Hi Friends,
One of the things that has been keeping me busy this winter and spring are my plans to run the 2025 St. Luke’s Half Marathon held on April 27, 2025. This will be my third time running this particular race. (Read about the first time and the second time). This will be my 6th half marathon in total! I imagined that I would get into running the way that I have when I signed up to run my first half marathon to celebrate turning forty in 2019!
So this is the 6th time that I have done this particular dance of training for a half marathon. I always know that it is going to be a lot of work to train. However, it never fails to surprise me that training for a 13.1 mile race is more work than I seem to remember . I don’t know how I always manage to forget that. I think that I might be in denial when I sign up.
My training plan comes from the book, Hal Higdon’s Half Marathon Training (2016). To date, I have used the Novice 1 and 2 Program from the book. I like to use a combination of both plans to meet my goals. My main goals are to finish and if possible I also have a time goal in mind. My time goal isn’t overly ambitious but it goes keep me from coming up against the three hour time limit. Also, honestly the longer that you are running the harder it gets so I find that if I can keep my time goal in mind, it keeps my training and race running from getting out of hand.
I have tried several different methods for keeping track of my training but the method that seems to work best for me is that I write all of my training days into a calendar before I begin my training season. This year, I found a pocket sized calendar on the free table at my work. Perfect, I thought when I saw it, just what I was looking for. I have splurged and purchased nicer planners in the past at Walmart for my training but sometimes all I ended up writing in those planners are the the daily mileages and sometimes it seems like a waste of money.
For this year’s late April race, I began training during the first week of February. I wrote all of my training mileages into my calendar in January after I registered for my race so that I could digest what I was getting myself into.
I used to put what mileages I would be running every day into my phone instead of a paper calendar but I found that I didn’t consult it as much as I do when I have it written down on paper. It’s like my brain digests what I am getting myself into by writing it down with a pen on paper.
Plus, I like checking off my mileages after I accomplish them sometimes. Having something to check off really satisfies something deep inside of me.
I also have a Garmin Forerunner running watch that I got for my birthday a few years ago. I keep track of my mileage and speed on my runs with my watch. Garmin has an app that syncs with the watch and allows me track all kinds of date. I don’t look at the app every day, but sometimes in the evening before bed, I take a look and see how I am going.
Another thing that I do when I am preparing for a big race is that I plan one or two smaller races before my big race in order to get myself pumped up. Last year I was too busy and I didn’t do this step when I was preparing for last year’s St. Luke’s Half Marathon. I rationalized that I would not need these extra races because I would still be doing all of the training.
It didn’t matter in terms of completion of the race. I still ran the race and finished. However, I realized this year that last year, I was missing out on some of the fun parts of preparing for a race.
This year, I had time to do the extra, before-the-big-event races. I signed up for smaller races before my 13.1 mile half marathon.
Last weekend, I ran in the West End Allentown St. Pat’s 5k.
It was one of the most fun 5K’s that I have ever participated in. There were so many spectators cheering the runners on. It was a real party atmosphere. Some were there to save their seats for the big parade later that day. Some were imbibing. It was still great to have so many people cheering. It carried me and the other runners along. It was a real city type race in that people were lining both sides of the street and there were no sections with weird backsides of buildings and random sewage treatment plants like there sometimes are in races.
In a few weeks, I am going to participate in a 10K (6.2 mile run) for a charity in Lansdale, PA. I am a little nervous because in the past, I have not always done well with 10K races. In fact, I have only run in one other 10K ever and it was on a hot August morning and it is the only race where I came in last place.
[I have learned my lesson, the only people who sign up for 10K races on small, slightly unfinished trails on hot August mornings are local running clubs where the runners are not first-time racers.]
So hopefully, I will break my 10K curse on April 5.
I am glad that these events to help me stay enthusiastic about training, because honestly, I am in the section of training where it feels a little like a slog. I have been trying to change it up by sometimes running at the YMCA and sometimes running outside. Yesterday, I even traveled a little try use a different YMCA in my network. I am lucky to have those options.
So in conclusion I am getting there.
In fact, one month from today is the big race!
You go Girl!!! I plan never to run, ( unless being chased by a bear ) but I have joined a gym and am slowly warming to it. I make myself go nearly everyday – I hope they someday it becomes fun. Saturday, Uncle Jim and I are walking in the March for Parks event sponsored by our local county parks- that’s a big step for me.