I am running a half marathon tomorrow. This is the earliest in the year I've ever done one. I feel so-so prepared. Half-marathons always seem to creep up on me. I think I would be wise to extend my training plan by a couple of weeks giving me a couple of extra 10-12 mile long runs because it always seems that something happens which knocks me of my training schedule.
Will I finish? Absolutely. But will it be a respectable time? I have no idea. A lot depends on if my body feels like it. At the beginning of May I ran a 10 miler and could have easily finished out a half and it would have been strong. A week later I thought I was going to die to try to squeak out 8 miles.
On Monday I did 1.5 and was so exhausted I had to stop. C'mon, 1.5?< and then on Wednesday I did 8 and it felt great. I really can never tell. It will certainly be a challenge either way. Even if I'm feeling good, 13.1 will be tough. The longest I've gone so far this year is 12.25. It's always fun when you reach a milestone and the half will be it. It'll also put me in a good position to continue right into Marathon training although I'm technically a bit early on that since it's not until November.
I would *love* to be able to complete the Half without stopping for a walk break. I think that will depend on the weather. When it's hot and humid (as it's supposed to be tomorrow) I just get overheated. That's really frustrating when you feel good and the legs feel strong but you just can't stop thinking about how awful hot you are. When it's like that I usually have to stop and walk to try and cool myself down before starting back up again.
It would be great if the water- stops actually had COLD water to give you because that's what I start to think about. I just want a cool fan and an icy water.
The big negative for this Half is that it's so far away. It's out in the 'burbs. It'll be a 45 minute drive out. It kind of sucks to have to leave that much more early. Plus, I'm a nervous driver and tend to get lost very easily so it's hard trying to decide when I should actually leave because I have to plan in time to get lost. And find parking. And to find parking in a location where I will know how to walk to the start. And on, and on...
This is the time it would be nice to have a running buddy. I prefer to train on my own and I don't think I would want the pressure of actually running with someone else (I would rather race myself than another) but it would be nice in the before/after to have someone to hang out. Sure, I can usually make friends if I want to but it would be a lot nicer to just sit around at the start with an actual friend. And at the end...it's lonely when you're done and you're feeling all these feelings and then....what? I'm just going to get in my car and drive back home! Ha, even when I know someone is at the end, waiting to cheer me at the finish it's not the same. Runners want to rehash their every step of the race and it's not very fun as a non-runner to have to listen to that.
