Half marathon advice

SophieW1988
SophieW1988 Posts: 82
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm running my first half marathon tomorrow and I'm a little anxious. The furthest I've ever run is 8 miles, so 13.1 is stretching it a little. I'm really determined to finish and I think the adrenaline rush will help me through. Do any of you runners have advice for a first time 1/2 marathoner?

Replies

  • GreenTeaForDays
    GreenTeaForDays Posts: 166 Member
    bump. :)

    good luck!
  • dianadotj
    dianadotj Posts: 4 Member
    I think my longest run before my first half marathon was about 8 mi. It wasn't as bad as I thought. The best advice I can give is to go out slower than you think you need to. Good luck!
  • joannezuk
    joannezuk Posts: 153 Member
    Take it slow! If you've only trained 8 miles, you will need to pace yourself to be able to finish strong. You can do it, but it will take mental strength. I like to start well behind the pace that I think I should be able to run. If you can start your first couple of miles slow, you'll feel great about passing other runners later on when you're feeling good. The opposite, however, is not so motivating. If you start in a fast pack, you'll feel compelled to keep up. You'll go out too quickly, elevate your heart rate too fast, and you will struggle through the whole thing.

    Good luck, have fun, and don't forget to thank the volunteers!
  • Awkward30
    Awkward30 Posts: 1,927 Member
    Get a lot of sleep, go pee before the race, walk all of the hydration stations...

    My first was in march. I had trained the full distance a few times, and I actually was more wiped than I had been in training because (I think) I was in a way too slow corral so I spent the first 3 miles kind of sprinting to pass people and it wore me out!
  • Trail_Addict
    Trail_Addict Posts: 1,340 Member
    I think my longest run before my first half marathon was about 8 mi. It wasn't as bad as I thought. The best advice I can give is to go out slower than you think you need to. Good luck!

    This!

    Stay hydrated, and run your own race. Forget about time goals on the first one.
  • 13nicholas
    13nicholas Posts: 154 Member
    Carbo load and walk through the water breaks. Good luck!
  • SophieW1988
    SophieW1988 Posts: 82
    Thanks everyone!
  • mikewpg1ca
    mikewpg1ca Posts: 86 Member
    Don't worry about your time for your first one. Make sure you start the first couple of miles slow, you'll feel like you can go faster, but don't at that point. Lots of people get caught up in all the excitement of the start and all the people, the crowd, etc and go out well above pace and a few miles into and they're already fatigued. If you know what your pace was for 8 miles, don't try and run at that pace, pick something slower or you'll most like run out of steam. YMMV. Most importantly, have fun!

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