Thursday, April 10, 2014

Half Marathonin' It

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I remember seeing these 13.1 bumper stickers on cars when I was a kid, fully unsure of what they actually meant. This was back during the time when people had bumper stickers of Jesus fish and ones where Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes peed on things. There were also the "No Fear" bumper stickers. Let's not forget those.

But I digress. The point is these 13.1 bumper stickers eluded me throughout the whole of the 90s and most of the early aughts. I was inquisitive enough to wonder briefly but apathetic enough to neglect to just google it. It wasn't until college, when every single person I knew started signing up for half marathons, that I realized what was up with this 13.1 sticker craze.

For those of you who are not tracking with me, a half marathon is 21.097494 kilometers, OR 13.1 miles. When you run a half marathon, apparently they give you a bumper sticker. It's all very exciting.

Well, as I mentioned in my last post, I've signed up to do my first half this coming June! You should know that this is kind of out-of-character for me. I've never been the running kind. The brisk walk kind, sure. The prancing kind, possibly. The dancing-to-Beyonce-in-the-privacy-of-my-own-home kind, absolutely. Running and I, however, have just always had a pretty awkward relationship. When you have a butt that sits about a foot off the ground when standing, running is usually not your game.

But for some reason, I want so badly to be The Girl Who Runs. You know that girl. She shops at Lululemon and she monitors her heart rate and she wakes up early and she makes smoothies probably. She has that Runner's Glow, that Runner's Zen, that Runner's Pinterest board. Everything just lines up in life for The Girl Who Runs. She never forgets to take her makeup off at night. She never forgets an appointment. She is the epitome of control.

I want to be that girl -- a girl who I know in my heart doesn't actually exist. The girl I'm thinking of probably eats Cheetos at 1 AM and farts in church just like the rest of us. She just does a better job of hiding it.

But still, I want to be a runner, and this entire year I've been taking small baby steps. I ran the Color Run last summer, a 5K where people throw colored powder at your body and into your eyeballs. At the end of that thing, I have to admit, I was a little huffy and puffy, but it made me happy and I got to take this colorful selfie:


And now that I'm training for this half marathon, guys, I am running 5Ks like they are NO BIG THANG. You could throw colorful crap at my face the whole way, and I'd be like whatevs. It's an awesome feeling.

Training is a wonderful thing, not only because you can see your progress, but because it gives a daily sense of control (yuck, I don't really like that word. Let's go with "accomplishment" instead, but know that I really mean "control"). Every day I wake up and I look at my schedule, and I think, okay I'm going to run 4 miles, and then I just run 4 miles. Like, I just do it. For someone who struggles to stay focused on one thing at a time, this is immensely helpful. I tell myself I'm going to do a lot of things at the top of my day that I never end up getting done. Now, if I get nothing else finished, hey, at least I ran. Plus, it makes me feel like I can do other things just as successfully as long as I approach it with a similar attitude.

Now, when I mentioned in my last post that I was training for a half marathon, I received a request to share my training schedule and playlist. Good idea. I'm using the Hal Higdon novice training guide. It looks like this:

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Right now I'm in week 3 (so I ran 3.5 miles today). I've loved this plan so far, but I'm interested to see how I feel later. The furthest I've ever run in my life is around 6 miles, so when I reach that threshold, I don't know what that's going to feel like.

As for my playlist, I listen to episodes of the Professor Blastoff podcast, and that's honestly it. I've talked about this show a lot on my blog, so it's probably time you start listening to it as well. It stars comedians Tig Notaro, David Huntsberger, and Kyle Dunnigan, and it is by far my favorite podcast of all time. More importantly, it is the ultimate distraction. I look like an absolute lunatic laughing while running, but it definitely helps pass the time. Seriously, listen to it.

The biggest lesson I've learned so far about running is to keep my own body's pace. I used to run with Daniel whose hip bone sits about a foot higher than mine. His legs are long and he ran track in high school, so why I tried to keep up with that guy is beyond me*. Now that I'm training, I run a grandma's pace and I feel like I could do it all day.

So yeah, I'm getting better, and I really think I can do this whole 13.1 miles thing. Like, I think I'm going to get that sticker, I really do. Still, I would love your input while I'm in the thick of it. Any half marathon regulars out there? Do you have any tips for a novice like me? Any product endorsements (shoes, protein bars, heart monitors, those weird fruit chews, fanny packs)? Any secret runner's wisdom? Let me know in the comments section!

*It should be noted that Daniel is running this half marathon with me in June, right at my side, even though I told him he didn't have to. I think that is really pretty cool.

20 comments:

  1. It's all about the playlist. Create a great playlist for your half marathon. I know Daniel will be there, so that might change things, but I'm big on musical inspiration so I put A LOT of time into my playlist (probably more time than I did training for my last half marathon).

    Also, mind over matter. Don't even think you can't do something, because that's stupid, you can.

    Remember when I ran the Baylor half marathon in college and you thought I was crazy??? Look at you now! You're going to be great. I'm running a 10k in June, one that I actually plan to train for, so I will be thinking of you!

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    1. I have no memory of thinking you were crazy! Running just wasn't interesting to me back then, but it definitely is now.

      As for music, podcasts seem to be working for me so far. I'm not sure how long that will last though as my distance increases. I'd LOVE to see your playlist sometime!

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  2. Last year I trained with a friend who ran a half in November. I balked at running with her because I had never made it past the the 4-mile threshold. But we kept it up and I LOVED seeing my endurance increase. The day we finished a 10-mile run I seriously cried, it felt so good. (Well, it hurt, but mentally I felt incredible.) Now, I'm running my first half-marathon on May 18, so I'm in the midst of training again - I'm super nervous about it. But I think it'll be a great experience.

    And seriously, you can do it. We can all do it. It's gonna be great :-)

    Also, one song that helps me when I'm running is "One Foot," by Fun. Give it a listen!

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    1. This comment made me PUMPED! I can't wait to get to 10 miles. I just did 5 on Sunday, and it was the first time I felt like...holy crap, this is far. Doing 10 miles seems like a dream, but I know I'll get there. Thanks for the encouragement (also LOVE "One Foot")!

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  3. Im a runner and I can tell you my life is anything but under control and most def eat cheetos at 1am ;)
    I have only ran 5ks actually doing one tonight...I want to try a half marathon soon!

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    1. Oh, thank goodness! Glad to hear you eat Cheetos at 1 AM because I still do too.

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  4. I'm currently training for my first half marathon too! But mine isn't until November. Good luck!

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  5. I'm doing the couch to 10k program right now to get back into running slowly - we are in week 7 and running 2.5 miles :) A 1/2 marathon is an awesome goal. Which one are you doing? I think that's my ultimate long distance goal, but it's not in my near future.

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    1. Get it, girl! I've heard awesome things about couch to 5K/10K. We are doing the Father's Day Half in Brooklyn. It literally was just the only one within a reasonable amount of training time, but still I'm pretty pumped.

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  6. This is so awesome and inspiring. I really want to also be the girl who runs. I think this post has inspired me towards taking some baby steps to make this happen.

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    1. Girl, you can be the girl who runs. I'm sure of it! Glad this was an encouragement to you. I'm loving this adventure.

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  7. Nice work, chica!!
    I'm training for my 2nd ever 'half' which will be in May.... 3rd to be exact. I'm also using the Hal Higdon program, and thought it was really good.

    A few things I was told/read/worked out for my first 1/2...
    1. Whenever possible, do all your big runs at the same time as the race will be. Then your body get used to it.
    - eat the same pre-race brekky and same during-race fluids so your body gets used to those things, too
    - I have eggs, zuchinni and avocado as my prerace brekky, and drink coconut water during it (a mouthful between each song!)
    - i use those runner water bottles which hold about 300mL with a hole in the middle - this also stops me from clenching my fists when I run (ha)
    2. Do taper when they say to taper. I did not do that for my 1st half and it was a massive error.
    3. Do NOT get a hard-out sport massage a few days before the race (another rookie error)
    4. Try out a hot yoga stretch class if you can afford it/have time... with all the work you are now doing its a good companion to the run-run-run. I do classes on my rest days (active rest?)
    5. Plan the post-race treats.... soooo motivating!
    6. Try to enjoy it!!

    Good luck :)

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    1. These are great suggestions! I read them to my husband last night, and we were pumped. Believe it or not, we had not even considered during-race fluids at this stage...is that embarrassing? Probably. But still, thanks!

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  8. Kudos to you for running a half marathon. I have only done the Warrior Dash 5k with obstacles, no true 5k. I have one in May, but may be walking part of it since I haven't been able to train with a wrist injurty. And thanks for posting your training schedule!

    ~Katy

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  9. A water belt is crucial for me while training! Don't really need it during the race since they have those amazing water stations every couple of miles (why can't those people follow me around for all of my training runs??), but when you're training with a 8 or 9 or 10 mile run, you'll want water handy!

    Also, I just discovered the joy of endurance chews. Just ran my second half marathon yesterday (so, so, so sore today) and at mile 7 my energy was just GONE. Had a couple of gummi chews and a mile later I felt like a new person. Amazing.

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  10. I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said "0.0" and I wanted to rear end the person so they would have to pull over and we could become best friends. Seriously, how funny?! But really though, go you. I made it four miles the other day and I can't imagine going any farther without dying!

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  11. energy chews are the bomb. i use for crossfit and they pick me right up. -jess
    (also, good shoes are important!)

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  12. Which race are you running????

    I've done four half's but am totally the anti-runner. I never followed a training program, never used any gadgets of any kind, only ate energy chews/gu's the day of the race, never stretch, don't wear lululemon, don't own a foam roller, etc. I consider all those things to be distractions or excuses so I try to avoid all of it. I do recommend running on the actual course (or part of it) if possible. Also, so much of running is mental not physical, so find some good mantras and just repeat them over and over and over and over.

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  13. Christy (I almost put your former last name here... and am now thinking about good old days at CLS), I ran/walked a half marathon in January... as my first ever race. We started training in October, and I had only really been a walker before. I became a runner to do this with a coworker. You can totally do it! I agree with a lot of the other people's comments. My recommendation would be to get used to a food routine before your race, or just don't change anything the day of. I didn't do anything special, I wear leggings from Ross, and whatever water bottle I have that day is the one I carry. The goo things are good, but be careful the day of the race... I've had friends have some serious digestive issues during the race because of them! Be okay with walking when you need to. But push yourself! :-) You are awesome, and I'm so excited for you, doing this! love to you and D.

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