Well hello!
It’s been a little while since I left an update on Half- Marathon training, so I figured I would drop in and let everyone know how I was getting on. It’s officially 8.5 weeks until race day and so far this year I have run 112 miles, which kind of blows my mind if I’m quite honest. I’m midway through the fourth week of my 12 week Hal Higdon training plan and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think I might actually like running – and beyond that, I think I might actually enjoy running this Half-Marathon, come May.
I’ve been running now for 4 months, repeating the first three weeks of the HH plan until the real 12 weeks started, and whilst I knew my fitness would improve with consistency, I’m shocked by how much easier each run gets. Now that’s not to say that there aren’t days where my body feels sluggish and more effort goes into my runs, but it’s hard to believe that about 13 weeks ago I literally couldn’t run a mile at an 11:30 pace without stopping and just a few weeks ago I ran 6.5 miles at a 9:55 pace.
My shins have been bothering me a bit, and I’ve found KT Tape (Amazon) has been an absolute lifesaver for me in terms of getting me through the longer runs, and when it comes to the treadmill. Fortunately, as time goes on, the sun is rising earlier and setting later, so I’m hoping that by mid March I will be able to do all my runs on the road/path and cut out the treadmill all together. Does anybody else find the treadmill harder on your joints than the road? It seems to be the opposite to what I read online, but something about the treadmill makes my legs ache like crazy. Alongside the KT Tape, I’ve been experimenting with different compression garments too, most notably calf sleeves and compression socks, both during my runs and for recovery. Both of these help, and I have found a combo of the tape and compression sleeves really effective when I’m doing my longer Sunday runs.
I took a trip to Vegas earlier last month for work, and was happy to get in a 4.5 mile run on the Tuesday, despite the cold weather and my lack of appropriate clothing (note to self: do not assume that places will not be cold just because they usually aren’t – it snowed on the strip while we were there!). It’s safe to say that was the end of my running experience while I was there, mostly due to too many whiskey’s and not enough sleep (hey – you have to work hard/play hard). As soon as I got back, I picked up where I left off with an easy 4 miler on Sunday and although getting back in the groove has been tricky this week, I’m glad to say that I’m getting the necessary miles in and shaking off the cobwebs of last week.
I also booked a 5K race on the 13th of March, which should be fun. It will be my first official running race since setting off on this journey, and I’m delighted to say that the race is wholly centered around donuts, so I think I should be just fine. I’m still hoping that I will eventually find some running buddies here in Tucson, but for the moment I’m trying to get used to running on my own and motivating myself. If anybody knows of running groups down here though, let me know because I would love to get involved!
That’s pretty much all for now, but as my runs start to increase in length from here on out, I would love some advice on race nutrition. What to eat, when to eat it and how to stay fuelled throughout the 13.1 miles. I know everybody is slightly different but I don’t even know where to start and I’m sure there are some of you out there who have some experience with it all, so I’ll take any bit of advice I can get! Looking forward to the upcoming weeks and all the miles that are to come! So until next time….
Happy Running!
H
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The BackRoad Brit 