Things I've Learned Training for My First Half Marathon

I have decided to do my first half marathon in November.  I'm still questioning why I decided to do it, but nonetheless, I am training and getting a little better everytime I go out and run.  I don't run steady.  I have a routine.  I walk for 2 min...not a slow casual walk, but a good pace.  Then I run for 1 minute.  My runs are also slow.  I'm slow, but I will still make it in the time I need to.  I have decided to do the Rock n Roll half in January too.  Maybe by then I will have better time.  Anyway, I've had a lot of advice from a lot of different people.  I've tried quite a bit of it too.  I have come to realize that everyone is different and what works for one person, might not work for another.  So this is what I've learned for me.

I need new shoes and very soon so I can break them in a little bit before I do the half.  Mine are really starting to break down. 

I really like training by myself, at least for now.  By myself I can focus on putting one foot in front of the other, my breathing and making it through that one minute of running.  If I train with someone else, I will be tempted to talk to them and that will not only slow my already snail pace, but it will stress me out because I will want to keep pace with them or worry that I am slowing them down.  Hopefully someday I will feel comfortable with training with someone else.

I'm not as young as I used to be.  In my 20's I could walk a lot faster than I'm running now and no matter what I do, I can't seem to get up the speed.  My body just refuses to do it.  I also, can't drop the weight like I used to.  When I started speed walking in my 20's, I dropped a bunch of weight.  I was actually skinny and in great shape.  Now it is so much more difficult to shed the pounds.  My body doesn't recover as quickly either.  I am sore and it takes longer for that soreness to go away. 

If I don't do any exercise at all the day before I do the weekly long run, it is easier for me to get through the run.  My body is not as sore and I'm not as sluggish. 

I definitely need to start drinking more water the day and night before my 1 long run a week.  If I'm hydrated before I start running, then I do a lot better.  I also need to start drinking gatorade after the long runs. 

I have to do at least one day a week of pushing the envelope.  I need to either do drills or have my runs be longer in time, like bump it to 1 min 30 sec and then up to 2 min.  Or I need to run as fast as I can during the 1 min runs.  Just trying to get my lungs and my body stronger.

I also need to start doing strength training.  Maybe if I build some muscle I will actually start losing weight and my body will start changing.

I need to cut out a lot of sugar in my diet.  I have been doing this intense training for 2 months now and I have lost zero weight and my clothes don't fit me any different.  Gotta get rid of the sugar!  A friend of mine who has been a runner for a good portion of his life told me that it takes running 28 miles a week to do minimal change to a body.  Wow...that's discouraging!  Obviously running alone is not going to do the job.

I still don't like running, but I do like the accomplishment that I feel every week when I add miles and drop a few seconds on my time.  A few seconds means so much to me because I know it's an improvement.   I am also stronger than I thought I was.  I never in a million years thought that I would be training for a half marathon, never.  Another friend bought me a subscription to a runner's magazine.  I can't wait to get that in the mail and start reading the tips in it.  Maybe some of those will work for me too.