New member here, 4 weeks to go to my first half marathon
jojoheck2489
Posts: 2
Hello everyone! My name's JoJo. I just finished my 6th week of training for my first half marathon, 4 more to go! Yesterday I ran 11 miles in 1hr 54 minutes. My legs are pretty sore today but mentally I am fatigued, that's why I'm here looking for some support. I'm hoping by joining this group I can get some inspiration and motivation. I know I am not going to quit now but I would love some advice for the last few weeks of training. I also had a question about diet/eating. How much have you guys typically lost while training? So far in 6 weeks, I've lost 9 lbs. I see changes in my body and others too. More muscle definition in arms, stomach, and legs. I guess my ultimate question is how do you keep going after you hit a goal? My goal is complete my first half-marathon. After this I would like to keep my runs up during the week like I have. During the week, besides from my long run on Sat/Sun I'm hitting about 13-15 miles along with strength training 2x a week. Any thoughts, advice, tips are appreciated! Thanks 
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Hi JoJo, I'm Mark. Congrats on a great long run yesterday. I guess I am lucky in that normally I enjoy the training except this time of year (I live in Illinois) when I have to do long runs along. Looping around in the snow is draining mentally! Anybody else you can run with? A partner helps a lot for long ones. I try and do out and back when I can. That way once I hit the mid point, no choice but to some home.
Are you doing your long runs at an easy enough pace? Long should be pretty easy and many do them too fast which can make them grueling
When I am training for a half or a full I typically do not lose any weight, I'm too hungry all the time! What keeps me going is that I normally do 10-12 races a year so when one is done there is always another one coming up! I have a half next Sunday then a 5k end of March, then.............0 -
I'm guessing your longest run is next weekend? after that you will "taper" down your distances to save your body (and mind) for your race. It is kind of nice to take it a little easier during the last two weeks of training and you will not hurt your performance at all. You will have close to the same pace you had yesterday. As far as eating for your race, you do not need to "carb load" for a half marathon and should be able to fuel yourself before your race. Make sure you do not try anything new on race day. My go-to race breakfast is an english muffin with pb&j and a glass of oj two to three hours before the race starts. I have a Gatorade prime and a banana 30 minutes before the start and of course drink plenty of water (hit the porta-potty before the start - the lines can get long on the course). I keep an energy gel in my pocket and will use it after about an hour of running. This weekends long run will be a good time to figure out your race morning breakfast. Try and get some sleep the night before and ENJOY race morning. When it comes time to run, you will be ready. Signing up for another race is a good way to keep running. Good luck and have fun.0
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What does your long run schedule look like for time leading up to the 1\2? What pace are you planning on running the 1\2?0
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You're running your long runs at your 1\2 marathon pace (if i'm calculating that correctly). You should really be doing your long runs a few minutes slower than your race pace to slowly build up your muscles, lungs & heart so you don't burn out before the race or injure yourself. You work on your speed during one of your shorter runs.
The trick to finishing a 1\2 marathon is to first show up with fresh legs...then cross the finish line within the time limit vertical & uninjured--after that, everything else is just icing on the cake. Don't run your body into the ground before you even get to the starting line. Take walking breaks during your run if you need to...enjoy the endorphins :-)0
