Half-Marathon Training: The Beginning Stages & Mental Block

KellyOnlySmaller

cwolfman13,
Thank you so much. You're absolutely right. I need to pay attention to my post-meal diet choices. I tend to go for an apple and string cheese and sometimes a Kind bar. I have a book on nutrition for runners. I suppose I should read that

I wish you great success on your event! It sounds like you are incredibly motivated and that is inspirational! Feel free to add me if you are looking for new MFP friends.

Kelly

leilaphoenix

Focus on increasing your distance and don't worry about your speed. Get yourself up to 17k then work on speed. Increasing your distance will boost your confidence.

sstolii123

You guys are awesome! Thank you so much!

I live in Ohio, and the weather definitely changed quickly. I'm honestly okay with slower miles. It's just that need to stop and walk that is driving me batty. Humidity is evil, but the negative voice in my head is more evil

I kept up my level of fitness during my injury. I was only completely out of running for about a month, but before and after that, my runs were short and if I started to feel any pain at all, I'd walk. So as I'm writing this, I realize I may have continued that pattern... walk til it's uncomfortable... then run. While I was on running hiatus, I biked and exercised just as much with the help of a physical therapist. I just didn't run.

I hate the treadmill and only use it when I absolutely have to. I have no doubt it's going to be a hot race in August, but it's a 7am start, so at least I won't be dealing with mid-day heat.

I've already signed up for the race, and because of that, I am determined to keep going. I'll be doing a couple of 5K's along the way, and I thank the person who said I have plenty of time to train. I think injuries can happen at any time, but I have to learn not to be scared I will hurt myself again. Maybe mentally I've slowed down my runs at an attempt to avoid another injury.

As far as my diet, I've been eating much less sugar (I'm insulin resistant, recently diagnosed) and eat a healthy balance of protein/carbs/fat. I go to a dietician which has helped tremendously.

I'm rambling, but I wanted to let you know I appreciate your comments very much. You all bring up really good points. I just need to quit being so hard on myself. I may just not even pay attention to time at all right now. I normally use MapMyRun, which used to be a huge motivator, but lately it's making me anxious to look down and see that time.

Thanks again! And thanks for reading my rambles

Kelly

Kelly, Thanks for the post,

I am training for my first half marathon and I am an Ohio Resident as well.

I have a hard time with the mental side of running myself, during my runs I constantly would think of how hard this is or how hot it is or how much longer I have to go. THe thing that has helped me the most is listening to books on tapes. I try to find something that I can get my brain to latch onto instead of focusing on my run.

I also have learned to recognize when my brain is sliding back to my old ways and I consciously try to change my focus to something better, an upcoming vacation or a past vacation, the stock market. Whatever works, Try to get your brain to daydream about something else.

Good Luck!

Capt_Apollo

what breaks you down, mentally? personally i find that i get bored if i were to do loops in my neighborhood. if i need to get distance in, i need to run away from a fixed point, and then run back to it, because if i stop to walk, then i've got to walk for a really long time.

i can run 13 miles no problem, as long as it was an out and back. but run a 1/4 mile track 104 times? no thanks.

vmclach

Being mentally ready is part of the process. If you aren't mentally ready to be running that distance, it's going to be very hard for you.
When I trained for my first marathon, I was not mentally ready. It takes time. Lots of time. I see this happen with beginner runners (1-4 years) all the time. You want to run a 1/2 but you're not mentally ready to take on the long runs.

Stick to the short stuff if you don't truly want to train for your half, it'll be a bad experience. Don't force yourself to do something you don't actually want to do.

WalkingTheWoods

Hi!

You've received so much great advice, but the one thing I'll add is that you will have good training days and bad ones. By race time, the bad ones won't matter so much if you did your job of showing up every day to the training plan.

You've got this.