But as I previously mentioned this post is about my half marathon, and how in the world does someone who hates to run, run 13.1 miles. Well for me it was simple, every week during that 5K training I liked running a bit more and more. Every time I completed a new time or distance I felt so proud of myself and soon I was addicted. At the time I was working at the inpatient psych. hospital with several people who ran half and full marathons and with some prompting I signed up for the Provo City Half Marathon and let me tell you I was SCARED to death! At this point the most I had run was 3 miles - 10.1 short of what I was facing in May and it was already March! But this is where the magic happened - I got a lot of advice from those people at work and one suggested this book: The non-runners marathon trainer by David Whitsett, Forrest Dolgener and Tanjala Kole. That book was a game changer - it teaches you how to run, proper form, what to wear, how to eat and even proper breathing but most importantly it teaches you how to overcome your fears and your head that will tell you lots of times that there is no way you can do this and it motivates you through every challenge.
So I read the book while training using a training schedule. I ran religiously 5 times a week and increased my long runs by a mile every week and slowly but surely I found my stride and my "auto-pilot" mode that allowed me to run for hours. Near the end of the training I did miss a few short runs due to working horrendous hours but I did my very best to make running a priority. By the day of the half marathon I had ran somewhere near 220 miles. There is a secret weapon I used to power me through all these runs - I allowed myself to walk when I needed it during my long runs. Walking allowed me to regroup and push myself further.
On May 3rd I did it! I crossed the finish line at 2 hours and 22 minutes which for me was so amazing! I was so proud of myself for doing it, for facing my fears and just giving it all I had, and for the first time ever RUNNING the entire 13.1 miles (with one potty break) - something that even going into the race I never thought was possible. So here's my message to those thinking about running any distance - YOU CAN DO IT! Its not easy - even though I had trained and tapered like I was supposed to on race day I hit mile 10 and literally thought to myself that this was the stupidest thing I had ever done and wondered if I could make it the 3.1 miles I had to go, but the book had taught me how to breath and work through this wall so I used their techniques - and it worked, I got through it. It's hard but nothing beats that feeling when you cross the finish line so don't give up!
I want to end with sharing one of the most motivating part of running and racing - the running community. When I started I thought for sure I would be judged and that I would stand out like a sore thumb among all these athletes but it wasn't true. On race day I ran along side people who had just ran the Boston Marathon and they treated Provo City's with just as much enthusiasm. Everyone there and every single runner I came across while training has been there - right where you are now and they don't forget it. I can't tell you how many times during the race other runners congratulated me and told me to keep going regardless if I was being passed or passing them. That's what the running community is all about so don't be afraid. All runners know how great it feels to cross that finish line and we've all that those horrible runs - so keep your head up! You can do this!
Here's the link of the training schedule I used for my half marathon: http://www.halfmarathons.net/half-marathon-training-schedule-for-beginning-runners/
Link to the book:http://www.amazon.com/Non-Runners-Marathon-Trainer-David-Whitsett-ebook/dp/B006B7LSDY/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1407460478&sr=8-15&keywords=beginners+guide+to+marathon
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