not half bad
As a hacktastic copywriter, I can’t pass up a pun. Beg pardon.
Today I completed my first half marathon–before this, I’ve never run more than 10 miles at once. It felt great: the sun shone, the lakes sparkled, the breeze dried the sweat on my brow before it could drip into my eyes, and the twinge in my calf didn’t stop me from cruising (um . . . lumbering?) all the way to the finish line. My time: 2:29. Pace: 11:27 min/miles.
To prepare for the race, I followed Hal Higdon’s half marathon training guide, 12 Weeks to a 13.1 Mile Race. I gave myself 16 weeks, so that I would have a cushion in case something came up that might prevent me from completing a longer run each weekend. That decision worked well. Last Sunday, I hit the 10 mile long run, and felt pretty confident that I had a half marathon in me.
At the time I began training, I could run 3 miles without stopping. I began working up to that point during the late fall/winter by following the run/walk combos in the “From 0 to 30 minutes in 10 Easy Weeks” plan in The Complete Book of Running for Women by Claire Kowalchik. Keep in mind, I had a C-section in late August 2008, so I was starting from almost nothing ab-wise. I hewed closely to my running plans–some days felt sluggish, some felt OK, but I almost always finished my planned run, even if I had to slow the pace way down to muscle it out.
Initially, most of my workouts were on the treadmill, but in the last month or two, I’ve run outdoors when possible. Sometimes, despite fine weather, it’s still easier to run on the treadmill, as I can take advantage of childcare at the gym.
On another training note, listening to music is a big help in keeping me moving and motivated. At first, I listened to the dance/electronica or hitlist music channel at the gym, but a month ago I picked up an iPod shuffle on Craigslist and created a playlist of running tunes. (More on that in a future post.) When I am feeling lazy, I treadmill-jog 5 miles and zone out to an episode of Top Chef or What Not to Wear on cable. The more I run, however, the more I need music.
Around December 08, I added some strength training, in the form of “Body Sculpt” classes involving hand weights, resistance bands, body bars, stability balls, etc. The teachers constantly mix things up to keep the workouts interesting and effective. Hello, triceps! Now, I go to 2-3 classes a week in addition to running 3-4 days a week and attending a Pilates or yoga class 1-2 days a week. The result: feeling stronger and healthier than ever before. Oh, and I fit into most of my pre-pregnancy clothes by the time the baby was 6 months old! Trust me, that was not the case after my near-50-lb. weight gain prior to my older daughter’s birth 6 years ago.
I am amazed to find that 5 miles seems like a no-sweat run today, when 10 years ago 3 miles was a Herculean feat.
It’ll be half marathons for me, for the foreseeable future, probably twice a year. 13 miles is a good length: not painful, not boring. Hot bath, all better. I don’t see the need to slog through 26.2 miles in 5-6 hours just to add another notch to my belt. However, I have been following the new marathon training blog at The New York Times. If you are tempted to embark on a marathon adventure of your own, take a look! Perusing the comment threads where naysayers and cheerleaders duke it out is even more interesting than reading the blog posts themselves.
I’ll attempt another half marathon in August, right around the time law school starts. It will be oppressively hot and muggy, no doubt, but I’d like to shave about 10 minutes from my time. I’ve got all summer to make it happen . . .
