As I get back into regular running, I have decided to run the Haunted Half in October! Despite having ran 4 fulls (check out my marathon race recaps!), this will be my first road half! I ran the Golden Gate trail half back in 2014, but trail races are quite different and I didn’t train too much for the trail one.
With this race, I have my training plan written out on my calendar and will be going for a 1:45 finish. In March of this year, I did a 13.1 mile training run and ran it in 1:46, so I think running a 1:45 in two and a half months is do-able. It’s also a downhill course, so that should also help.
If during training, things don’t go as planned (if I have ITB issues), my goal will then be just to complete the half regardless of time.
Once again, I am doing a variation of the Hal Higdon training plan. Last week I ran 11 miles total, and by the weekend I just had slight pain in my ITB. I am hoping that will continue to improve and my half training won’t be derailed. I continue doing yoga as well as rebounding as a way to ward off injury. Plus it’s a nice way to get extra cardio since I’m not running as much as I would like.
It’s funny how your perspective can change, just two months ago, the thought of a 40 mile week was easy. Now, I ran an 11 mile week and am so grateful to be running even that much! I try not to get caught up in, “I’ll be happy when I can x amount of miles a week!”. You don’t need to wait to be happy or grateful. Even when injured, there is still so much to be grateful for. Tough times is when being happy means the most.
If you were recently injured and are wanting to get back in the game, here are some helpful tips. I also have this post with running tips for beginners. And if you are thinking of running your first full marathon, read about how to run a marathon!
–Go the to chiropractor! If you are injury prone (such as myself it seems, you can read about my runners knee injury), make sure you get adjusted regularly.
–Strengthen hips! Clam shells, band walks, rebounding, and yoga are some great ways to keep those hips strong and mobile!
–Rest. I have just been running 4 days a week. Keep every run easy till you are a month in and all is still going good. On your rest days, do some type of cross training. I work out 6 days a week, run 4 days a week and have one day of total rest.
–Cross training. As stated above, you don’t want to over-do it with the running early on, so make up the difference by cross training a few times a week. I personally don’t like the elliptical too much, but I do it on occasion. There’s also biking, rebounding, swimming, or basically any other cardio activity. As a side note-for those who care about running more than other sports, you may want to steer clear of activities that could get you injured and therefore prevent you from running! Such as skiing, some water sports and things like that.
–Massage your glutes using a Theragun, rumble roller or trigger point ball. With IT band pain, even though you may feel it primarily in the thigh and knee, it’s actually your butt that needs the massage-not the leg!
–Diet! Eat nutrient dense foods that will help in muscle recovery and fight off inflammation. It’s hard for me to eat healthy when I am unable to run, but these diet books help me to remember why it’s so important to be mindful of what I eat.
–Stay positive. Having a positive mindset has been proven to literally fight off disease and help people recover faster. Being in nature also helps to speed up recovery! Something that has helped me stay positive is getting back into drawing-something that has been put on the back burner the past 6 months.
-Be flexible. Not literally (although it’s good to be literally flexible), but be flexible with your training. This one I have had a hard time with in the past. I would stick to the training plan, regardless of how my body was feeling. If I had pain, I would just power through it and do all the runs anyway. Hence, probably why I have been injured twice. Listen to your body! If you are having a sore muscle due to inflammation, hurry and go do cryo because that will nip it right in the bud. If something is persistent, than take a few days off. Trust me, taking a few days off is far better than having to take months off.
I hope this helps anyone else going through a tough time fitness wise! I never bothered running a half before because it didn’t seem as exciting as a full. However, I am really excited about this upcoming race! It’s also right by my birthday so that’s kind of cool.
I still have yet to decide when my next full will be. I will definitely be running one in the spring. Running one in the winter is to be determined. I kind of like the idea of taking it slow and giving myself more than enough time to work up to it.
Side note-I have this dream business idea of having a place called active recovery or something along those lines, where people can sign up for a session and it would be 20ish minutes of either rebounding or yoga, followed by 30 minutes of like compression boots, cryotherapy, red laser therapy, and being professionally stretched/using the hypervolt. And there would be a little food grab and go section with health foods to aid in muscle recovery. Wouldn’t that be cool?? It would be a lot of products needed plus a staff with the right credentials but it’s something I like to fantasize about.
What race are you training for?
Any business ideas you dream about? (The active recovery isn’t a dream per say, Just something I thought about as I have been working on all this rehab type stuff.)
