I'm sitting here this morning, contemplating the race registration for the Go! St. Louis Half-Marathon...To get the lowest registration fee, I need to send in my application by October 31st. The question is do I really want to run a half?
I started considering the idea of a half marathon after my successful 10k. Then, last weekend at a friend's b-day party, I was telling my friend Chris, who runs half and full marathons, about my experience and my possible desire to push farther. He convinced me that anyone who can do a 10k can do a half marathon and that the early April date of the Go! St. Louis half would give me plenty of time to train slowly. He also managed to convince me that if the half goes well to consider training for the full in Chicago...He made it all sound so simple!
So, what's holding me back now? Partly, I think it's laziness. Preparing to run a half means a lot of time devoted to putting in those long runs. Do I want to commit? I don't want to sign up for (and pay for something) that I'm going to end up giving up on half way through training.
Second is my fear that I'm not a "real" enough runner yet. I looked up a half-marathon training schedule, and it was full of things that I don't fully understand like fartleks, tempo runs, etc. And, I thought, "can't I just add mileage to my daily runs and build up each week?" Is that naive to think? I'm also put off by the need to refuel during long runs...those gel packs and beans make me want to throw up. I just can't do it. So, maybe long distance isn't for me.
Finally, I'm held back by fear...fear of failure, fear of injury. Long distance is when runners start to get hurt. I'm coming into this with "bad" knees and hips from the beating I gave them during high school and college volleyball. Can my body take it? I don't want to end up at the physical therapist's and unable to run at all.
I have the clarity to know that while some of my concerns are valid, mostly they're just excuses. If I put my mind to it, I can totally be ready for a half in April. I can listen to my body and avoid unnecessary wear and tear. And, by April, I should be at my goal weight, if not before, so there'll be that much less fat to lug around with me on a run. I'm still not sure about the technical training and fuels, but I can figure out something I'm comfortable with. That's what Google is for, right?
Anyway, I've got a few more days to decide what I'm going to do. Any advice is welcome!
I started considering the idea of a half marathon after my successful 10k. Then, last weekend at a friend's b-day party, I was telling my friend Chris, who runs half and full marathons, about my experience and my possible desire to push farther. He convinced me that anyone who can do a 10k can do a half marathon and that the early April date of the Go! St. Louis half would give me plenty of time to train slowly. He also managed to convince me that if the half goes well to consider training for the full in Chicago...He made it all sound so simple!
So, what's holding me back now? Partly, I think it's laziness. Preparing to run a half means a lot of time devoted to putting in those long runs. Do I want to commit? I don't want to sign up for (and pay for something) that I'm going to end up giving up on half way through training.
Second is my fear that I'm not a "real" enough runner yet. I looked up a half-marathon training schedule, and it was full of things that I don't fully understand like fartleks, tempo runs, etc. And, I thought, "can't I just add mileage to my daily runs and build up each week?" Is that naive to think? I'm also put off by the need to refuel during long runs...those gel packs and beans make me want to throw up. I just can't do it. So, maybe long distance isn't for me.
Finally, I'm held back by fear...fear of failure, fear of injury. Long distance is when runners start to get hurt. I'm coming into this with "bad" knees and hips from the beating I gave them during high school and college volleyball. Can my body take it? I don't want to end up at the physical therapist's and unable to run at all.
I have the clarity to know that while some of my concerns are valid, mostly they're just excuses. If I put my mind to it, I can totally be ready for a half in April. I can listen to my body and avoid unnecessary wear and tear. And, by April, I should be at my goal weight, if not before, so there'll be that much less fat to lug around with me on a run. I'm still not sure about the technical training and fuels, but I can figure out something I'm comfortable with. That's what Google is for, right?
Anyway, I've got a few more days to decide what I'm going to do. Any advice is welcome!
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