The other day a friend of mine asked me if I’d run a half marathon with her. “Huh?” I asked sarcastically. “Yes,” she replied.
I’ve always been a runner, but being a marathon runner is a completely different thing. Needless to say, I was a bit freaked out at the thought of running 13 miles.
But after thinking it over, I realized that I can do this. After all, I ran a 10k without training last year and did ok (despite a minor hiccup at the end of the race).
Now I’m back in training mode. I’ve read that all you need is about 10 weeks to train for a half marathon. But in the shape I’m in, I need to start now. So, I’ve began jogging again just to build my endurance.
I know that I have a long road ahead of me, but I’m focused on achieving this goal. Even though I finished the 10k last year, I made a lot of mistakes that I don’t plan on repeating the next time around.
Staying on track is the hardest hurtle for me. So, I’ve hashed out a plan to conquer these challenges.
Here’s what I’ve been doing to prepare so far:
- I jog three to four miles about four times a week. I used to run five miles in my sleep before having kids. When I first started training, hitting the two mile mark was a struggle. Now getting to mile number three is becoming easier, especially with an Active Mile Daily Track.
- Eating a balanced diet. When you’re a busy mom sometimes you forget to eat and when you do, you grab whatever you can get your hands on. Sometimes I found myself having oatmeal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and skipping dinner all together. Now that I’m running, I’m hungry all the time. Nutrition has become an important part of my training because I need all the energy I can get.
- Getting more sleep. I went from sleeping about four hours each night to about six hours. Hitting the sack earlier gives me the added fuel I need to train.
I have a long road ahead and I have a lot of work to do. But, I’m happy with the progress I’ve made so far.
Have you ever ran a half marathon? How did you train?