Fitness Friday- Guest Post: 10 Lessons From My First Half

Hello Cook. Vegan. Lover. readers! I’m Allie from Healthy Balance, Healthy Life. I write about all facets of wellness (physical, mental, etc.) and how they manifest in my daily life. I am honored to write the following guest post for Fitness Friday and I’d love for you to stop by Healthy Balance, Healthy Life and say hi if you enjoy it!

1. Scope out the course before and/or during training/ signing up (if possible). 
• Know what you’ve gotten yourself into! The Mad Marathon had lots of hills and inclines that I didn’t expect. The race still went well but I would have done much better had I trained on similar inclines! If the site of your race isn’t close enough to you to physically explore it yourself, do some research about the race and ask the race directors or people who have done the race in the past to describe the terrain to you. The Mad Marathon website said something about “rolling hills” which sounded pretty gentle to me – I should have asked for clarification!
2. Listen to your body.
• If you need to walk then walk! Or you can “do the granny” as my friend Marlaina and I say which looks like running at a walking pace. You’re pretty much bopping up and down. It’s helpful to do this instead of walk because sometimes when you start walking, you lose your energy and momentum! Similarly, if you feel any pain that isn’t normal during training or during the race, take it from Kristina and stop! You could seriously and permanently injure yourself – one race is not worth that!
3. Know your foot type/running gait and wear a shoe that supports and protects you from injury. 
• I went to get fitted at Fleet Feet due to severe leg pain the week before the half and found I have a low arch and that I overpronate when I run. I found that I was hurting myself by overpronating and needed a shoe with more arch support. Running in supportive shoes made a huge difference in terms of protecting my body and running more easily. 
4. It’s okay to get new shoes shortly before the race if you need them.
• Yes, the majority of runners say that race day should be as similar to training as possible – eat the same food before, hydrate the same way, and wear the same gear. I was nervous to wear new shoes but it was the best decision I made. I think there is a very good chance I would have hurt myself running the half in my old shoes.
5. Follow your training plan and you’ll be fine!
• I was a little leery of the fact that the Hal Higdon training plan doesn’t have you train the entire distance before you run the half. I wanted to know for sure that I could do it before going out and doing it! To me it seemed like training for 75% of a test and expecting to get an A on test day. Now that I’ve run the half, though, I understand why the plan is set up like that. It works with your body to prepare you for the race and reserve your energy stores. You “taper” the last week (decrease in mileage and exercise frequency) so your body is ready by race day. Had I done the entire 13.1 miles during training, my body would have been less able to complete it during the race than it was. As Hal says, “adrenaline gets you through the last three miles”. He’s right!
6. It’s okay to be flexible with your training plan. 
• As long as you stay close to what is advised, you’ll be fine. If you’re too busy to do strength training one day or you’re too tired to complete the last mile of a run, you don’t have to push yourself! It’s probably better to listen to your body and not let training take over your schedule too much, anyway. You want training to be as fun as possible—there were many a day I considered walking downtown and dancing or walking to class and back “cross training” (See Exhibit A above: I walked downtown and then gave my liver a work out.). Don’t let training overwhelm you. If it takes over your life you may start to resent it.
7. Experiment with hydration, pre and post run food, gear, and music during training so you have an idea of what works best for you. 
• It’s good to know what increases your chances of a good run and what influenced your bad runs so you can prepare to be your best on race day (or any day, for that matter).
8. Have fun! 
• Go dancing for cross training, make silly race day shirts with your running buddies (mine said “Half Master” since I’m half way through my Master’s program and my friend Marlaina’s said “Half Assed” because she hardly trained), listen to silly music. In my book, every run should be a fun run! 
9. Have a race day plan…and back up plans.
• I ran the half with four other people and we all planned to stay close to each other. We also realized, however, that there were good chances we’d get separated throughout the 13 + miles so we planned a meeting place in case we lost each other on the course. 
• It’s also a good idea to check the race map out for hydration stations before you set out on race day so you know how often you’ll be able to refuel. If there aren’t enough stations (the Mad Half was so good and had stations every single mile!) then you can bring a Camelbak or something similar.
10. Do what works best for you.
• The above is what I have found works best for me but everybody is different. You know the needs and wants of your body better than any training plan or running expert. Use the advice of others as a guide but let the innate intelligence of your body lead the way.