Why I May Never Run Another Half Marathon| My First Half Marathon Recap

I’m super late, but I completed my first half Marathon in May. It was one of the most fulfilling events ever! It required planning, actionable goals, and a TON of running.😩🫠 I have learned that I really enjoy finding a way to see how I can grow as a person and that is usually through some form of discipline in training and nutrition. Yes….as odd as that might sound, I enjoy discipline. 😂🤣

I have done a few 5Ks, which some I didn’t even train for. But a half marathon or 13.1 miles run is not something I was NOT willing to go out there and just “Go For It!” I’m a pretty in shape person, but I am not crazy! I want to be able to use my body for years to come and not training for a long distance run could lead to injury where I may never be able to run again. So I definitely trained to work my way up to the 13 miles.

How did you train for your first half marathon?

I ran, a lot! Mostly on my treadmill because its easy to hop out the bed early and get my run out the way without having to leave the house and deal with stray dogs and scary deer and or whatever other animals that might be out there waiting for me in my neighborhood.

I didn’t use a training program. I listened to my body. So each week, I set a goal to increase my mileage by either half a mile or a full mile. This SHOULD have been about a 12 week program, allowing me to reach 12 miles the week before my scheduled run was to be completed.

I successfully increased my mileage each week making it all the way up to 10 miles. Life start lifing and I honestly stopped training due to a crazy schedule and no longer having a desire to run after a trip my husband I took for our ten year anniversary.

Nothing happened, besides just being tired of running.

AND…the half marathon I wanted to do, which was in my home town was sold out when I went to register! Talk about a bummer.

I almost gave up and said aw well. I will just wait until the next one in our city. Then I got out of my slump and looked for another half marathon that was near, but required some travel. I also wanted to make sure the route was not rocky like a trail. I landed on the Cleveland Marathon which was a couple weeks after the scheduled marathon in my home town. WIN WIN!

How was your first half marathon?

The organizers did an amazing job! The different zones (different organizations come out to support and cheer you on along the route) all made you feel welcomed and some had some amazing sights to see. Some had bands playing. Some had children out there cheering us on. Others had some water which was nice! Especially when I could no longer get any water out of my darn hydration pack (Totally was having a moment, it still works! 🤦🏾‍♀️)

I was doing fine through the first 6 miles. I then got a bit hungry and needed a bit of fuel. I started trying to eat some of the trail mix I brought along in my hydration backpack but was struggling to open the pack. 😩 So I had to start walking to open the pack. It was over at that point.

I could never get my pace back up to where it was before I started walking. It made it too easy to walk again since I had already tried it. Then all the pain set in! I began to feel every throb in my feet and could tell there was a blister forming on my right foot. 🥴

Running the first 6 miles was really easy for me. It felt effortless. It didn’t require much out of me. I just kept going. *in my Forest Gump voice*

I had a great playlist and my body was familiar with that amount of mileage as it was the distance I would run quite often in the morning on a daily basis. But after the trail mix shenanigans, the half marathon became VERY mental. I had to talk myself through the rest of the run. Seeing mile markers was encouraging and helped me to keep going, but I had a TON of dialogue going on in my head.

Any pitfalls?

Man….I got to that 12th mile and my legs were like…”HEFFA….Why are you still running?? You know darn well we ain’t never did this before You need to stop!” And my quads began to cramp up to the point that I did have to stop! Like literally. A halt! To the point that I thought I wasn’t going to be able to continue on. I even texted my hubby like ….yeah I don’t know about this. My legs are cramping up. I eventually rubbed it out. Let the cramp do its thing and work its way out. Watched what felt like 1 million people run past me. Reminded myself that I am way too close to stop here and eventually was able to keep running. My pace was a lot slower. I was in a bit of pain. And I wanted to make sure I didn’t cramp up again. So I took it easy and made my way to the finish line. Some kinda way, the footage my hubby got of me crossing the finish line with a smile. But Lord knows my body was screaming and I was just happy to almost be done!

How did you feel after completing your first half marathon?

I was sooooo happy it was over! Like literally I was tired of running lol. But I was also extremely proud of myself. All the hard work, all the long runs, the months of training all went toward a great accomplishment! And I was able to beat the goal time I set for myself. I felt great and in pain all at the same time!

Not only that…I still had to walk to the hotel! 😂🤣🤦🏾‍♀️

What was the best part of the half marathon?

The best part…seeing my husband and boys at the finish line! 💖