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. 

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. 
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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)!

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What are some of your most memorable 13.1 mile memories?

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

Hole Half Marathon Recap & Life Updates

My HOLE HALF MARATHON RECAP is here! Shimmy on over to my Race Recap page to check it out- you definitely don't want to miss how amazing the finish venue looked and where I finished in my age group!

I'm sharing some of my favorite photos that I took over the weekend from Yellowstone up on the blog tomorrow, so make sure to check back. Here's a little sneak-peek ; ) 

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I finally feel like I'm starting to get back into a groove-again after our vacation in July. It's so crazy to me how long it takes to get back on track! No wonder why so many of those who suffer from addictions or weight loss or irregular workout plans struggle so much- it's really HARD to get used to a schedule and stick to it. After 8 weeks of marathon training, I finally feel like I've gotten adjusted to it and am not nearly as exhausted as I was when I first began training. 

Hanson's Marathon Method definitely takes a lot out of you and is a really big time commitment compared to other training plans! I'm just hoping all this running pays off on race day (it's only 66 DAYS AWAY!!!!- that's only a little over TWO MONTHS!). 

We've been so busy trying to fit in camping and hiking and backpacking on the weekends and squeezing-in as much fun summer activities as we can. We just got our second kayak fixed, so hopefully we can take both out on the lake this weekend!

The weather (despite the current wildfires that is creating a constant smokey, haziness that is unfit for any extended outdoor activities) has been so beautiful with mid-80s during the day and low 40s at night. Perfect for early morning or late afternoon runs : )

September is a VERY busy month for us and we only have one weekend free (which I'm sure we're going to fill-up with a camping or backpacking trip). Alex is working at the Telluride Blues and Brews festival next weekend (hoping I can go down and camp there/ spend time with him, but still up in the air) and I will be going back to Maine at the end of the month for my grandfathers service. This weekend is a bit crazy as well because I am volunteering at the Run Rabbit Run 50 & 100 mile races from 4-10am (sleep will definitely be off) on early Saturday morning. 

That's all that's been going on with me, what about you?! Any fun plans for September? 

Favorite season? Mine is definitely Fall- bring on all the apples and layers!

Revel Rockies Recap & How Many Days do you Take Off After a Marathon?

Happy HUMP DAY! It's finally Wednesday- we made it! I think one of the best decisions that I made when planning post-marathon was scheduling a vacation 10 days afterwards! It's just the right amount of time to recover, rest, and pack. Alex, Stella, and I will be driving back to Maine (yes all 33 hours) to visit family, play in the ocean/mountains, and go to my dad's wedding (he's getting remarried). It's pretty convenient to have grown up so close to each other- we can spend a few days with each others family and then spend some time just relaxing too. I've begun packing and cleaning up the house a bit and will continue to do so until we leave ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!!

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Another really great thing that I planned post-marathon was treating myself to a manicure/pedicure. I have it scheduled for this weekend and I cannot wait to be pampered! 

PS you can find my Revel Rockies Recap here! They've just started to post some of the free race photos (they're all free and able to download directly from online) and I've got some pretty good ones so far!

Also does anyone else ever block out the few days after a marathon where the pain going downstairs is ROUGH and your body just hurts everywhere? I always seem to forget just how painful it really is...

After seriously indulging the past few days, I am planning on heading back to the gym tomorrow (took 3 total days off) and do some light biking/ellipticaling then getting back into some yoga and strength training on Friday. I want to utilize this time between training cycles to rest (no running for a week after my race), recover, and begin building an even STRONGER body! 

Here's to hella strong glutes when I toe the next start line! 

How many days do you take off (of running) after a marathon?

Any special treats that you like after finishing 26.2 or vacations you schedule?

Any tricks to avoiding downhill stairs until 5 days post-marathon?