1st Half Marathon is Saturday

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  • LoosingMyLast15
    LoosingMyLast15 Posts: 1,457 Member
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    i do plan on stopping at every water station. there's also a wine station i SO WANT TO STOP but idk about that one. last race i did was a 10k (last long race i guess because i did a 5k a few weeks ago and a mud run right after the 10k) i attempted to drink the water while running and i guess i'm not coordinated enough for that because i wore almost all of it.

    One hint about the water: squeeze the sides of the cup together... then you can just pour it right in your mouth! A wine station sounds fun, but for me it would depend on how hot it is whether or not I would want to drink wine.

    I am so happy for you! Good luck and congrats!

    thanks for the cup tip can't believe i never thought of it. lol!
  • LoosingMyLast15
    LoosingMyLast15 Posts: 1,457 Member
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    it's supposed to hit 90 race day. i have a tendency to drink a lot of water good to know that it's not good. i usually add some poweraide to it and have that during long runs.

    Well, if it's hot, you'll definitely want to drink more. Also, try getting two cups at each aid station and pouring some over your head -- very refreshing on a hot day! I'd strongly suggest avoiding the wine until after you're finished :)

    One more tip for race day -- get the hourly temps for the times you'll actually be running. I just looked up your race and as of now (admittedly a little far off) it's slated to be 70 at the start and 80 after 2 hours, so unless you are walking the whole course it shouldn't get up to 90! I've found the best site for pre-race weather forecasts is weather.gov (NOT .com), because you can get very detailed hourly forecasts.

    gonna check out the .gov site. thanks. i'm probably going to finish around 2:35-2:40. I'd LOVE to finish in 2:30. thanks so much for all the tips. these are great. 70 is great; 80 is good; 90 is perfect for the wine festival afterwards. :)
  • davemunger
    davemunger Posts: 1,139 Member
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    Good luck on your race tomorrow! Weather forecast looks similar to what it was earlier in the week, so you should do great! Enjoy it!
  • uneik3
    uneik3 Posts: 68 Member
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    How fun! Good luck and congratulations! Also make sure you avoid too much fiber unless you're absolutely sure you can handle it! Stay with what you're used to eating. And hydrate well now rather than all in the morning. You don't need as much water during the race as you may think. Just listen to your body.
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
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    I just did my first 1/2 a few weeks ago.
    I had a Nathans hydration pack. I chose to skip a few of the water stations because I had the pack. I ended up going though the whole thing by mile 8.
    I snacked on some sports beans 1/2 hour before the race. I then realized I was out of my Gu!
    I was training at 12 - 14 miles. I suddenly lost all energy at mile 9. :( I'm blaming the lack of water and my sweet sweet gel.

    I would not recommend changing ANYTHING this close to the race. Just carb a little, drink lots and enjoy!

    Gu-Berry.jpg
  • prjoy98
    prjoy98 Posts: 250 Member
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    One of my gf's and her husband are doing that one too! They have one in the same area in Sept "Divas Half" that we will also be doing.

    I just did the Titanium Girl challenge (ran a half in Columbia, MD and then the Frederick half a week apart). My training was time based rather than miles and the longest distance I ran was 11.5. I finished in less time than the goal i had set for myself (2:28:29)
    Do what's worked for you until now.

    My pointers:
    Keep consistent to what you have done--All my runs were morning runs on empty stomach so the morning off I drank some water (never did gatorade or poweraide) I did have half of a luna bar at 5 (2hrs before the half).

    Dont OVER hydrate---I felt parched the last 3 miles of my first half so for the second I figured I would drink enough water to be hydrated but not bloated that morning....well you can imagine...nature called at the first porta-potty!!! I finished the 2nd in less time than the first but without that bathroom break it would have been a whole 5 mins less.

    Dress appropriately---I wore similar outfits for both of mine but i have no idea why with the second one i had to take off one of my shirts...got way too hot.

    ENJOY and HAVE FUN!!!
  • mmddwechanged
    mmddwechanged Posts: 1,687 Member
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    Have a blast!!! I know you will:). I love how you have you outfit all prepared :)
  • Runs4Wine
    Runs4Wine Posts: 416 Member
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    My tips - first have fun! There's nothing like your first 1/2 marathon.

    * Don't try something new on the race day - if you haven't trained by drinking gatorade/powerade, don't start on the race course
    * If you haven't trained/tried Gu or other things don't start (they have a different taste/texture)
    * I carry a water bottle on me so I drink water as needed, but don't usually start drinking until mile 7 or so
    * I train and carry sports beans or cut up clif bars on me for fuel on the run. I typically start eating these around mile 8 or 9 when I need the extra boost
    * The morning of the race, I started eating 1/2 a clif bar or half a banana - normally I run on an empty stomach, but it sometimes is a long time after the race before I get a real meal and it wards of a lot of issues.
  • fryfat
    fryfat Posts: 36 Member
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    - Don't bring headphones. The race, other runners, and the crowd are way more entertaining than your music.

    - Don't bring water. There's more than enough provided along the race, and more runners suffer from hyponatremia than dehydration.

    - Use the bathroom before you leave for the race. Sit on that pot for a good 15 minutes even if nothing happens. Avoiding an upset stomach on mile 6 is worth it, and the Port-a-potty's will be crowded and gross.

    - Don't overthink it. Your body is ready, you trained it. Don't worry!
  • LoosingMyLast15
    LoosingMyLast15 Posts: 1,457 Member
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    Good luck on your race tomorrow! Weather forecast looks similar to what it was earlier in the week, so you should do great! Enjoy it!

    thank you! it's been great so far. weather's gonna be nice for the start then by 10:00 they're forecasting 90 degrees - so perfect weather for the wine festival.
  • LoosingMyLast15
    LoosingMyLast15 Posts: 1,457 Member
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    One of my gf's and her husband are doing that one too! They have one in the same area in Sept "Divas Half" that we will also be doing.

    I just did the Titanium Girl challenge (ran a half in Columbia, MD and then the Frederick half a week apart). My training was time based rather than miles and the longest distance I ran was 11.5. I finished in less time than the goal i had set for myself (2:28:29)
    Do what's worked for you until now.

    My pointers:
    Keep consistent to what you have done--All my runs were morning runs on empty stomach so the morning off I drank some water (never did gatorade or poweraide) I did have half of a luna bar at 5 (2hrs before the half).

    Dont OVER hydrate---I felt parched the last 3 miles of my first half so for the second I figured I would drink enough water to be hydrated but not bloated that morning....well you can imagine...nature called at the first porta-potty!!! I finished the 2nd in less time than the first but without that bathroom break it would have been a whole 5 mins less.

    Dress appropriately---I wore similar outfits for both of mine but i have no idea why with the second one i had to take off one of my shirts...got way too hot.

    ENJOY and HAVE FUN!!!

    Thank you! i plan on wearing the same clothes i wore for my 10k, tank top and capri pants (wear the capri pants for ever race). i did buy some gatorade chewies but other than this everything else has stayed the same from previous races ummm well except at packet pickup they had wine tastings and i just couldn't resist but it's early so i'm not worried about having a few. lots of water for the rest of the evening.
  • LoosingMyLast15
    LoosingMyLast15 Posts: 1,457 Member
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    thank you everyone! i'm so excited for race day tomorrow. i've got my bagel, peanut butter and banana ready to go for tomorrow morning. plan on eating at 5:30 and race is at 7:00 so i should be good food wise. i've got my gatorade for the morning as well. outfit's ready to go. i think i'm ready, i know i'm ready! WOO HOO!
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    Have a great run - come back and tell us how you got on!
  • davemunger
    davemunger Posts: 1,139 Member
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    Soooooo.... how did it go?
  • LoosingMyLast15
    LoosingMyLast15 Posts: 1,457 Member
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    Soooooo.... how did it go?

    one word AWESOME!!!!!!! details: finished 2:53:14 (or 13:14 mm). for my first half i'm very happy with this time. it was a gorgeous run (so many farms, wineries, pastures, horses, goats, cows) just beautiful. the course was challenging with lots of hills. we ran on both pavement and gravel/dirt roads (my trail running training paid off with this part of the course - i loved it but so many complained about the loose gravel/dirt road during the race).

    Out of 2369 i finished 1900. brought along an extra gatorade gummy (had that around mile 7). sun was still an issue for me (i think it's always going to be seeing as i'm irish with extremely fair skin). i kept a steady pace and went a little slower than normal because i wanted to make sure i had enough energy to finish hence a slower than normal time. stopped at mile 4 for a bathroom break (because of the humidity/heat destination races made sure there were water stops at almost every mile and at certain stops they gave out electrolyte drinks. I did stop at the wine station (mile 6) it was a sweet wine and barely a sip but the sugary sweetness was nice and didn't bother my stomach. got all the way to mile 9 before i had to walk (walked in total just slightly over a mile). I got a 1/3 of the way up the first hill at mile 9 and said forget it i'd rather save my energy for the flat parts than run up this God awful hill. LOL!

    Hardest part for me was between mile 9 and mile 11 - this was where i did most of my walking. Reached mile 11 and said to myself SUCK IT UP and MOVE! got a bit of extra energy then hit mile 13, spotted my hubby (he took my profile pic) and kicked it into high gear so i could finish strong.

    all in all it was GREAT! I'm already thinking about my next half and will certainly do this race again next year.
  • davemunger
    davemunger Posts: 1,139 Member
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    That is awesome! Congrats on finishing your first half. Impressive that you only walked a mile in that heat!

    Sign up for a nice cool fall half and you'll PR for sure!

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