Anyone crazy enough out there to take on a half-marathon?

gigiangelique

I just signed up for a 5k today thats as crazy as i get http://www.chefsforkids.org/events.html

rebeccap13

Doing my first one in April... if I like it I have two more scoped out. : )

EricNCSU

Training for my first one right now. March 4th - Rock and Roll New Orleans Half.

I'm terrified and excited at the same time. LOL

stevenronaldson

I did one in October, it was really rewarding! My two biggest tips would be:

Get an iPod wiht a good selection of songs, and a full battery charge. Running for 2 hours is going to be a little boring! Make sure you have something you can just tune out to when you're on your way.

Second: Don't worry about it... people of all fitness levels take part. Even if you were to walk at a reasonable pace the entire way you'd finish it in around 3 hours, so just set off slow. The first few miles will be tough, as will the middle mile and the last one, if my experience was anything to go by, but you will be guided along by the other runners, any crowd cheering people along etc.

What I did was try to pick someone in the distance ahead of me and try to keep them in sight. If I over-took them, or they ended up too far away from me, I picked someone else. There are water breaks every couple of miles: use them! If you're struggling, walk a bit while you drink your water... but keep your limbs moving or it will be tough to get started again.

I didn't do very much training for it, and so found it tough, but honestly, keep in mind that there are people in their 60s+ taking part and finishing. If they can, why can't you?!

If you are struggling at any stage, bring this man to mind:

http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/tsminteractive.com/files/2011/10/Fauja-Singh-2011-10-17.jpg

100 years old and finished a full marathon - wow. Knowing that a 100 year old man has finished double the distance you're feeling breathless doing will pump some energy through your body!

I have signed up for the Edinburgh full Marathon in May 2012 with some friends from work.. I already feel foolish lol. I will have to put some serious training in for that.

falsecho

I am doing my first, it's the Rock n Roll 1/2 in Nashville on April 28.

lorac321

I signed up for one in June. Alaska is beautiful in June if you want to join me.

stef_3

My husband and I are doing the Go St. Louis half marathon on April 15th. He has done the Army 10 miler a few years ago but this will be his first half marathon and definitely my first. We've been working out more and trying to stay fit since the beginning of this year. We just printed out our 12 week training schedule so we can be prepared for the race.

sjtreely

I signed up for one in June. Alaska is beautiful in June if you want to join me.

She speaks truth. I did the Mayor's HM this past June. B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L! I love Alaska! Wouldn't wanna live there, but I could visit it every summer and never tire of its awesomeness!

msjamartin

Planning for my first 1/2 on June 23 in Seattle. Rock n roll half marathon! Nervous and Anxious..going to switch up from my normal cardio on the ellipticals to the treadmill beginning Jan. 2nd. I have a 5 mile in April that will be a good measuring event in my training.

Here we go!

jelicaa

I've never done a 5K, 10K, or any other race. Just yesterday I ran (well walk/jog...I never received my running gene) on the treadmill. Friends are trying to convince me to do a half marathon in March...crazy! I say go for it. You've done 5K's and 10K's, so why not another one under your belt!

RAFValentina

Bump, I want to ...but furthest have run is 15Km!

arc918

Bump, I want to ...but furthest have run is 15Km!

Half marathon is 21.1K, if you can run 15K already you'll have no problem!

AliceIsRunning

I've never done a 5K, 10K, or any other race. Just yesterday I ran (well walk/jog...I never received my running gene) on the treadmill. Friends are trying to convince me to do a half marathon in March...crazy! I say go for it. You've done 5K's and 10K's, so why not another one under your belt!

I ALWAYS do a run/walk (run 3 mins. then walk 1 min) and I'm not ashamed of it. If I get any weird looks from the runners while I'm walking, I usually think about how I'll be leaving them in my dust later in the race when they've tired out and I'm still going strong. :laugh:

KBGirts

I'm doing on in September.... Tied into a Half Ironman.

zippo32

gbsngrl
I can do the GO St. Louis half-marathon on April 15th............getting excited.............
Looks like stef_3 and her husband are going to be there too.......................
It's a movement!

Omar1978

I am doing the Brighton half marathon in Feb.

ATT949

About my half marathon in August…

I ran the half at a moderate pace because I did a motorcycle ride right afterward.

One of my hobbies is long distance motorcycle rides - the entry level ride is 1000 miles in 24 hours (it's called a SaddleSore 1000). I've done lots of those, as well as other rides such as border to border to border in 48 hours, coast to coast to coast in 48 hours, and a few rides of 1500 miles in 24 hours (that's a pretty tough one).

I decided to run the half and then do a SaddleSore 1000. The half was in San Diego and the ride was from SDO to Phoenix and back to SoCal.


http://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=367c4e4e87ed45c19

The run was good but the ride was tough 'cause it was pretty hot because I was going through the desert in California and Arizona.

By 3 AM the next morning, I was pretty tiredso I checked into a hotel in Barstow, CA and slept for a few hours before heading home.

Would I do it again? Probably not. The physical stress of the race plus sitting on a motorcycle for 20 (+/-) took their toll and I ended up with an IT band injury that cosst me a few weeks of training. Other than that, it was fine.

What so many folks here are finding out as we move along our journey to good health is that the biggest limiting factor is not our body, it's our mind.

With losing weight, it's our mind that tells us to cram food in our face. Some folks are able to change their behavior and we lose weight and get healthy. Some folks cannot change their relationship with food and they remain obese or overweight for life.

Same with something like running. Once I got down to about 200 pounds, I stopped the elliptical and started running. I trained my body to withstand the running but the biggest issue was to noodle through the question - "Can I finish the 12.1 miles?"

One day in July, I told my girlfriend that I knew I could finish the race. It may sound presumptuous of me to do that but I had finished a 9 mile run in the heat, on a hilly course, and I knew that if I could run something like that, I could run 13.1 in San Diego.

And it worked out fine.

Like we learned in jump school in the Army, success is a combination of competence and confidence. If you develop a decent level of fitness, your confidence in yourself will take you a long, long way.

See you at the starting line!

runnermommy13

For the Rock 'N Roll 1/2 in Nashville (AKA: Country Music Marathon) be sure to train on hills It is a very hilly course & I hear a lot of people complaining about how the hills "killed" them. However, for those who have hill-trained properly it's fine. It is a gorgeous course and super-fun place to be! You should plan on staying the weekend & enjoying some of the "honkey-tonk" bars after the marathon! I heart Nashville

dalgirly

I've done one, and I will honestly never do one again (unless I become a different person).

I just absolutely hated it. I did feel like I accomplished something, but I hated training for it, my knees hurt, I hated running it, and then hated how I felt afterwards. I realized I just really don't enjoy running enough. I don't hate 30 min of running, but beyond that I'd rather not run for 2 hours +. So I will stick with triathlons!

gbsngrl

:happy: To all the Rock & Roll Half Runners...I did the R&R 10k in NYC in October 2011 (baby steps...). It was an awesome experience...you'll have a great time! The atmosphere was just crazy...people were dressed up in crazy outfits and it was just a really fun time.

christinehetz80

New runner also. My goal is 5k in Feb. That shouldn't be a problem, next one is 8k in April, 10k in August, and yes a half marathon Food and Wine Disney in November. I figure if I don't have these goals I'll lose focus. I need concrete black and white goals and plans to follow thru!

crazyellybean

Oye, 13 miles?! ... Good for you! LOL

I will be doing my first 5K, dualthon, and warrior dash this year!

philOHIO

I have been running off and on for the last 30 years (since high school) and have never run competitively. Always been a solo effort. That may change soon, but I am in no hurry.

triciatassell

Yes I'm crazy enough. Doing one on Feb 4th - only a month away! AAAAAggggh!

notdancinganymore

I went from running maybe a mile or two to running two half marathons in a year. You can do it! There is nothing like running with probably thousands of other people. It's an amazing feeling!

thecrossfitter

I'm doing one May 20th.

I'm running a half on May 20th as well!

BerryH

Yes and no. If you love running long distances, by all means go for a half- then full marathon. However, if it bores you to tears, you won't be motivated to keep up the training and may risk injury. If that's the case you may want to look at improving your time for your current distances, or perhaps try an adventure race, trail running or triathlon, for example.

kardowling

Yes! Want to do it. I've done 3 marathons and 7 halfs. I've put on weight but want to rev up for a half. Ive been a runner for many years and want to keep running. A full marathon takes its toll on me too much now and I get injured. Halfs are great! Do it for you

PLMJB01

I ran one in 2004 and trained for one in 2007 (broke my ankle though, and couldn't do it) I'm hoping to attempt the KY Derby Mini this year but I have a LOT of weight to lose and exercise to catch up on. Thank Goodness for muscle memory!

BobbyDaniel

I ran my first half on Dec. 10, thinking about running another one later this month.