Running Your First Half Marathon?
The lovely Ashleigh a friend and fabulous person has put down her thoughts on her running and half marathon journey.
“I think my running journey randomly started one day when I decided to download the Couch to 5K app. I started it, and never finished it. And then months later I joined a gym and thought, I'll give that another go. So started from the beginning again on the treadmill working through the weeks. I got to the second to last week? And just stopped. Stopped going to the gym, stopped working out, stopped everything. It wasn't a conscious decision to stop, but this is how working out and exercise always went for me. I might have undiagnosed ADHD which may be to blame, or just general lack of motivation at that time.
Anyway! Last year, after stopping AGAIN. I decided to start running again OUTSIDE. I sacked off Couch to 5K entirely and was just trying to run without any guidance or any education about pace, cadence etc. I set myself small goals like run for 5 minutes, run for 10 minutes, eventually building to running for 30 minutes and running 5K. Towards the end somewhere before I reached those last two goals I decided to purchase a Garmin watch (inspired by Emma, as always). This is when I started understanding pace and what my heart rate was doing and all that fun stuff.
Since then, I haven't really stopped. Once I got to 5K naturally I wanted 10K which I randomly achieved one Sunday powered by a chocolate brownie and a milkshake. And I think this, as well as Emma completing the London Marathon, made me want to do a half marathon! So I just blindly signed up to both (thank God I didn't get the full one) and started training.
I really did not have a single clue what I was doing. I think I just planned to keep going as I was, working it out as I went. That's when Emma very kindly created a half marathon training guide, which I couldn't have done any of it without. This really helped me get some structure and understand what I was meant to be doing. That definitely helped me complete the Big Half in London, I know for sure it wouldn't of happened without it. For one, my nutrition was trash. That guide really helped me sort my food out which in turn meant I was energised to run for longer distances.
Running is always so hit and miss with me. I talk about running like it's a person I've fallen out with when I just can't make it happen or when I go out and it feels absolutely wank. Ultimately though, it really has changed my life. That sounds so dramatic, but it's true. When I'm running, my outlook on life changes completely. Moving my body feels so good and as the weeks go by training, you feel stronger, and like you can do anything. Those endorphins are no joke, the way they make me feel is indescribable. I think for me, it's like having an ongoing competition with myself where I try to run for longer or faster and each PB is like the biggest and best feeling ever. And in between when you're not achieving those PBs, you still feel amazing anyway! So really, it's a win win.”
Want to run your first half, get in touch for your free half marathon training guide.