Don't call me Buttercup!
I feel really stupid, considering all that's going on in the world this week, but I have my first ever HM coming up in two weeks, and I'm really feeling extremely unprepared and convinced that I'm going to end up sitting on a side walk in mile 8, crying like an idiot because I'm too tired to keep going.
(Feel free to skip the lecture on how much harder other people's lives are currently - I KNOW that. This is a self-centered, "first world problem" kind of post. I am aware.)
When I signed up for this HM many many moons ago, I fully intended to be extremely well prepared for it. Due to injury and illness, it didn't happen. Two weeks ago I ran/walked a 10 mile race and it was AWESOME. I thought that meant I'd be ready for the half. Two weeks later, after a really stupidly bad 10 mile training run and some half-assed shorter runs, I'm feeling less confident and like a big weenie.
Blargh. Not really looking for advice, just ....... blargh.
Slow and steady wins the.... wait a second! I've been lied to!
You did amazing in your 10 mile race and you will do amazing with your HM. Totally normal to feel nervous right now.
Running is my mental-Ctrl-Alt-Del.
Jess runs for bacon
Been there. Just go, see what happens. You'll probably be alright, honestly. I can tank training runs but then everything magically works on race day.
Di - Just chalk it up to taper madness and let it go! You'll be fine. Maybe your training hasn't gone the way you'd hope it would when you signed up, but you can do this!! Looking forward to your RR after your done!!
But The Smile That I Sent Out Returned With You.
Village people
You can do this! Between the crowd at the race and all of us here, there will be no quitting. We are all cheering for you!
AUHUGH! (Is that right?)
Are we there, yet?
Di - I'm going through similar thought processes as I keep increasing my long run for my fall ultra. With one exception when I really ran too much in the days leading up to it, somehow I've managed to finish each one, a couple actually feeling pretty good though stiff at the end. Like you I'll eventually be venturing into new territory and even now it's been almost 20 years since I've tried distances like these. We're a tough bunch despite outward appearances. You'll find what you need inside you to get to the finish.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K, 9:11:09 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
Skirt Runner
You can do this!!!
PRs: 5K- 28:16 (5/5/13) 10K- 1:00:13 (10/27/13) 4M- 41:43 (9/7/13) 15K- 1:34:25 (8/17/13) 10M- 1:56:30 (4/6/14) HM- 2:20:16 (4/13/14) Full- 5:55:33 (11/1/15)
I started a blog about running :) Check it out if you care to
Di, You are going to do great. As easy as it is for us to say that, we all know how you feel, and we know you will do great.
Mostly harmless
I don't have much to add. Just recognize that how you feel is perfectly normal. Race day does indeed provide a nice boost and as long as you go at it with the attitude of making it fun first, you'll do great. If you can do 10, you can do 13. Really. Trust me.
"It doesn’t matter how often you do it or how much you accomplish, in general, not running is a lot easier than running." - Meb Keflezighi
Will you finish? Yes. Will you meet the performance goals you had? Probably not. Will the world end either way? Nope. Just go do what you can do on that day.
Short term goal: 17:59 5K
Mid term goal: 2:54:59 marathon
Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life. (I started running at age 45).
YAYpril - B-Plus
You'll be fine, darlin. I was undertrained for my first HM and ended up having a miserable miles 9-13 but I still finished and once I got that medal everything was right in the world. If anything I was determined to do better on my next one, not discouraged that I didn't do as well as I had hoped.
Seriously, you'll be fine. Don't stress about it.
miscreant
Or don't.
If injuries/illness have sidetracked your training and you're really feeling under-prepared, or if you feel that you just won't be able to have the kind of first half-marathon result that you were hoping for and fear that the experience will be miserable, just skip the race. There's absolutely no shame in sitting out a race you feel unprepared for/not ready to run/too injured or sick to run, etc...
And if there's an option to drop down to a 10k, or a 5k, or whatever shorter distance, you could always do that, too.
ETA: I should add that I am signed up to run a marathon this Saturday, but have dropped down to an 8k race instead (due to injuries during training, etc...).
I'm happy, hope you're happy too...
You will show up, you will run, run/walk, or whatever your body tells you to do on that day, and you will finish. You will tell everyone you know "I ran a half marathon, bitch!" (well maybe in a nicer way, but that's what you will feel like saying). Not a single one of them will ask what your time was (although many will ask how many miles that is). Except for your RA B&B friends - we want to see a full RR!
Dave
First of all, you don't owe us any excuse for feeling stressed about your upcoming race while there are terrible things happening in the world. This is YOUR reality and you have the right to feel anxiety and seek comfort here. Racing can be stressful to some because we impose expectations on ourselves, which is totally normal. It's the nature of racing...
Now, are you prepared enough to meet your goals for the race? It's too late to review that now, unfortunately. But whatever happens, you will learn something from the experience and that is the key to a successful race. From what you learn, you will know how to improve your training so that your next race is an even better one. And so on and so on. That's how we grow as runners in the world of racing.
It's your first HM. Don't be so hard on yourself... The half is not the marathon, but it is still a damn long distance for anyone. Be proud of yourself for having the guts to train for it and do the crazy thing in the first place. You totally rock for it!
I wish you much fun, much sweat, and much learning and I hope that you come back to us with great tales of your first HM! Go Di!
PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013
Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013
18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010
Beer-and-waffle Powered
Don't base it all on one bad long run, they can happen. My last long run before my marathon I felt horrible finishing 35km at a pace nearly 3:00/mile slower than my eventual marathon pace.
That being said, if you think you're not over your injury or that you won't enjoy the race... then don't run it. There's no shame in that.
In the words of my late-coach : Just hang in there, relax... and at the end of a race anyone you see.....just pass them