A week ago I raced my first half marathon. I’ve run this distance plenty of times while training for longer events, but this was the first one I ever signed up for with a goal in mind. Sub 2 hours is a cruisy day for a lot of runners, but for me it was a test to see what my body could do if I actually fueled for performance. I have a long history of underfueling and overworking my body. I knew a fair amount about nutrition science, but I willingly ignored it because I was so afraid to commit to eating more and what that might mean for my body. I’ve nearly passed out during runs before, and I’ve been so exhausted from training that the rest of the day is a write-off. I was determined to fuel myself this training cycle, and I’m more proud of achieving this than any finishing time I could get (but was stoked with 1:55:39!) I had energy for my runs in a way I’ve never had before, and I’ve fallen in love with that feeling. I’m writing this to remind myself how much better running (and life) can be with proper nutrition, and as a commitment to myself to continue making this choice every day 🤍
✨HALF MARA TRAINING COMPLETE✨
14 weeks of easy runs, speed sessions, tempo training, and threshold work. Have loved almost every minute of it and can’t wait to see how it all comes together on Sunday 🥰
✨WEDNESDAY TEMPO✨
15 min warmup
30 mins tempo (20-30 seconds faster than half marathon pace)
15 min cooldown
One last tempo session next week and then the race is on 🔥
✨TROPICAL ISLAND PROGRESSION RUN✨
5 min warmup
30 min easy
10 min @ 10K pace
5 min cooldown
The heat! The humidity! The scenery! So good to move my body after a big day of travel and time changes 🌸
✨LONG RUN✨
2 hours at easy pace. Had to move this forward a couple of days because I have a wedding this weekend! It was good endurance practice on tired legs to do a long run after a goal pace workout the day before. Next run will be in Rarotonga! 🏝️
✨GOAL PACE RUN✨
15 min warmup
45 min at goal half marathon pace
15 min cooldown
Running in a storm was an extra challenge but I was shocked at how easy race pace felt. I haven’t spent much time at all at race pace in this training block - I’ve done a lot of training with faster intervals, and a lot of long easy runs. Race pace was so comfortable that I’m now second guessing my goal as potentially way too easy 😅 but I’m going to stick to the plan, complete what I intended, and then sign up for another half marathon and absolutely send it.
✨LONG PROGRESSION RUN✨
5 min warmup
1 hour easy
10 min @ half marathon pace
5 min @ 10K pace
5 min cooldown
It was a windy one today! Nearly lost my cap a few times and I was running into the strong headwind for the faster sections which meant I had to work a lot harder. All good practice for the half!
✨7 DAYS OF WORKOUTS✨
•Saturday: 2 hour easy long run
•Sunday: leg day
•Monday: 45 min easy run + upper body
•Tuesday: leg day
•Wednesday: 1 hour 5 min speed repeats
•Thursday: 45 min easy run + full body
•Friday: REST
✨SPEED REPEATS✨
15 min warmup
4 x 4 min @ 4:52-5:05 / 3 min recovery
5 x 30 sec @ 4:15-4:27 / 60 sec recovery
15 min cooldown
Some days it feels easy and some days it really doesn’t. Today it was hard even at paces I’m used to, but pushing through when it’s hard is where the growth happens.
✨SATURDAY LONG RUN✨
2 hours today - longest run of the training block so far. It’s been super chilly this week and I really didn’t feel like going for a run today, but ended up having the best time. I warmed up quickly in the sun and my body felt good. I’m shocked to be the local legend between the towns on this route even though I’ve only done it three times in 90 days - it’s such a beautiful run!
✨7 DAYS OF WORKOUTS✨
•Saturday: long progression run
•Sunday: full body
•Monday: 60 mins easy + upper body
•Tuesday: 45 mins easy + legs
•Wednesday: 800m repeats
•Thursday: strides + full body
•Friday: REST
