T-minus one day to my first half-marathon!

When I was preparing for the 10-mile Mid-Winter Classic, I had more of a strategy/training plan.  I also had only started running 4 months before the race and running “long” was pretty new to me then, so I wanted to be strong and I wanted to be careful.

Since I never got to do that 10-mile race because it was canceled (twice!) for weather, my strategy has been to keep the mileage up (around 18-25 per week) and  make time for a long run (>7 miles) every weekend.

I feel so ready for this. And excited! This race feels like my first debut/benchmark in longer races. I’ve done two 5Ks now, and I’m not dismissing the training that it took to get to that point, but I’ve worked much, much harder to get to this point.

And it’s almost here!

One thing runners do before a big race is a taper: It’s when you drop off your mileage and let your body rest & heal so you can run your absolute best.

I had decided I wouldn’t really do one for the Mid-Winter Classic because … running that distance was so new to me, I didn’t want to lose any time on the road training for it. I would just be happy to finish.

I also had this little gnawing fear back in February that if I stopped running every day, I’d get off my training schedule and never get back on it and get slow and fat again.

Well, that fear might have been a little extreme, but that’s just how I am. Routines are very important to my success and anything that throws it off makes sticking to my goals impossible.

I have enough confidence in myself now to let my body rest. I did a hard weights session on Sunday and I didn’t feel myself again until today. I ran Monday and Wednesday but I am going to take today and tomorrow off. I’ve been doing plenty of walking instead — probably ~3-5 miles a day, between the dogs and walking to work.

I also have been making a point to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day and no alcohol. I think I just replaced the beer with cookies, so I don’t think there’ll be much of  a caloric benefit. The idea is to get really well hydrated before race day. (I realize that I probably should stop drinking tea and coffee, too, but I can tell you right now that’s just not going to happen. 🙂

My goal is to finish in under two and a half hours, which is 11:30 miles, give or take. I feel really confident that I can do it! Wish me luck. 🙂