Tuesday, September 28, 2010

A Kamikaze Guide to Racing a Half Marathon

Chapter 1:
How to race a Half Marathon

  1. Start training for a marathon
  2. In the middle of week 7 (A rest week!) decide you want to race a half marathon and set a PR
  3. Make sure you have to pee before the race starts, but don't! Hold it!
  4. Start the race running 10 seconds faster than your 4 mile PR pace
  5. Hold that pace
  6. HOLD IT! (I mean the pee!)
  7. Hit the wall, and smash through it
  8. HOLD IT! (I mean the pace!)
  9. Sprint to the finish line victorious! 
  10. SMILE!

Super smiley between miles 2-3!

But seriously, kids, don't try this at home. I am not sure how I managed to beat my Brooklyn Half time by nearly 5 minutes. I went into this race not sure if it would be a long training run, or if I was going to try and race it. Once I started running my legs felt really fresh, like they were ready and willing to do what I told them to. The pace was quick, but my breathing was easy. I knew I'd either be able to keep up the pace and be victorious, or I would bonk at some point and this would be a disaster. It's weird to say I've set a record every time I've run a half marathon, but I know that just comes with the territory of being new to racing. 

I've been doubting my speed and capabilities a lot lately, wondering if all the hard work I've been doing has even be worth it, and then I see the results of this race and it silences me. This race was a huge confidence boost for me. I know the cool weather always brings along better running, but us runners have our doubts. Definitely think a 4:30 marathon is within my reach.

On to week 8!

2 comments:

  1. Haha - that's an awesome blog post! I was actually thinking when we were running together that the pace might have been a bit fast for your goal that day, but you seemed fine with it - so I just kept going.

    Glad that you were able to smash through the wall and PR - hope that there are many more ahead :)

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  2. It was really awesome to run the first 3-4 miles with you, it helped me get into a really good groove. Definitely started to feel gassed around the time I passed you at (one of the many) turn arounds--but someone managed to hold on.

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