I’m more than 3 months into my half marathon training, so it’s high time I posted an update! If you’re not interested in running-related posts, then sorry for all the running-related posts. If you DO like running posts, then sorry there hasn’t been more. :)
Anyway, here’s a recap of my training so far, how things have been going, and my plan going forward.
Outfit details originally in this post.
By the numbers
Weeks of training: 14
Total mileage: 166
Total elevation gain: 10,548 ft
Average pace: 11:24 min/mile
Longest run: 9.3 miles in 1:53:22
Most elevation gain in a single run: 1,100 ft over 7.3 miles
Fastest run: 9:14 average pace for 3.1 miles
Fastest mile: 8:20
How I’m training
Each week, I run about 4 times. As my mileage has increased, I’ve leaned more and more toward trail runs. Occasionally I’ll do an easy run through the neighborhood if I’m pressed for time, but I’d say 90% of my mileage has been on trails.
Ideally, my week includes an easy run, speed work, a medium run, and a long run. Here’s what those look like:
Easy run: ~3 flat miles at a slow pace
Speed work: sometimes hill repeats, sometimes a normal trail run
Medium run: 3-4 miles, faster pace
Long run: increasing distance at a slow pace
As far as I can tell, this assortment of runs is a pretty common strategy for half marathon training.
What isn’t common is that my plan has been fairly conservative, keeping me at a distance “block” for my long runs (e.g., 5-6 miles) for several weeks before I move to the next distance. Since I had longer to train, this meant I didn’t have to aggressively increase miles every single weekend. Increasing distance slowly has been ideal for me as a new runner.
What’s going well (and what’s not)
So far, my strategy of increasing long runs slowly has worked very well for me. Spending several weeks running the same distance, that means I get very comfortable with that run length before I bump it up. This has helped build my confidence as well as give my body plenty of time to adapt to the training.
A longer training plan has also given me some much-needed leeway. It means I can take weeks where I dial back the mileage to rest and recover. It also means that if I miss workouts because of traveling, work, or whatever other life things, it doesn’t completely ruin my training plan.
The most surprising thing about my training progress is the increase in my confidence as a runner. When I first decided to tackle a half marathon, I expected it to mostly just suck a lot. I expected to be shaky and slow no matter how much I ran, and I expected 13 miles to always feel daunting.
As I’ve progressed through the weeks, I’ve found that I’m no longer intimidated by my long runs. In fact, I look forward to them. I’ve been surprised by how many good runs I’ve had, including runs where I was running for over an hour solid without feeling like death. That’s huge for me, and it’s forced me to even more deeply rethink my long-held conceptions of my limitations as an athlete.
I’ll reiterate here that I love how much more time I get to spend outside. I’ve been checking out lots of new trails and enjoying all types of weather, even the “bad” weather. Running gives me an excuse to get out the door day after day, even when I would normally sit at home. All the fresh air and sunshine has had a noticeable effect on my overall mood. I love being out alone running, just listening to music and letting my thoughts wander.
On the other end of things, I’ve admittedly been terrible about cross-training. I go to my aerial silks class every week, which is good for maintaining my upper body and core strength, but most weeks I don’t manage to squeeze in other workouts. I want to be more diligent on this front by throwing in some yoga and/or BBG workouts, but since silks and running account for 5 days of my week, it can be hard to muster the energy for more.
I’ve also noticed I’ve been getting slightly more achy as my mileage has increased. Any aches or pains typically only last a day or maybe two. I’m not sure to what extent this is just my body adapting, or if there are potential problems that I need to be nipping in the bud. The jury’s still out on this one.
Races so far
I’ve run 3 races this summer: a road 5k for my first race, and 2 trail 10k’s. Each race was a wildly different experience.
In the first race (5k), I had a plan and executed it exactly as I intended. I missed my time goal by 25 seconds, but everything else went so well that I couldn’t complain.
For the first 10k, I was in for a surprise. I was expecting about 400 ft of elevation gain and ended up getting over 800! It ended up being a very challenging course with hot sun scorching down during the hardest parts. I was proud of myself for pacing the climb well, but even keeping it slow, the climbing eventually caught up to me and I had to walk for the last uphill segment. My second wind started to set in as my legs loosened back up on the long downhill back to the finish line. I ended up placing 1st in my age group out of 5 women (which I discovered later when the results were posted). Although it wasn’t a fast 10k by ANY means, I’m glad I was able to hang onto my mental toughness…at least for like 95% of the race, anyway. :)
I did a second 10k this past weekend, which also didn’t go how I expected. My legs didn’t feel great coming out of the gate and since it was a trail run, I kept getting stuck in traffic jams. Then, a huge group of us ended up taking a wrong turn on the course where an intersection wasn’t marked. I have no memory of even seeing the intersection, so I wasn’t blindly following the crowd so much as I didn’t even realize it before it was too late. I ended up only running 5.4 miles instead of 6.2. That said, I’m glad to have had a course mishap on a race where I didn’t feel great anyway. I would’ve been pretty sad if it felt like a PR day and I had missed my chance.
Later this month, I’ll be doing a (steep!) trail 15k, which will be my biggest race and a nice warm-up for the half. With 1,230 ft of gain spread out over 3 major hills, it’s going to be a challenging race, but I’m actually really excited for it.
The half marathon plan
After a lot of hand-wringing, I signed up for the Flagstaff Half Marathon on September 16th.
And let me tell you, this race is no joke.
Besides a half marathon worth of miles, this course accumulates 1,762 ft of elevation gain. Adding to that, the minimum elevation is about 8,000 ft, where the air is pretty darn thin. The course is 100% off-road through the aspen and pine forests of wild northern AZ, with a mix of single- and double-track.
So why did I pick this race? A few reasons…
First, the home field advantage. This race is local, which means I can sleep in my own bed, eat my own food, not to mention save time and money by staying close to home.
Second, since I’ve been running almost exclusively on trails, I started to get a bit sketched out by doing a half on roads. Besides the fact that I like trails better, I was worried that switching to road for my longest run ever would be a bit jarring, both literally and metaphorically. That said, finding trail-only half marathons that were a drivable distance (<6 hours away) and in my desired time frame was nearly impossible.
Lastly, as I mentioned above, my confidence has grown much more than I expected 3 months ago. I had originally ruled out this race because it’s so tough. Basically, I wanted to stack the deck in my favor and find a much less challenging course instead. The main reason I was leaning toward an “easier” race was because of confidence concerns. I wanted to do everything I could to make sure my first big race was a good one. I didn’t want a bad race to discourage me from ever trying again.
Now, my reasoning has flipped the other way. The fact that the race is so challenging makes it more appealing. Even if it doesn’t go as perfectly as I imagine, I’ve built enough confidence that I could withstand the blow. I like the idea of just going for it and testing what I’m really capable of. So far, that’s been more than I ever expected, so why not step up to the challenge?
And on a more practical note, I think my training is appropriate for this race. I already regularly complete runs with 700-1,000 ft of elevation gain, so I’ve been conditioning my body appropriately. As I work through the back half of my training, I plan to continue incorporating plenty of climbing and high elevation runs to keep strengthening my legs and lungs.
I’m going all in. 5.5 weeks to go!
Your training is going great. I’m so excited for you. And if/when you do run a road race, you might surprise yourself with how much faster you are. I mostly run trails and then run almost a minute per mile on roads.
Thank you Sara! :) I do notice I run faster on road or even on flat aggregate trails (rather than single track). The fastest run I noted where I ran at nearly a 9 min pace was on road and I was stunned by how much faster I could maintain that day. But, I’m not really in it for speed so I guess that’s a trade-off I’m willing to make. For now at least!
I love how much you are loving this! Like the commenter above, I think your potential speed on flat roads may surprise you!
With the ‘training pains vs brewing injury’ dilemma, I’d recommend paying attention to location and feel of the ache/pain. Calf, quad, butt etc should be expected to have DOMS. Pain at the side of knees (inner or outer) or hip could be ITB issues (needs rest and strength training), right inside the knee (under kneecap) can be runner’s knee, shin pain may be splints. All are overuse injuries and require caution not to get worse. Hip flexor pain can usually be stretched out. Achilles can go either way (stretchable or hideous problem) so might wanna baby that type. Plantar pain is the same deal. Thats the end pf my info!
Thanks for the aches and pains cheat sheet. :) I feel a bit silly calling a Dr/PT and being like “so this hurt at one point for a brief little while but it’s not hurting now and I can’t really describe it”, haha. I am definitely planning to keep a closer eye on any aches/pains though, especially since I’m getting closer to my race!
Great job with training! I’m so glad that you’re learning how to enjoy the runs, especially long ones. It can really be meditative and fun once you get past the first few weeks and your body can adapt. Way to go!
Thanks! And yes, it’s definitely been nice and very therapeutic to have more time alone with my music and/or thoughts. When I get into the right headspace, meditative is definitely the right word. :)
congrats on your amazing progress – wow!!!
i wish you the very best in 5.5 weeks!
and like scallywag noted – pay attention to the location of your aches. i know several people who have had issues with running injuries if they didn’t do leg strength training.
good luck!!! can’t wait for more updates :)
Thanks! :) I think since I had such a good foundation of leg strength from crosstraining before I started running, I got a bit complacent and coasted on that. Now that it’s been a hot minute since I finished my last program, I probably need to be a bit more militant about making it happen and keeping up that strength before it goes away.
Sounds like it’s going really well! I’m a trail runner too, and I’ll take a tough trail over an easy road any day. Running on asphalt and cement makes my whole body ache. If you don’t already use a foam roller to get out the sore spots, I highly recommend one. Rolling your legs before a run warms things up, but working on your sore spots afterwards is what really makes a difference. Even if it doesn’t ache yet, I’d suggest always rolling your IT band on each leg. That’s one of the most common injuries in women, and it seems like we all deal with it sooner or later.
Happy trails!
Yes, I definitely could ramp up the foam rolling. Previously I was averaging about once a week, but this week I’ve been making a point to roll out at least after every run, if not every day. Some days (like today!) I’ll also bring my lacrosse ball to work and stick it under my hamstrings while I sit at my desk. It definitely helps!
Oh man, you’re going to be super prepared for your half. I didn’t do half the things you did for my first half and I still survived. I’ve got a half in January so I haven’t started following any training plan yet, but I’ve found that not keeping track of my speed and time and distance (I have general idea based on past runs), I enjoy my runs more and I naturally roll out of bed and want to run. But yes, gaining confidence in running is just a positive feedback to run more! I never worry about aches unless they won’t go away. I’m also super conservative about my pace. Have you been taking gels/chews/? I love GU chews and clif bloks. Makes a huge difference in my recovery. How do you carry water? What do you eat before running? :)
Thanks for the vote of confidence! I’m feeling pretty good about it–as long as I can stay healthy and not make any stupid mistakes the day of the race I should do alright. :)
I haven’t had enough long runs to have tried much on the fueling front. So far the only thing I’ve tried has been Annie’s fruit snacks, which I just happened to have on hand from the grocery store clearance rack. It actually worked great, lol! But, I’m going to be experimenting with other options over the next few weekends. Before morning runs I usually have some toast with nut butter or these mini flax muffins I really like from the store. I’m pretty simple on that front.
So far, I haven’t had any runs that were hot and long enough for electrolytes to be a concern (never above 80 degrees, and usually in the shade to boot) so I only carry plain water. For my short/medium-distance runs I carry a waist pack with a small water bottle, but for anything long I take my small backpack (Osprey Tempest 9) with my hydration bladder. Sure, I could get something a tad bit lighter (not that it’s even heavy), but I already own it, it’s very comfortable/broken in, and the tiny bit of extra weight only makes me stronger anyway. ;)
Great job with your training. Trails are tough to run on and adding in the elevation changes will get your cardiovascular system in great shape.
I agree with user Sarah on the foam rolling. I also foam roll before running.
The race you picked out sounds challenging, but the home field advantage is nice to have.
You should start putting together / practicing a fueling strategy and keep up the good work!
Side note – I’m signed up to run the Lake Powell half in October as a destination race with two friends. We’ll also spend some time post race at Zion – it will be my first trip there, so I’m super excited!
Thanks Shirley! I’ve only had 2 runs that broke the 1.5 hr mark, so I haven’t done much on the fueling front (literally just Annie’s fruit snacks–silly but surprisingly effective, haha). But, I have a 9-10 mile run planned for Saturday, so I’ll definitely need to go snack shopping between now and then so I can start figuring out what works for me.
Enjoy Lake Powell and Zion! You will have an AMAZING time, and you couldn’t pick a more gorgeous time of year! Shouldn’t be too crowded either. ;)
I’m so impressed by people who can just dive into trail running! I dabbled in it a couple of years ago after years of road racing and … it just didn’t agree with my body. It sounds like you’re going to rock your half.
I agree with the commenters above who suggested foam rolling to work out the sore spots. Also, cross-training and lots of stretching. It’s so tough to work cross-training in when I’m training for a race but I’ve found that adding TRX, barre, or spin once or twice a week really helps.
Thanks so much, Kate! I definitely need to double down on both rolling and x-training. It’ll mean sacrificing some time in other areas, but it’s definitely important enough to justify those trade-offs. I rolled out almost every day this week, so that’s a good start. :)
Yes! I was hoping you’d do a training recap and am excited to read the details! You are doing awesome!!! Really great wins in both fitness and confidence for your first training cycle. Not only will you reap a great race, but this is a great foundation for a good relationship in general with the sport. In contrast, I made every mistake I possibly could in both my training and the race for my first half. Kudos for being so smart about it! (And yes, more running posts please :)
Thanks for the encouragement Jenn! I hope you’re right. If you feel like sharing, I’m curious what mistakes you think you made?
I’m so excited for you. I started out as a VERY reluctant (and not very fast) runner, but I’ve kept at it over the years, and now I’ve run four marathons, including Boston twice. There’s really nothing like taking something you’re horrible at and discovering that you can actually become pretty good at it.
I saw above that you haven’t figured out a fueling strategy. My coach recommended taking a gel every half hour during races, which has worked really well for me. Although you’d want to practice that before race day to be sure it agrees with your system, during training I take the first one at 1:30 so my body gets used to accessing its available energy first. If it’s hot (which I define as anything over about 60), supplementing with something like Endurolytes is also a good idea.
And I echo others’ comments about foam rolling (do it both before and after each run) and cross-training. I nearly missed Boston this year because of excruciatingly bad IT band syndrome the last six weeks before the race, which I think was caused by lack of cross-training (I was spinning regularly, but I lacked strength training and lateral-type movement). Little aches and pains are to be expected, but be careful of anything that becomes chronic or worsening.
Good luck! I can’t wait to hear how it goes.
Thanks so much for the thoughtful and helpful comment! :) I totally agree with what you said about how awesome it is to reclaim something you think you’re crappy at.
I’ve only had a couple runs long enough to experiment with nutrition, but so far the sweet spot for me seems to be eating something around an hour in. Fortunately, my long runs are always in the morning, which is a pretty good representation of race day. I haven’t tried having more than one “dose” yet though, so that’s definitely something I need to try out soon. Since I’m not very fast and am often doing a lot of climbing, an 8-10 mile run can pretty easily stretch into 2 hours, which is definitely good testing grounds!
This post seems to have jinxed myself slightly, because I started having some (mild) IT symptoms on my long runs. I imagine doubling down on hill climbing did not help! I’m going after it pretty aggressively with the help of a PT so hopefully it’ll clear up quickly and I can move on with my life. :)