Run, Forrest, run

I almost signed up for the random draw for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon San Francisco.  In fact, if I didn’t have to put in my credit card information and be on the hook for $200+ on the odd chance I actually got picked, I probably would have signed up.  

But the hefty price tag made me think.  Of the cost it would take to get out to San Fran.  Of the hills in San Fran that I would have no way of training for on the East Coast (when I visited my friend there last month, I tried to do a quick run up a steep hill with her dog.  We got halfway up the not-so-long hill and I thought I was going to die.  Her dog wanted to pee on a tree.  So I used that as an excuse to stop and walk the rest of the way.  He killed all my momentum and whatnot.).  I thought of the fact that I’m already signed up to run a half marathon in Jersey a month before Nike San Fran is scheduled to take place.  Of the fact that I’ve only run one other half marathon.  And kind of hated the entire thing while it was happening.

Late last summer, my sister decided that she wanted to run a half marathon near my dad’s house.  And she decided that I needed to run it with her.  Of course, I said sure, why the hell not.  

The race was the first weekend in March, which meant training through the winter.  In New Jersey.  Where it’s cold. And it snows.  I quickly learned that I hate running on the treadmill and running on it for anything over 2-3 miles makes me want to slit my wrists.  So, outdoors I went for all of my long runs, even if it meant having to run in the snow, or on top of freshly fallen snow, or in 20 degree weather. I remember coming back from my 10 mile run and texting my sister that I really started to despise her around mile 7.

Even though it was grueling and not my favorite thing to do at the time, I certainly learned some things about training for and running a half marathon (or really any distance race):

• Get the right equipment.  You don’t need a ton of stuff to run, but you might want it.  The most important thing is a good pair of shoes (and I just recently found out that I’ve been running in the worst kind of shoes for me for 9 months.  Trained and ran the half marathon in them.  Hello, super painful plantar fasciitis.).  But on top of that, you want to find a good running outfit (one that you feel comfy in, that wicks sweat, that breathes, that keeps you warm in the winter). You might want an arm band for your ipod.  Or a fuel belt or spi belt.  You might want a Road ID for safety.  There are endless running gear options out there.  And endless sales on running gear.  Figure out what you want to use. Find it on sale.  If you don’t love it, return it and try something new.  Running is uncomfortable enough as it is.  Make sure that you set yourself up to be as comfy as possible.
• Figure out your feuling way before the big day. Running long distances is hard.  You need energy.  That’s why it’s super important to figure out what and when you’ll eat before, during, and after the race or a long run.  My stomach likes to hate me a lot, and I quickly learned that eating a huge meal the night before a long run just makes me feel sluggish.  And that a more substantial breakfast is not good before a run.  And nothing with dairy.  Chicken for dinner the night before?  Great and delicious. A piece of white toast with some peanut butter and a banana for breakfast? Perfect.  And during the race?  Jelly beans hurt my stomach (learned that the hard way). Gu is disgusting (ditto).  Caffeine makes me crazy (yet I still drink soda or Starbucks occasionally.  And every time I’m reminded why I don’t regularly drink them.).  Honey Stingers Energy Chews in Pink Lemonade are my fuel of choice.  You also need to know what works for you after your workout.  Chocolate milk is actually great to recovery drink.  And who doesn’t love an excuse to drink chocolate milk as an adult? (I bought the special dark chocolate Hershey syrup - so yum!)
• Get to know some different recovery options.  Experiment.  See what works for you. Foam rolling.  Ice baths.  Salt baths.  The stick. Yes, it all sounds really pretentious.  But they really do help.  My first really long run in my training plan was 8 miles.  That was the longest I had ever run in my life.  Right after that run, I had to go to a 1-year old’s birthday party.  I was feeling that run all afternoon and was very glad that it was a sit-down party.  On the way home, I stopped at a pharmacy for some Epsom salt, and like the old lady that I am, drew myself a nice warm Epsom salt bath that evening. I woke up feeling amazing the next morning - not sore or stiff or tired (it has something to do with magnesium or something).  From then on, Epsom salt baths have become part of my recovery routine (along with a good stretch and a really painful/hurts-so-good foam rolling session).  
• Know the route and train for it. Our half marathon traveled through the town that I grew up in as well as some neighboring towns.  It would have been so easy for my sister and I to drive the route to get a really good idea of the hills, milestones, etc.  Even easier, we could have done some research online and found out that the course was pretty hilly.  And that many of the hills came toward the end of the course.  While it wouldn’t have made it any less difficult, knowing what to expect could have helped us train a bit better (like actually running more hills during training!) and at least would have helped to mentally prepare us that there was going to be a steep, short uphill at about mile 10.
• It’s ok to take a day off.  Or not reach your goal mileage for a day or week.  It won’t kill you. Any training plan that you find will tell you that rest days are just as important as training days.  Learn to listen to your body.  If you’re super sore or tired one day, do your long run the next day.  If it’s super hot out, shorten your mileage that day.  There’s a fine line between pushing your limits and doing more damage than good.  Steer clear of that line.
• Find someone to train with.  Even if they’re not physically there training with you, it’s great to have someone to share your latest training accomplishment with, or talk about recovery methods, or even just bitch about how much running 11 miles sucks (trust me, people that aren’t or haven’t trained for something similar won’t know what you’re talking about.  And will get really sick of you talking about it after the first week).  My sister and I did several long runs together, and while we both had our headphones on, ignoring each other, running with her pushed me to finish the prescribed mileage.  And a little friendly competition never hurt anyone. On the days that we didn’t train together, we would text and email all the time about how training was going.
• Mix it up with your training.  Running the same route at the same pace over and over again can make you lose your mind.  It can never hurt to find a new (safe!) route or local park.  I split my training between my neighborhood, my dad’s neighborhood, and several parks that were local to both locations, and I still got bored with some of the routes!  If the route bores you, you’re going to start dreading training runs (even more than you already do when you see 10 miles on your schedule!) and it’s going to be really hard to get up the motivation to give it your best.
• Get a good playlist.  Or podcast.  Or book on tape.  Whatever will keep you interested and make long runs seem a little less monotonous.  Even when you are training with someone else, sometimes it’s good to just put your headphones in and tune out for a while. (Although, if you’re the type of person that prefers to just run with your own thoughts, more power to you!  Also, if you’re running a race that doesn’t allow headphones, definitely make sure that you train on at least a few long runs without them!)
• Don’t make a lofty goal for yourself.  Just finishing (or hell, even just starting) your first race is a huge accomplishment.  Be proud of yourself and revel in your accomplishments.  Swear you’ll never do it again.  Wait a few weeks, then sign up for your next one!
• Bonus: it’s ok to give yourself permission to eat pretty much anything you want after your long runs.  I definitely did.  Many others do as well.  You need to refuel and all.  There’s actually a fascinating phenomenon of people gaining weight while training for marathons and half marathons.

I hit my goal of finishing my first half marathon (and even beat my sister!), and got a free t-shirt and a jar of biscoff spread for my efforts (and holy wow is that stuff good!  TJ’s speculoos butter is pretty comparable too).  

It took about a month or so before my sister said “I want to do another half.  And then a full marathon after that.”  Training for the Newport Half Marathon starts the first week in July.  So while I learned a ton about what to do (and mostly what not to do) when training for and running a distance race, I think training in the summer in the heat and humidity is going to be a whole new can of worms.  

My goal for the upcoming Newport Half?  Don’t die.  And beat my previous time. But mostly don’t die.  

And who knows.  I’ll probably end up putting my name in the hat for the Nike Half Marathon San Fran draw.  It would be an experience.