It’s Monday and I am here today to talk about running!  I am in the middle of training for my 3rd half-marathon and this time around it is a little different. My first 2 half-marathons went as planned, but the timeline of how they came to be is a little out of order.

December 2015 – Cousins convince me to run for Kate’s (cousin) 40th birthday in Virginia Beach Labor Day weekend 2016.

January 2016 – Sign up for Virginia Beach Rock ‘n Roll half-marathon.

February 2016 – Get antsy waiting for the Virginia Beach half and sign up for the Frederick, MD half-marathon. Also convince my BRF (Best Running Friend) Jamie to run with me.

 

May 2016 – Run first half-marathon in Frederick on Mother’s Day.  Feel amazing and enormously proud!  Grateful for Brandy and Becky, who surprised me by coming to cheer, and my family for cheering me on!

September 2016 – Run second half-marathon in Virginia Beach the day after a hurricane hits Virginia Beach. So excited to run with my cousins and their friends! Happy 40th Kate!!

Also September 2016 –  Feel pretty burnt out on running.

January 2017 – Start run streak and focus on that for 2017. Don’t have any training plan for an entire year. Don’t run anything longer than a 10k.

January 2018 – Start to get the itch to run another half-marathon.

February 2018 – Sign up for third half-marathon, Coastal Delaware, and convince friends that we should do a 5K the day before.  Begin training again for the first time in 16 months.

So, that’s how I got here. I am most definitely NOT AN EXPERT on anything half-marathon training!! I wanted to share what I’ve done and see if anyone has any advice or tips that have worked for them.  I stumbled across Hal Higdon’s Half Marathon training program after I signed up for the Virginia Beach run.  I have to say that I love Hal Higdon. He gives me a few days off each week and I can manage the weekday distances without making too many changes to our schedule. I used his Novice 1, a combination of Novice 1 and Novice 2, and now Novice 2 training plan. I am just starting week 5 tomorrow.

My schedule for this week is: Tues 3 mi / Wed 4 mi / Thurs 3 mi / Sat 8 mi

This training is a little different than my other two because of my run streak. So, I don’t really have a day off or rest day. I am only running 1 mile on the off days (Sunday, Monday, Friday). It is definitely an easier run than the other days, but my legs don’t really get a rest. I am hoping that I can keep it up and have a successful race weekend.  It may even help with the back to back run/race days.

During my training, I found that I needed to figure out on the run fuel.  I always carry a water bottle with me and do not like to drink any sports drinks while I run.  I was asking around about fuel and a friend suggested Sport Beans. As a girl who LOVES candy, these seemed like the perfect solution for me. I tried them, loved them, and never tried anything else. I’d love to hear any other delicious fuel that you’ve tried, just add it in the comments.

Now that I have a training plan, fuel options, and a new challenge lined up (5K/half-marathon challenge), I am getting excited!!

As I was checking in with the spring/summer book tour dates for my favorite beach authors, I found some news that has made me REALLY excited! Kristy Woodson Harvey will be in Bethany Beach on Saturday of my half-marathon weekend and it fits the schedule to go hear what she has to say about her new book!

So the weekend of April 21st and 22nd is shaping up to be full of sunshine, books, running, and fun! I am really looking forward to it!!

☀️📚😎

Currently Reading:

Personal: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

School: Lots of books by Chris Barton because he’s coming to my school next week