So yesterday I took the plunge and booked my first half marathon! It will be the Birmingham Half Marathon on October 15th.
Since spraining my foot about 6 weeks ago, my running has really taken a step back, and I had lost a lot of motivation and momentum… my last 10k event was really tough and it was even slower than my very first 10k run, which left me feeling a bit down as it felt as though I had let all my previous hard work slip. However, I recently received an email which has boosted my motivation and given me a reason to get my butt in gear! (More on this next week)
So I have decided to stick to my original plan of running the Birmingham Half Marathon in October, which gives me around 9 weeks to go from struggling to run 7k non-stop and my slowest ever 10k, to running a half marathon. I’d like to do it in under 2:45:00 – if I hadn’t sprained my foot and taken time out, I’d have been aiming for 2:30:00, but I feel that’s way too optimistic for a 9 week training plan, even 2:45:00 might be pushing it, but it gives me something to aim for.
I feel like the half marathon distance is another beast in the sense that I really need to make sure I get my diet and fuelling on point; I need to make sure I’m well hydrated and that any gels or supplements I use during the event will sit well with my stomach, so it’s going to be a lot of trial and error before the big day.
This will also be my first event where I’m running solo, as my fiancé isn’t ready to push himself past 10k events due to being heavily flat footed (his tibia is in the wrong place and causes stress on his knees) and not having the time to train.
I really enjoyed the Birmingham 10k, so hopefully the Half Marathon is at least equally as impressive!
If you have any half marathon training tips or are also running the Birmingham Half Marathon, please leave a comment below!
