Half marathon - Support and Motivation!

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  • lisajuly
    lisajuly Posts: 240 Member
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    Wow, Lisa, great job on the running. What kind of cross training do you do?

    I do a bit of walking for cardio cross training and occassionally get on my bicycle. I try to lift weights 2x a week and usually do a P90X workout (Chest and Back X, Back & Bi's X or Shoulders, Bi's and Tris X) or a combination of 2 P90X upper body workouts. I've been slacking on lower body weights just because i'm running so much right now, but I use my foam roller somewhat religiously and do a lot of physical therapy or Pilates exercises to help with my knee/hip issues which always pop up with more/faster miles. I also try to do yoga once a week, but have been known to blow it off, even when i shouldn't. I promise, i'm doing yoga today because my knee and hip talked to me quite a bit after yesterday's long run, lol.
  • lisajuly
    lisajuly Posts: 240 Member
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    I'm still alive and training. . I think part of my problem is that I still run pretty slow, and it just takes SO long to get to those distances. If I ran faster, the amount of time it took me to run those 9ish miles, I could run almost the whole thing, and it wouldn't be so bad. But, I'll keep at it. I haven't officially registered yet, because I'm still wishy washy about my readiness, and I think the next couple of long runs will make the ultimate call. If I'm still struggling with those distances, I might have to reconsider, and continue training and getting faster and do a later half (I don't think there are much more here in MI... will probably have to wait until the spring). Yes, another Michigan runner in the group!

    Hi Kristina, good to see you. glad your running is going well. Ok, my advice. Register for the half. You will be able to do it. Even if your longest run before the half is 10 miles, come race day, adrenalin will carry you very far. And as far as running slow...so what? Yeah, I wish i could run seven minute miles but even if a bear is chasing me, that's not likely to happen. the whole point is that you are out there running and it doesn't matter how fast or how slow you run. I live in CO and a lot of top runners come here to train at altitude--less oxygen here, so then when they race at places that are at lower altitude, they are even faster because then their red blood cells benefit from the increase in oxygen. Anyway, my point of all the babbling is that I KNOW i will never win a race here and that's completely fine. the only person i compete against is myself. Think of all the people who never even attempt running a half. After all is said and done, everyone will be congratulating you on running a half, not putting you down because of how long it took you!
  • earthymom
    earthymom Posts: 52 Member
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    Hi everyone,

    My name is Justine and I live in Austin, TX. Although I've been running for about 10 years, a 10K is the longest run I've done. I decided today that I am going to train for a half marathon at the end of November. And I'm hoping to lose lots of weight while I do it! Just printed out a 10 week training plan and I'd love to get any advice or support I can from this group.
  • girlruns
    girlruns Posts: 344
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    Kristina--lisajuly is right. There is so much pulling you along on race day, you will finish! And even if you do have to walk (no shame!), you will be happier that you did the race instead of putting it off.

    Earthymom--welcome! Get ready for an awesome experience! My suggestions, make sure you have good shoes, practice on the surface you will be racing on, experiement and perfect clothing/fuel/hydration. And most importantly--have fun!

    Last week ended on a crappy note with me not doing anything over the weekend. I'm back though this week! I did 100 total minutes of walking yesterday (a normal rest day, but since I rested over the weekend...). Today I did an easy 5 in 48:25. Tomorrow is crosstraining (Curlytop, I'm doing Jillian right now for my cross training so I support that!).

    Keep up the good work everyone!
  • lisajuly
    lisajuly Posts: 240 Member
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    Wow, I'm posting 2 days in a row from the library, lol.

    5.04 miles at 10:10/mi pace. Kind of relieved because my knee and hip were bothering me after Sunday's long run. I wore my pat strap today and planned on only running 3.5-4 miles, but everything felt good, so i kept going. I actually was running much faster than i thought I was (or even planned to run). I think i'm going to skip speedwork tomorrow and either take the day off, or do a slow 4-5 mile run. Too close to the half to hurt myself now, or hurt myself to the point of not being able to run. Lots of stretching later/tonight.

    Justine, welcome! Glad you joined us here. Just so you know, I never have much luck losing weight while trainng for a half marathon. I don't have a lot of weight to lose (less than 15. okay, ,maybe 20, lol) so that may play a part, but I find it hard to eat enough to fuel the miles I'm running and still lose a noticeable amount of weight.

    Girlruns...nice pace yesterday! Great job.
  • earthymom
    earthymom Posts: 52 Member
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    Thanks for the advice everyone! Glad to be in the group.
  • akasullengal
    akasullengal Posts: 1,499 Member
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    Did my first short run for the week: 5.09 miles at a 12:10 pace, which is pretty fast for me (i'm not a fast runner... and believe me, I've already improved a lot in time). More importantly, the legs felt good. I was a bit nervous as to how they would feel 2 days after doing the 9.4miler, but I think all the stretching at the walk I took yesterday really helped. Granted, we'll see how I feel in the morning, but the pace felt good, and was moving nicely, especially considering I had just gotten out of a 12-hour workday. Tomorrow the plan is crosstraining at the gym- probably the bike and then another 5 miler (might bump it up to 5.5) on Thursday.
  • curlytop89
    curlytop89 Posts: 163 Member
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    I also have not had luck losing weight when running long distances, over 5 miles or so. I have lost some this time, but I am just now getting up over 5 or 6 miles. I am still watching what I eat most days though so I don't gain weight.

    Lisa, I saw you had a watch on in one of your pictures, is that a GPS watch? I would love to have one, but they are expensive. But it would sure beat driving around trying to remember routes. Just wondering. If there is less expensive version, I would be interested. Anyhoo...

    I did 4 miles yesterday, just around town with the baby stroller, so no huge hills or anything. I usually save those for my long run. I did spead work Sunday and rode my bike for an hour sat and I am feeling tired today, so I rested, and didn't eat well. Shame on me. Hopefully I will be able to make myself get up early in the a.m. before the kids and get on the elliptical, I have a busy day otherwise and I don't want to be tempted to skip. Well, good luck all. Marcie
  • pinbotchick
    pinbotchick Posts: 3,904
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    YEAH!!! I jogged 2 miles this morning at 13:22 pace on the treadmill. It felt so good to be able to jog and breath again!!!!

    Welcome to the new people!! Great job to everyone that's running...
  • a1schwei
    a1schwei Posts: 617 Member
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    Marcie...i use mapmyrun.com to map out my runs before i go (or after sometimes)...it is free and easy :) you can create a login and save your runs in a training log and you can calculate your distance and miles per hour...not quite as fancy as a gps watch but it has helped me a lot in training :)
    good job to everyone on the training...its crunch time for me and it is unfortunately a really busy time with the school year starting...iam trying hard to get the milage in that i need on my timetable without burning myself out...i think i'm ready for my run...i almost wish it was this weekend instead of next! :):):)
  • earthymom
    earthymom Posts: 52 Member
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    Great job pinbotchick! And what an impressive weight loss you have had!

    I ran 2.6 miles at an 11.5 pace. It's so humid here in Austin! I felt like I ran 5 miles at a 10 mile pace.
  • girlruns
    girlruns Posts: 344
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    Well, I didn't wake up and do Jillian this morning--hopefully after work. For some time now, my alarm clock light has been broken so I don't know what time it is when I wake up in the night. Finally got a new one last night so I could see when I woke up at 3:11, 4:15, 4:45, before my alarm went off at 5. I hated not seeing the time, but I think KNOWING I woke up 3 times made me feel even more tired. Sadly, I didn't really sleep well when I went back to bed either, so I just don't have the energy I want for today. I don't know why I'm not sleeping, but that is going to have to change if I want to do well with my training!
  • curlytop89
    curlytop89 Posts: 163 Member
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    Marcie...i use mapmyrun.com to map out my runs before i go (or after sometimes)...it is free and easy :) you can create a login and save your runs in a training log and you can calculate your distance and miles per hour...not quite as fancy as a gps watch but it has helped me a lot in training :)
    good job to everyone on the training...its crunch time for me and it is unfortunately a really busy time with the school year starting...iam trying hard to get the milage in that i need on my timetable without burning myself out...i think i'm ready for my run...i almost wish it was this weekend instead of next! :):):)


    Thanks, I will have to try that. I am going to do long run in the am so I might try it out. It will beat driving up and down the road watching the odometer.
  • a1schwei
    a1schwei Posts: 617 Member
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    okay so i have to ask...has anyone else found that you are CONSTANTLY hungry the further you get in the training...even on your off or less intense days? i can't stop feeling hungry...and for the most part i've been eating relatively healthy things but i can't stop the hungry feeling in my stomach!!! i haven't really gained any weight to speak of (0.5 to 1.5 lbs depending on the day) but i have been having a hard time keeping to my set calorie goal even with exercise calories unless it is my super long run day! is this normal? i just started back to school/work and i do tend to munch more during the school year than the summer but my hunger is a little much even for me! :) just curious!
  • pinbotchick
    pinbotchick Posts: 3,904
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    Well gang, I haven't really dropped off the face of the earth but I've uber busy with work, getting the dang book read (bookclub is tonight - why isn't it on audio?) and running. Managed a 7 mile run on the treadmill ave 14:40 pace. After the second mile, I got lost in my book and it wasn't so bad. Rain and cold weather not to mention the dark kept me inside today. I probably won't be able to catch up on posts until tomorrow night or Sat. My thoughts are with you all.
  • curlytop89
    curlytop89 Posts: 163 Member
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    Good job Victoria! 7 miles on the treadmill is not easy, it just seems to go by so slowly.

    a1schwei- the last time I trained for a half marathon, I actually gained weight. Not a lot, maybe 5 pounds, but still. I did eat more and I think I thought that because I was running so much that I would burn off any extra I ate, not the case. Are you getting plenty of protein. When I was on the biggest loser club, the dietician stressed getting plenty of protein, probably more than recommended on the daily allowance when you are running long distances to help your muscles recover. Just an idea. By the way, I checked out the mapmyrun site and it is neat. There are several runs mapped out in my area and I was able to map the run I did today, plus it gives the elevation and what not. My path looked Like this/VVVV\ ha ha. The hills are good for me.

    Today was my long run. Did 7 miles at a 10:30 pace. Wahoo! Felt pretty good.

    Keep up the good work everyone!
  • pinbotchick
    pinbotchick Posts: 3,904
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    Marcie - nice pace on that 7 mile run!!! I was shocked that after the first 2 miles on Mr. Tready, I got into the zone and the time flew. My book on tape was really good and in the last 2 hours which really did help. I never dreamed I'd do 7 on a treadmill. My plan was to do the first 2 to 3 on the treadmill until the weather cleared up but it never did (*sighs*).

    a1shwei - I've been training 10 weeks now and gained 2 pounds but the last 2 weeks have really worked to get them off. YEAH I'm uber hungry after running - What the heck!!! I've been hearing from others that you don't lose weight with distance training - I don't know why.

    earthymom - I hate running in humidity. Not so sure that I'm going to like running frost any better. I live in northern Michigan. It seems like we go from 90 heat to frost overnight. It was 32 degrees on yesterday's cross training bike ride at 7 am - yeah we could see see our breath - I was fearful of frostbite!!!

    girlruns - it must be the moon keeping us up. I was up 2 times last night - I blamed thunder and cats (*sighs*). 5am was really early today. At least I can sleep in til 7 tomorrow. Hope you got your energy back!!!

    Go Kristina Go!!! I agree that you should sign up for the race - but maybe that's me being selfish and wanting you there with me!!! You are doing so well with you increasing your speed - nice job!!
  • pinbotchick
    pinbotchick Posts: 3,904
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    Made my longest run yet yesterday afternoon - 10 miles at 14:31 pace. The temp was beautiful in the 50s and the fall colors were spectacular...
  • curlytop89
    curlytop89 Posts: 163 Member
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    Way to go Victoria on the 10 miles. Wow. I was off Friday and did the elliptical yesterday so today was my 4.5 mile run with some speedwork in there. Actually did the first 3 in 28 minutes even with the slowdowns. Wasn't in the mood for a run today at all, but I was sitting around doing nothing and thought, I could be getting my run done, and so there it is. Have to run some more tomorrow, so I don't know when I will get that done. Will probably have to do it on the treadmill or with the stroller and it is in the mid 90's here outside, yuck! Come on rain and give us a cool down.
  • cmw72
    cmw72 Posts: 390 Member
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    Hi everybody! I'm late to the game, and I'm not sure this is the right place, but here goes.

    I just did my first 10k on Saturday and it was such an amazing experience. My time was 71:49 with a pace of 11:33. This was my first race of any kind.

    I don't consider myself a runner, and while I have no problem spending hours at the gym, I can't imagine getting up at 5:00 in the morning to go running. That being said, I'm seriously considering registering for a half-marathon on May 1st. I think it would give me focus, and a fitness goal that is not solely calorie based.

    I guess the question is ... Does this seem doable? Should I just "go for it"? I would have seven months to train for it. I suppose just finishing should be my primary goal, though I would love to at least meet my 10k pace. I'd also like to think that by then I will have lost significantly more weight. At the very least, I'd like to be under 200 (though 180 would be awesome).

    A year ago, pushing 370 pounds, I never would have considered such a thing ... But something about losing 120 pounds makes me wonder what else I can achieve. And what can I say ... This place is inspirational. :smile:

    Thanks in advance!

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