History and Background
In 2012, I decided to register for the Nike Woman's Half
Marathon because a close friend of mine had passed away from leukemia that year
and the race raised money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Before this race, I did not run to stay in
shape but for the mental sanity that it provided after a hard day. Although I ran often, I never took it
seriously. When I signed up for this
race I had no clue what I was doing. My
training consisted of 3 mile runs every few days for a month or so before the
race. I loved every minute of my first
race. After finishing in 2 hours and 24 minutes (2:24) I wanted to get back out there
and do it again.
In 2013, I signed up for my second race but this time
followed a training plan that I had found online. The training plan consisted of 5 runs every
week with one long run on the weekends that increased in distance every
week. For my second race, I ran a
2:10. It was then that I decided to set a goal to
break two hours. I signed up for the
Dallas Half Marathon in December 2014 and followed
the same training plan, never missing a run. I was determined to break two hours, but barely missed my goal, running it in 2:02. I was excited that I had PR'd
by 8 minutes but disappointed that I did not achieve my goal.
Training
A week later, I met with Brian and he explained the
science of training for a half marathon. He walked me through heart rate training and I learned that I had been
living in "No Man's Land" -- running at an effort too
high to build endurance yet too low to build speed. I was immediately hooked on the science of his
training. I decided to sign up for the Cowtown
Half Marathon on March 1st and began Brian's training plan. Every week, Brian sent me a personalized training
plan that was customized to my goal, resources, and availability. He also checked in on the progress of each workout. At first, I was nervous because his workouts
were nothing like the online training plans I had been doing. There were very few runs longer than 3
miles, and most required me to go slow. There was also a lot of focus on weights routines to build strength. Growing up as competitive swimmer, I was use to working out multiple
hours a day. It was foreign to me that I could achieve the results I wanted
with 30 minute workouts a day.
A few weeks into our training, Brian and I met to work on
drills to improve my form. This was a
turning point in my training. Once my form was corrected I was able to run much more comfortably and confident. I started to get faster at the same level of effort! Soon after, we
started to do hill workouts with DFW Tri Club. It was fun to do tough workouts with an
encouraging group. Finally, we added speed workouts to the training. These workouts made me tough, since each time I did them it was in the
roughest conditions (freezing, or windy and hot!). These were important because when you are running a race, the person you are running for
is yourself. It can be easy to talk yourself
down and convince yourself it's not worth it and just give up.
The Race!
When race weekend came around, I could not have felt more
prepared and excited. Brian and I talked race strategy/plan, and wet set up my GPS watch
to help me with pacing. When the race started it was
surreal. I focused on the strategy to not start out too fast and to focus on my form. The first few miles felt very easy. I looked down at my watch and was a little
ahead of pace but didn't think much of it. I kept focusing on my form and following the race plan. I knew
there was a big hill at mile 9, and when I got there, I channeled
my training and started focusing on my arms and cadence to power me up the hill. At mile
11, I looked down at my watch and had 24 minutes to run 2 miles in order to hit my goal. I realized I was not only going to hit my
time but, but completely crush my goal. I
couldn't stop smiling for the last 2 miles of the race. It was an amazing feeling and the best I have
ever felt running 13.1 miles. I ran the
Cowtown Half in 1:54.
I was a competitive athlete for the first 22 years of my
life and this experience of training for the Cowtown Half Marathon was one of the
most special things I have ever been through. I have never been more proud of my athletic accomplishments than I was
that day. The training plan showed
me that its not about how far you run or how many hours you workout, but it is
about the quality of the training. He helped me focus on strength, speed, and endurance. The furthest I ran prior to the race was 6 miles but during the race I
felt stronger than I had ever felt at mile 10.
In the end...
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Smiles and a PR! |
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