold. I actually thought I may have gotten frost bite, but I’m dramatic so I knew deep down I was probably fine.
Mile 2 – Arch Street past Liberty Bell to Race Street: My feet warmed up quickly and I took my gloves off at this point.
Mile 3 – Columbus Boulevard: Gorgeous scenery running down by the water, but there weren’t many spectators cheering during this mile.
Mile 4 – Columbus Boulevard to Front Street: Don’t really remember this mile much, but I do remember that this is where my knee started hurting.
Mile 5 – South Street to Independence Hall: The crowds on South Street were amazing! There were so many crazy signs that I could read to keep my mind off the pain. One of my favorites was “You trained longer than Kim Kardashian’s marriage.”
Mile 6 – Chestnut Street to City Hall: Probably my favorite part of the entire race. The amount of spectators was breathtaking. SO many people were cheering on both sides of Chestnut Street. Thank you to the random spectators who screamed my name to keep going. It helped! At this point I thought to myself, “This would be a great route for a 10K.”
Mile 7 – 17th and Chestnut to 30th Street: Spectators seemed to diminish around this mile as well. Up to this point the route was really flat.
Mile 8 – Drexel University and University of Penn: Hills and drunk college students. Ran out of my Jelly Beans at this point.
Mile 9 – Martin Luther King Drive past the Philadelphia Zoo: I remember this mile being one large hill. A spectator screamed to us that at the end of the mile there was one large downhill. Also picked up a Clif Shot in Vanilla for energy. Happy Happy Happy!
Mile 10 – Fairmount Park: More hills. I’m pretty sure at this point I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to finish. I took walking breaks from now to the end. But… every time I stopped and started again my knee seemed to go in shock.
Mile 11 – Please Touch Museum to the Schuylkill River: At the end of mile 11, there were 6 or 7 men and women dressed as women in spandex body suits dancing and cheering us on. HILARIOUS. It definitely made me smile and realize that it’s almost over and that I could do this.
Mile 12 – Running by the Schuylkill River: This mile was by far the hardest one. I tried so hard to keep pushing, but my knee was basically giving up. That’s the one thing I realized during this mile… I HAD this half marathon mentally. I was ready to go, however physically my body was telling me otherwise.
Mile 13.1 – Heading to the Art Museum and Finish Line: The final mile was a blur, but it was all worth it. If you were at the finish line, you probably saw me crying – not because I was emotional about finishing… but because my knee hurt SO bad. The final .1 of a mile I sprinted to the finish line, which is probably why I’m in such pain today.
Crossed the finish line at 2:23:15. Definitely NOT the pace I’ve been training at, but I am just glad to have finished! I figure this gives me something to work towards.
Up tomorrow: Post Half Marathon.
Talk to Me
- Have you ever done the Philadelphia Marathon or Half Marathon? If so, what was your experience?
- Do you prefer 5Ks, 10Ks, Half Marathons or Marathons?
- Random question - What running gear do you want for the holidays this year?
Philadelphia Half Marathon Recap (Part 1)
| November 19, 2012 | Half Marathon Training, Races, Running |
It’s actually over. I can’t believe that the half marathon came and went that quickly. The weekend was absolutely amazing, and I’m sure you’re all just dying to hear all about it.
Expo
On Saturday morning, Bry and I drove to the Philadelphia Convention Center for the Health and Fitness Expo to pick up my bib and race packet. The Expo had vendors, such as Running Skirts and Sparkly Bands (which you know I loved since I got some of their gear at the Runner’s World Half Festival). I received my bib, a Philadelphia marathon bag, coupons, and a really comfortable tech-long sleeve t-shirt.
After walking around the Expo for about an hour, Bry and I went to the Reading Terminal for lunch then braved the traffic home.
My dinner Saturday night was spaghetti! I knew I would need the carbohydrates for energy the next morning. I used the rest of our angel hair spaghetti and homemade tomato sauce.
Race Day Morning
I went to bed around 10 PM on Saturday night, but my alarm was set for 3:20 AM and 3:30 AM on Sunday. I knew I had to get a good nights sleep if I wanted to actually finish the race. To my surprise, when the alarm started ringing early Sunday, I was wide awake and ready to go.
All of my clothes were lined up on my bedroom floor the night before, because nothing is worse than forgetting your race bib.
1. Running Jacket (TJ Maxx)
2. Freemotion Luxe S/S Tee V-neck (c/o)
3. Nike Dri-Fit hat
4. Futuro Moisture Control Knee Brace
5. Spi Belt (c/o) – inside: my ID and Jelly Belly Sport Beans
6. Race bib & pacer band
7. Champion sports bra
8. Zensah Smart Touch Running Gloves (c/o)
9. Old Navy compression running crops
I ate two pieces of toast with butter and banana on top and got out the door around 4 AM.
Luckily, we didn’t hit any traffic on the ride down to Philly and for once we found a cheap parking garage ($9!) really close to my corral. The purple corral was right in front of the Art Museum, so we sat there to keep warm. Noted: I will be packing a blanket for the next winter race I do. It was windy and COLD!
Eventually the sun came up and I headed to my corral. I anxiously waited with thousands of other people (approx. 30,000 runners). I tried to get my music ready to go, but to my surprise Pandora wouldn’t load because of the high density of runners. I wasn’t too upset, because I knew that the energy and crowds would keep me going. YES, I ran the entire 13.1 miles without music.
Up tomorrow: Running 13.1
Talk to Me
- What do you bring to cold races?
- What’s the largest race you’ve ever done? How many people were there?
- What’s the one food item you ALWAYS have before a race?
Friday Favorites
| November 16, 2012 | Friday Favorites, Half Marathon Training |
My Friday Favorites for today is going to be my favorite foods in my half marathon training. Over the past few months, I didn’t change much from my normal eating routine. The one thing that I did notice was that I was a lot hungrier while training (which is to be expected). Here are some of the items I’ve enjoyed over the past few months during my training.
*Note: No, I am not sponsored by Amy’s, I just generally love their stuff.
I didn’t have any crazy cravings during my training. I’m not sure if that was just because I usually crave weird things anyway… but none the less I am pleased with my nutrition over the training months.
You all know that I’ve been trying to figure out which type of mid-run fuel works best for me. I’m happy to say that the Jelly Belly Sport Beans work the best. I’ll be carrying a packet of these with me during the half marathon for some extra energy around Miles 5, 9, and 11.
Talk to Me
- What have you been craving recently?
- What is your favorite way to fuel during your runs?
- What’s your favorite dinner recently?
Half Marathon Training Recap
| November 15, 2012 | Half Marathon Training, Running |
When I signed up for the half marathon, I knew I would be following a plan to help guide me through. I found the Hal Higdon Beginner Novice 2 plan and decided to implement that. The Novice 2 plan was designed to fill the gap between those just beginning running and those who have run a few half marathons before.
Long Runs
Although I didn’t always follow the plan exactly, I did get in the majority of my long runs. Long runs were done on the weekends which gave me the time I needed to dedicate to the run. During the week, I never had the time to run 10 miles, get a shower, and commute to work. The plan calls for you to run 12 miles as the highest mileage run, but I stopped at 10 because I was a few weeks behind on training. No need to get injured running that last 12 miler a week before the half marathon.
Cross Training
I was supposed to do cross training in the plan, but I didn’t. It’s crazy how when I’m told to do something I don’t do it, but when I’m not following a strict plan I do it anyway. For instance, all summer I took yoga classes- so when I found out I had to practice yoga once a week for my half marathon plan, I thought it would be easy. NO. I barely did any cross training. I did however do the occasional weight training workout. I even did a post in July called, “Why Cross Training is Important for Runners.”
Short Runs
I unfortunately didn’t keep up with the shorter runs in the plan. I ran as many miles as I felt like doing on each particular day. I wish I would have stuck with the plan in this regard, but I didn’t and that’s okay. I don’t think it will make much of a difference.
Overall
Overall, I’m not completely pleased with the way my training worked out, but there’s nothing I can change at this point. I’m very excited to try my best on Sunday and just make it across the finish line. I won’t be worried about time or pace. The only thing that will be running through my mind on Sunday is the joy I will get from seeing the finish line.
Talk to Me
- Give me some insight on your first half marathon.
- Leave your questions below on anything you’d like me to talk about next week following the half marathon.
- What’s your favorite thing to do the night before a race?
