We finished! We survived!
Our final time was 2h:34m:12s with an average pace of 7:21min/km. I’m happy with this time mainly because of the heat factor but also realistically this is what I predicted based on my training leading up to the race.
Sean had a blast and declared running a half marathon was ‘fun’. Needless to say we will be running another one in the future:)
My third half marathon is fast approaching; 6 more sleeps!!!! I always like to try to have a race goal in mind. Here are my previous half marathon finishes.
I also like to make a couple of different goals so I don’t put a lot of pressure on myself pre-race and so I am not disappointed with myself. The reality is that anybody who challenges themselves should consider themselves successful.
Plan A: Run a new PR for the half marathon distance by finishing in less than 2h:18m:16s
Plan B: Run at a race pace of less than 7:00 min/km by finishing in less than 2h:27m:41s
Plan C: Run faster than my last half marathon by finishing in less than 2h:40m:14s
Running has not come easy to me the last week; whether it be because of working, hot weather or feeling fatigue, I just am not “feeling it”.
I would have liked to finish the week with at least one more run and a further long run but it is pointless to dwell on what didn’t happen. Staying confident and feeling positive are probably the two things that will help the most with my half marathon that is happening in 11 DAYS!!!!
I’m a little late posting my weekly goals but better late than never. Almost 2 weeks until I run my third half marathon. Since my last half marathon was run 2 years ago, I am running with my boyfriend who has never done a half before and I’m just getting back into running after a long hiatus….I feel weirdly relaxed about the upcoming race. Part of me is figuring out pace times for beating my personal best of 2 hours 18 minutes but the other part of me is letting finish times go because Sean’s goal is “just to finish” and I don’t want to add pressure to him. I’d love to eventually be able to run a sub 2 hour half marathon but that will take a lot more training and work than I have done so far. Maybe I’ll sign up for a fall half marathon??
This weeks goals are:
In the future I am going to try to run on my days off; it takes way too much effort to convince myself to run after work and I definitely am not getting up to run before I go to work. There is no way that is happening!!!
These last two weeks before the half I am going to try to concentrate on feeling strong, confident and in control when I run. Negative thoughts will be quickly squashed and positive thoughts will prevail.
I didn’t meet a lot of my goals this past week for various reasons but I still think it was a positive week. My legs are feeling stronger and my confidence as a runner is returning. Sean and I managed to run 16 km on our long run. There were a few short walk breaks and the last kilometres were painful but we both felt we could have endured another 5k to make it to the half marathon distance. This is good because our race is less than 3 weeks away!
My weekly goals and actual results are as follows:
Like I said, I didn’t really meet a lot of my goals but I’m ok with it. It was a busy week and Mother’s Day was in there too. Sean and I finished the new front flower bed and patio and I’m so happy with it. I was spoiled for Mother’s Day; lots of new running things including shorts. Here are some pics from a great weekend:
New flower bed and the start of our little patio
My three handsome young men
Abby sneaking in for some loving:)
May 29 is fast approaching and planning ahead I see that we only have 2 or 3 more chances at a long run before our half marathon. Currently our longest run this year is 12 km which concerns me a bit but I’m really trying to ‘just go with it’. If we only increase by 2 km each time then we will get up to 14 km this week and 16 km next week. During the taper week we will probably do 14 km too. The alternative is to do 18 km for a long run during taper week. I think I will opt for this. Sean is dealing with shin splints so we will have to see how he feels too. I know that the last 5 km of our half marathon is going to be painful simply because our bodies are not used to going long distances yet. When I trained for my first half marathon I had 4 runs over 18km prior to the race and the last 3 km of the race were still sheer torture. I know Sean and I are going to be hurting; we will have endure the pain and finish regardless with heart because our bodies are going to be finished. Sounds like fun doesn’t it???
Here are this weeks goals.
Food that I am good at:
Food that I am not good at:
Merely journaling what I eat does not work for me. I need to plan and then try to stick to the plan. It works for my running and I think if I am more specific with my food choices and leave less room for worry about what I am going to eat then it will work better. My next day off I will make a food plan and go grocery shopping. And for the meantime….new running shorts are not happening yet:(
Here is my week #6 goals and actuals. Looking back it was a pretty great week. Surprisingly our long run on Sunday was a huge success and my confidence is growing. I am feeling stronger and more and more like an athlete again. I love it!
On Saturday I was going to try to sneak in a 4 km but we had done yard work all day with lots of digging and raking. I wasn’t feeling it so I decided to not push myself.
I really think going a bit farther in the middle of the week helped the long run.
Love love love running with my baby boy!
Zero walk breaks!!!! My aim was to not walk until I hit 5 km. At 5 km I still felt strong so my aim turned to 7 km. Then I really wanted to get to 10 km and then I felt strong enough to get to 12 km. I was pretty happy that I seem to be getting my negative thinking turned around and mentally I can keep going. This is huge to me.
These are really helping with my core strength which helps with running form and breathing.
After two acupuncture sessions my shoulder pain is GONE!!!!! Working on strengthening now. Super happy:)
I eat like crap. I skip meals. I eat the wrong foods. I eat like crap.
So far this week I haven’t eaten breakfast at all.
I’ve been avoiding changing my nutrition habits for months now and starting now I am going to make it a priority.
Since this blog has helped me stay accountable with staying active it seems reasonable to use it to assist my eating habits. I’m going to post a daily food diary as punishment….I mean to support and encourage myself;)
My Healthy Eating Goals this week
Because I need extra incentive I’m adding a reward to motivate (bribe) myself.
1 week of healthy eating=new running shorts
Here is what Day One looked like.
Breakfast
Snack #1
Lunch
Snack #2
Dinner
At the end of the day I see room for improvement but I’ll accept it as a good start. Looking forward to the challenge….and I really want new running shorts:)
Small changes plus repetition plus consistency equals SUCCESS.
My small changes are planks after runs, running a bit farther before a walk break, an extra run fit in, a km more than expected and attacking hills instead of enduring them.
Success is not a faster time or a longer distance. These are merely side effects.
Success is feeling healthy, experiencing strength and gaining confidence.
just run for it 
