6 things we wish we knew prior to running a half marathon

Lisa and I met on the track field 10+ years ago now. I was a sprinter, she was a jumper and pole vaulter. After we both graduated highschool, staying in shape was not something we attempted to do unfortunately!

Lisa asked if I would like to join her for a half marathon! Needless to say, I was not overly excited about the idea because I hate running but it would be something fun to do with my best friend, and we both could check that off our bucket lists. We started training in May the run was 5 months away.

It was hard, to say the least, neither of us ran distance but we kept eachother going and we made as much fun out of it as we could. We met eachother a few times a week to run the local cemetary (weird we know, but it was peaceful and a perfect distance to run). We both suffer from knee issues, mine from volleyball and track as well as shin splints that never completely healed from 10 years ago but we pushed through 6-10 miles every chance we got.

The experience was good inspite of running it with the flu (why wouldnt I get sick when i'm supposed to run a half), if I had the chance to do it over again maybe maybe not. We went into it not knowing how it worked or what exactly we needed to train for but we made it.

Here are a few things we wish we knew prior to running our first half marathon!

1. Pace yourself! Nothing worse than wasting your energy on the first half and crawling the second. Training will allow you to figure out your pace and when it works best for you.

2. Find out the terrain people! Seriously! We did it all wrong! We didnt look at the run or where exactly it would be. Had we did this prior, we probably would have trained completely different! Our training was flat and on pavement thinking most marathons are! And while we were busting our knees on the hard pavement we were wrong! Our half marathon was through the forests, on dirt, going up and down hills and over creeks.

3. Just because you train, wont necessarily mean you wont be sore. I was probably more sore the next day than I think I probably ever have been from sports or running. You will be sore, if not very sore! However, training counts and will help you alot!

4. Walk a little, we arent competing for the Boston Marathon title here. If you need to walk, walk and start up again. Chances are your body isnt used to running 13.1 miles every single day so it may start to scream at you at some point and thats ok.

5. Take advantage of the water provided. I'll admit it, I am not a fan of water... at all. But its important to stay hydrated. And who doesnt want a reason for a break or 2 or 5?!

6. 13.1 miles is not easy. Its hard, and there's a reason not everyone does it! I cant say I blame them! It is a big accomplishment to stick with training and complete your first half marathon.

#HEALTHFITNESS #LIFE