Reminiscing on that time when I used to....

....make my own training plans after coming back from an injury that sidelined me for 3 months! I'm thinking back to the Star Wars 1/2 Marathon that I did in April 2016 after coming back from Achilles Tendonitis and having a PRP injection 8 months prior. This was back when I didn't really follow training plans, ran just for fun (nothing wrong with this!), had no expectations for myself, and really never thought that training for a race would improve my time (ohhh I was SO wrong!).

This was my first race that I traveled to and really wanted to have a PR, but most importantly have fun! I was really excited to be back at Disney after having not been since I was 11 and was training for my second marathon at the time (I was using the Jeff Galloway's marathon training plan and only running 3 days a week). 

After having been in a boot for 3 weeks after my PRP injection (more on this in a future post), I was OK'd to begin a run-walk method and this kept me busy until late October when I could finally run for 3 miles+ at a time! I thought that the Jeff Galloway training plan really suited me where I was in my training cycle (it's longer than other training plans- maybe 18 or 20 weeks?), so I began training for my June race in January. I had two 45 minute runs a week and one long run. I did cross-training the other days. It was a great plan to get me back into running (and I ended up getting a PR in my marathon in June), however I still had absolutely NO clue that you needed to have 'easy' run days vs 'speedwork' vs 'tempo' run days. So needless to say, I was not in shape to PR in the half in April at Disney and they also had a heat advisory that weekend, so even if I was in great running shape, a PR probably wouldn't have been in the cards anyways. 

Here are some things I took away from using the Jeff Galloway Training plan:

• It was a great 'introductory' plan for beginning any race distance or coming back from an injury. I got to the starting line with just one expectation- to finish and stay healthy during training. I did both and got a PR!
• It's really easy to fit in 3 runs/ run-walks a week. This was so great when I was working 50+ hours a week!
• If you are just wanting to finish and have fun with a race, this is a great plan for you
• If you are not new to running or coming back from an injury, I would either adopt this plan with some speedwork/tempo runs or mesh this plan with another training plan to suite your style
• Do not expect to PR at a half marathon when you are training for another race distance PR OR when there is a heat advisory OR when you are traveling to a race OR when you coming off an injury
• Adjust your expectations based on your fitness level and current training schedule

Things I've Learned Not To Do Since My First Half-Marathon

Facebook. Ohhh Facebook. You are truly a lovely human being because you reminded me that 6 YEARS AGO I ran my first-ever half marathon! I seriously cannot believe it has been 6 years- I have learned so much since then (my oh my how much I have learned). I wanted to share with you some things that I've since learned do not work well when training/running a half-marathon (as well as some things that I DO still recommend doing). 

Mom's first race as well! She did the 5K then came and ran the last mile or so with me of my half marathon! She's a goddess. 

1. Do NOT skip on your last 2 long training runs. I was starting my senior year of high school and had trouble finding 'safe' routes to run around in Syracuse, so I either cut my runs short or did them on the treadmill (but I normally never hit my mileage goal). Terrible, terrible idea. 
2. Do NOT stay out until 12am at a Frat party the night before your 5am wake-up call. Yeah, I haven't made this mistake since then! Even when you are completely sober, it still is not so much fun to wake-up mere hours after you come home. 
3. Take some sort of energy gels/gus/ chews during your race AND training runs. I don't think I started doing this until I started training for my first marathon. Ohhh I was so inexperienced!
4. Invest in some body glide and use it all the time. This is a relatively newish thing for me and once you go body glide, you can't go back. It's a game-changer. 
5. Go pee before the race starts. I haven't made this mistake since this first race and I will never forget getting to mile 11ish and sprinting out to the woods to relieve myself because I never went before the race began!
6. Drink so much water the day before the race. Our bodies are made up of it and crave it, honor that and refuel properly afterwards.
7. Prepare to be sore after the race. Yeah, I had no idea how much pain I would be in....
8. Know your race route. I had no clue that this race included both trails and pavement and felt totally defeated once I hit a gravel section of the path because I didn't include those on my runs!
9. Be prepared to never forget your first experience! I still remember how absolutely elated I felt once I crossed that finish line. This race didn't even give out medals and I couldn't have card less (I had no idea that was even a thing)- the finish line experience was all I needed. 
10. Eat something before your race. I may have had a banana, but honestly can't even remember. I had no clue about nutrition and carbo-loading meant eat this entire giant plate of pasta and bread the night before your race whether you're super hungry or not. Yeah. Not the best idea to stuff-your-face before you run 13.1 miles the next morning. 

The t-shirt that they gave was pretty terrible and no medals at the finish line, but this small-town race still gives me chills everytime I remember how accomplished I felt at the end! I truly had no idea my body could run that far and I road that runners-high for sometime afterwards. I actually didn't run or train for anything particular after my first 13.1 miles for a year and a half later (then I did another race, shaved over 20 minutes off my previous time and haven't looked back)!

What are some of your most memorable 13.1 mile memories?

What was your first big race and was it a life-changing experience?