The Road To My First Half Marathon: Proper Preparation

Today I ran 14 miles.  Wait, let me say that again…today I ran 14 miles!  Woo-hoo!  That is so unreal to me.  It’s crazy to me.  It’s been a long week.  School started this past Monday and ALL the ladies in the Romagnolo house are EXHAUSTED!

Even though I kept up with my training throughout the summer, I still wasn’t as active as when I am at school.  I did a lot of moving this week!  Getting up super early before it got too hot was not on my list of “wants” for the weekend.  I did it though and now I know that I can for sure do a half marathon.  I have one more long run that I should do before my half, but I’ll probably only do about 11 to 12 miles.  Until then, I’ll keep doing my weekly runs, working on hills and speed, and then I am running the Tour des Fleurs 10k on September 17^th. 

I learned and was reminded of a few things from this morning’s run.  Sorry if some of this is TMI…J

1. Nutrition is EVERYTHING, especially the night before a run.  Those 3 slices of pizza that I had the night before were NOT a good idea. 
2. Wake up early enough the morning of a run to have a cup of coffee and to let the coffee work its magic (if you know what I mean).

Somewhere around miles 6 – 9 I started feeling uncomfortable.  I was fine when I had to walk (I do Galloway’s run-walk-run), but running was starting to hurt.  I was ready to quit at mile 9.  I pushed through.  Finally around mile 12 I had to stop and use the restroom.  I was ready to quit there too.  I went ahead and ran the last two even though the soreness was starting to kick in.  I did it though.  I finished!  I also tried to run most of the race course that I’ll have for the Plano Balloon Festival.  

The route for my race.

The route that I ran today.

Now I’ll have a good idea of what to expect in 29 days.  If you ever get a chance to run your race route pre-race, give it a try.  I know that it will mentally prep me for my race. 

I tried running in my new Sparkle Skirt today.  I absolutely loved it!!  

I’ll be wearing that outfit for the Plano Balloon Festival 5K.  I already warned my friend that I’m running with.  J  I also remembered my salt pills today.  I took one pre-run and then one mid-way through.  I also wore a sweat band (thank you Color Run) today.  I might have looked dorky, but it kept the sweat out of my eyes.  J

Another thing that I did new this time around, was use the app Road ID.

This app sends eCrumbs to up to 5 people.  The eCrumbs tell the 5 people that I chose that I am going out for a run.  If I stop moving for 5 minutes or more, it will alert them that I haven’t moved.  It also allows them to track my progress.  When I am done, I can send them another eCrumb to tell them that I have finished.  I have chosen 3 people to be on my list.  I checked with all 3 today and they all said that it worked and that they were able to track me.  Being a single woman and a single mama, I thought that this would be something great for me to use.  This is great for any runner, biker, etc.  During my long runs it is still a little dark out at first, so this helps me to be and feel safer.  It is important for us to be safe out there. 

A special shout out goes to my sweet and very good friends, Judi and Meredith.  Thank you for letting the girls have a sleepover so that this mama could get her training in.  I am so grateful for my support system.

Well, I’m almost there folks.  Stayed tuned for more updates.  J