First Half Marathon This Saturday

I'm not really qualified to comment as I haven't run any races but I just wanted to say that not feeling your ready is probably all in your head. Your trying something new that you know is hard so your a bit nervous. I'm sure once you start you will be fine

WooHoo!! Good for you!! Best advice is stick to your routinue. Drink lots of water ALL week, especially on Thursday and get a good night sleep, my nerves always get the best of me before any race so going to bed early is key to me:) I am sure you will do awesome and enjoy the party afterwards!!

I was really nervous before my first half too...kept feeling like AHHH what if i didn't train enough?? but once you start running it all just flies out the window. The only thing I kept saying to myself was don't walk. It's SO HARD to start running again once you walk, and walking isn't going to feel much better on your muscles than a slow jog would....at least in my opinion. No better feeling than crossing that finish line knowing you ran 13 miles. amazing! good luck!

I'm running my second one on Sunday! My best advice is to HAVE FUN. Take it slow in the beginning and if you feel good halfway through, pick up the pace a bit. Also, even if you don't feel thirsty, grab a water/gatorade at each stop. I alternate water, then gatorade, then water. Around mile 7 last time I didn't want anymore gatorade though so I stuck to water.

I also made sure I kept moving--when you grab your water, keep moving. Pinch the top of the cup a bit so it doesn't splash all over you when you try to drink and run at the same time. And eat a light breakfast. You don't want anything too heavy on your stomach. My favorite before a long run is a small bowl of oatmeal, a couple slices of turkey bacon, and then about 30 minutes before the race begins, a light fruit like a small apple. Get plenty of rest the night before too!

Don't change up your diet or anything this week, and don't wear anything you haven't worn before to run. Also, there's this amazing stuff called Body Glide that I put on my skin under where my sports bra hits my ribs and the band of my running tights. It keeps your clothes from chafing at all (it feels like you're putting deodorant all over yourself, but it's awesome).

Good luck!!

Good luck with your first half marathon!

I agree with ema727. Resist the urge to go out too fast in the beginning. 13.1 miles isn't supposed to be a sprint. Race day adrenalin will make you want to go hard in the beginning and keep up with the other people around you, but hold back a little. You can always pick it up towards the end and pass everyone!

I just did my first half marathon last year.
-Always take the shortest route (sounds dumb but there are so many people that you'll want to dodge around or move to the other side of the road to avoid, if you do this careful because you might be wasting time)
-Never wear anything different because it might chafe you
- Don't eat or drink anything different than you normally do the day before or during the race
-Ask friends/framily to cheer you on and meet you at certain spots along the way - it's SUCH good encouragement!
-Get there early because roads are usually blocked so you usually can't get dropped off right at the start point and might have to walk a bit.
-If you've been training with "walk breaks" then do the run with walk breaks. I hurt my knee because I tried to skip all of my walk breaks in the second half of the marathon because I was excited, feeling good and wanted a better time on my race. My knee still hurts and it was so not worth it.

Have fun! It was so much more fun than I thought it was going to be