(35) comments
Add Your Reply
Menu
I’m running a half marathon in 3 days. What?!
I am still in disbelief that I am running my first winter half marathon on Saturday: the Rock ‘N Roll DC Half Marathon!
Since it’s Wednesday, I’m linking up with Annmarie at The Fit Foodie Mama, Angelena Marie at Angelena Marie: Happy, Healthy & Balanced, Michelle at Fruition Fitness, and Nicole at Fitful Focus for Wild Workout Wednesday! Check it out to pick up some fun workouts to try!
Sharing my goals for the @runrocknroll DC half marathon! #RNRDC #runchat Click To Tweet
So, this is really weird for me.
While RNR DC will be my 7th half marathon, it will be the first time that I’m running a half that I did not specifically train for. My goal race is the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run coming up on April 3, and I’m about 7 weeks into training.
This is completely new territory for me so it’s a little bit scary to figure out how to conquer this race…if that’s something that I even want to do!
The last time I ran a half marathon was the Annapolis Classic Half Marathon back in November, which I finished in a little over 2:15. That race started out awesome, but the bridge and rolling hills killed me in the second half of the race. Oh yeah, and I started out too fast.
With RNR DC, I don’t want to make the same mistakes. My main goal for this race is to properly pace myself! Looking at the elevation map, there is a big hill between miles 5 and 6, but otherwise, it looks pretty manageable.
I’ve been heading out of the starting line too fast, so I am going to go very, very slowly during the first few miles of the race to make sure I have enough gas in the tank when I really need it (usually around mile 8!)
While RNR will have plenty of great live music throughout the course, I’ll make sure that my Spotify playlist is ready to go and downloaded on my phone so that I don’t have to worry about limited cell reception. No technical difficulties!
Okay…even though I’m not racing this, I have to give myself a time goal or I just wouldn’t be Janelle. Based on my recent long training runs, I will shoot to finish in 2:25. If I finish faster, great! If it takes longer, that’s okay too!
This week we’re experiencing very warm, spring-like temperatures in the 70’s that I couldn’t be happier about! There is a chance of rain on Saturday, but I’m hoping that the weather will hold during the race because otherwise, this is perfect running weather!
I’ll be wearing my new Nathan hydration belt and using my trusted Clif Shot Bloks for fuel. I have struggled with running while grabbing one of the water bottles from my belt, so this may slow me down during the race (which would be a good thing!).
I’m really excited to run through DC and enjoy the sights since it’s always a treat to visit the Nation’s Capital!
Oh, and if you’re running RNR DC or live in the area, we’re having a meetup with #WeRunSocial at the ProCompression Booth at the Expo on Friday at 4:30 pm. I’ll be there, and hopefully, I’ll see you too!
Wednesday 3/2: For the first time in several months, I went to Cardio Kickboxing class at the Plant! Since I moved from the office last August I could no longer go, but I had a few meetings at the Plant that day so I made sure to bring my stuff for lunch. As always, it was a lot of fun, a great sweat, and tons of laughs! It’s nice to be missed, and the feeling is mutual!
Thursday 3/3: Weight training class. We had another fun session and did some new moves with resistance bands – my arms were shaking!
Friday 3/4: Rest day.
Saturday 3/5: I decided not to run on Saturday and to continue to rest my shins.
Sunday 3/6: Finally back on the trail! Bret and I went for a 9-mile run along the Wissahickon. It was my first run in a week, and it felt like it had been an eternity. The pace was slow, and while my shins felt fine, my knees didn’t feel too great. I wore my old Nike Pegasus shoes since I’m still leery of my Wave Riders, but they have over 300 miles on them, so…yeah. But I’m glad that I was able to run as far as we did, plus explore some new trails!
Monday 3/7: Intermediate yoga continues to be a challenge. But we did lots of lunges that my body needs and my hamstrings were grateful for all the attention. I worked late so I couldn’t attend boot camp…probably for the best since my body needed recovery after Sunday’s run.
Tuesday 3/8: 3.5-mile run in the evening with Bret. The sun was set but there were still a ton of people out since the weather was so warm. I was happy to have a very solid run.
I think I did a really good job this past week. I once again listened to my body and still had some really good mileage despite resting for a few days. I still can’t believe I’m running a half marathon so early in the year! The first of many in 2016…
P.S. – Today’s the last day you can use my code JANELLELOVE to get $10 off registration to the Love Run Half Marathon in Philly on April 10! After 3/9, my code is only good for $5 off until the race sells out!
Oh – and my giveaway for one free entry to The Love Run is open until Thursday 3/10! Enter while you can!
I am going to give this week of training an A! Bring on RNR DC!
Will you be at the Rock ‘n Roll DC Half Marathon this weekend? Have you ever used a race as a training run – how did it go?
