So you want to run a half marathon? Me too. In fact, for the past few months, that has been the focus of my running. In a few weeks, I’ll be conquering my first ever half marathon and I am a huge mix of nervous and excited about it.
I’ve learned a lot in this process, though I’m still no marathon expert. That being said, I still wanted to share with you guys my process and the important things I learned along the way. I think it will be helpful to anyone who wants to learn to run distance. So, here are my top 5 tips and learning points for training for a half marathon.
Slow Steps are important
Maybe your goal is to run a half marathon or a full marathon, and that’s great, but it’s important to keep in mind that you should take it slowly at first, especially if you’re still relatively new to running. Start with a 5k or 2, then a 10k, and then once you have conquered that, move to the half marathon.
I’ve run a few dozen 5ks and so far three 10ks (though I will have my 4th before the half marathon). I’ve given myself a lot of time to learn how to run and how to train before I even started to learn to run further than that. I highly suggest taking it in those steps. Some people even run 15ks before jumping into half marathons!
Give yourself plenty of time to train
One month of training is not enough time to work up to running a half marathon, especially if this is your first one and you don’t usually run distance! I took months of training. Each week I increased my mileage by ½ to 1 mile before I reached 10 or 11 miles, then I went for the full 13.1 miles! It’s important to not go at it all at once of your body will tire out and you won’t learn where your breaking points are.
Give Yourself Wiggle Room
Along with that topic, it’s important to give yourself a few weeks of wiggle room. Some weeks you might not be running well, so you don’t want to push your body against what it wants to do. Other weeks you might not even have time for a long run. It happens. That’s why you should give yourself some extra weeks to account for unexpected occurrences.
Similarly, don’t push yourself to run when you’re injured. I tried that once. I made it about 4 to 5 miles out and still had to turn around and go back to my car. My knee was killing me and it hurt so much. It wasn’t worth the training. I limped back to my car and took the next week off running and it was very much worth it. I can’t tell you enough how much running distance can put stress on your body. Listening to how your body is feeling and reacting to each and every run is really important for preventing long term injury.
Use Gels and try different ones
I have had a lot of friends run marathons without using gel or any carbohydrate boosts during and I just don’t understand how. It only takes a couple of hours for your body to deplete carbohydrate stores during exercise, so it’s important to make sure to refresh those stores while you are running distance if you want to make it through the entire run with stamina and energy to spare.
I was given the advice to gel every 45 minutes or so during a long run, and I take that to heart. I need it for my runs. For me, half marathon runs take over 2 hours, so I need to gel at least twice to make it all the way through.
What do I use? Personally, after trying a few things, I like “Carb Boom” because it isn’t too rough on my stomach (Yes, gels can be very tough on the stomach. I almost threw up the first time). But I would definitely stress the importance of trying out different ones before you race to see what you like the best and what your stomach tolerates. You don’t want to gel for the first time during the actual race and find that you need to move aside to throw up or just feel too sick to run. I also suggest timing your gel with a water station because water helps them go down a lot.
Also, keep in mind gel might not be for you. There are also gummies, bars, or chews that might work better for you during your run! Don’t be afraid to test out a few different things.
Practice your 13.1 at least once
I have personally done three practice distances at 13.1 but I only consider one of them a real practice run because the other 2 had unexpected stops and weren’t very smooth. But I do think that it is very important for you to get out there and practice the distance at least once before the actual race that way it helps to decrease the nerves on race day and gives you an idea of what you are going to expect. At least you’ll know that you can do it and can finish because you’ve done it before.
If you can practice on the actual course you are going to run for your marathon, that would be ideal, but if you are like me and are traveling to get to the race, you’ll have to settle for somewhere else.
Practice runs were how I decided what distance and where I was going to gel at, and when I decided I needed to gel twice during the run instead of just once in the middle. You learn a lot from a practice run, plus it lets you monitor your splits so you know when your body needs a little extra push.
I can’t wait to share with you guys how the marathon went and how I did. Like I said, I’m a mix of excited and nervous all at the same time.
Have any of you guys ever run a half marathon? What advice do you have? Leave it in the comment below.
Until next time,
Kat
Kat Classics 