Half Marathon Training

Over the past couple of months, I've tried to get back into running. Although I run throughout my entire pregnancy, it was sllllloooow going most of the time haha That's what will happen when you're carrying around an extra 15 pounds! Anyways, right before I found out I was pregnant with Finley, I had started training for the 2014 Bluenose Half Marathon in Halifax. I had actually gotten up to 15 km long runs, but obviously I had to scale back as I got further along in my pregnancy and ultimately, I knew running a half marathon at 3 months pregnant wasn't realistic. I mean it was a serious struggle to make it 15 minutes without having to pee!! Side note: At least twice when Dan and I were out for short runs in the city, I had to go pee in the woods haha Good thing I had Dan as a "look-out".

So, rather than focusing on losing baby weight, etc., etc., I decided to make fitness goal instead, and it was to run a half marathon. I tried to do at least three runs per week and I loosely followed a training plan similar to that below (I ignored the Tuesday technical runs but I was always sure to integrate some hills and speed intervals during my other runs). Unfortunately, the weather here has been so crappy that I did all of my training on the treadmill, which was kind of boring, but hey! it worked.

Speaking of treadmill running, here are some tips for making it "less boring":

1) Listen to podcasts: Some of my favourites are the Jillian Michael Show, The Running Lifestyle Show, and Balanced Bites

2) Have a kick-ass playlist with a lot of upbeat tunes

3) Watch a tv show or movie during long runs (if you don't have a tv near your treadmill or at your gym, use an iPad or tablet)

4) Do speed intervals: Often I would warm-up and then do 30 seconds hard work (9mph pace) and 30 seconds recovery (7mph pace) for 20-30 minutes, then run at a slower pace (for longer runs) or cool-down. Also, just varying your speed in general can help fight boredom

5) Incorporate hill intervals

6) Do Yasso 800s: Sometimes I would warm-up for 15 minutes, do eight Yasso 800s, then cool down for 15 minutes, which would often result in a 10-11 mile run.

7) Or just play around with all of the above to entertain yourself during those long runs ;)


Anyways, back to that half marathon —I did it! I ran the Hypothermic Half Marathon in Halifax on March 1st and boy was it hard. The trail was completely covered in ice and it was super duper cold out that morning at 8am. Luckily I had bought Yak-Treks to put on my running shoes, which help me so so much; otherwise, I think I would have been on my butt more than my feet.

My goal was to run the half marathon in less than 2 hours and despite the crappy conditions, my time was 1:53 minutes, which I was very happy with. Dan and Finley were at the finish line to cheer me on!

I'm hoping to do a few more half marathons or runs this Spring/Summer —any suggestions?