Considering Signing Up for Your First Half Marathon?
If you’ve been following us for a while, you know that our team likes to exercises and stay fit. In fact, a couple of us would consider ourselves runners. So, with the weather warming up and some of us dusting off our shoes, we thought it would be a great idea to put together a new batch of resources for those of you who want to hit the train, track, or road for a run. I know I’ve been getting emails about upcoming 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon races.
When I decided to run my first half marathon, I remember downloading a couple of training apps, reading a bunch of articles, and then kind of just winging it. I trained for a few months and then signed up for a race. My goal was to run the race before my 30th birthday in September, but ended up realizing that I was probably close enough to “race shape” by March, after starting my training in January. So, I signed up for a race in May and kept on trucking.
Holes in the Training “Plan”
When I started training for my first half marathon race, I focused entirely on the running program. How many miles do I run each week? How many runs do I undertake each week? Which targeted hart rates do I need to focus on at each run? These types of questions consumed all of my time; so much so, in fact, that I totally ignored the other important things like nutrition, sleep, footwear, etc.
It wasn’t until after I finished my race that I realized the error of my ways. Not only did I end up taking some time off of running for a couple of months because of a foot injury, but I also realized during the race that my tank was running out of fuel with about a mile or so left. I wish I had taken the time ahead of that race to plan accordingly with proper nutrition, hydration, sleep, and even cross training.
So, to help others avoid the same mistakes I made when training for that race, we’re excited to share this resource, put together by Courtney O’Neal, PT, DPT. She’s put together a 10-week training program for people contemplating a half marathon race.
Excerpt from this PT Guide to a Half Marathon
Here’s the first paragraph from the ebook, available now on Amazon Kindle.
“You can do hard things.” This has been one of the mantras I have used to remind my children they can overcome challenges. And simply and strangely while training for a recent half marathon, it was something I repeated over and over in my head on long run days when I was feeling zapped, or sometimes on up-tempo runs when I felt like giving out for the day.
This book contains a “how to guide” to safely and successfully train for a half marathon with your own personal goals in mind, with an eye to injury prevention and learning to listen more clearly to what your body is telling you. I’m so glad you’ve come along for the journey.
If you want to check out more resources to help you become a better runner, check out our Running Resource Page.
