Its all about pushing yourself...
Running the half marathon is all about pushing yourself, when i started running, i wasn’t fittest (wouldn’t call myself unfit but overweight yes) ! I used to lose breathe in 3.6kms, how did i go about it?
Well what you 1st need is determination to run and train yourself regularly and hard. 2nd you need mind over body to fight the pain (ofcourse only if the injury is not serious) because at some point you are going to injure yourself, just need to be determined to train further and not give up.
3rd and very important, you need to buy right pair of shoes, every foot is different but then feet can be differentiated in 3 specific types and buying feet specific shoes is very very important! This link might help:
http://www.asicsamerica.com/sports/running/shoeFitGuide.aspx
my feet are with mild over pronation, in simple terms i have flat feet, when you have flat feet, the inside of your sole doesn’t have the curvature of normal feet, so inside of your knees end up getting impacted if you don’t wear proper shoes (from experience), hence you need maximum support shoes!
Nutrition:
I dint actually follow any diet, just when you run and after the run drink lots of fluids eg: Gatorade, fresh fruit juices and yes Water...
Stop avoiding carbohydrates, avoid coffee before and after the run, don’t drink red bull or any other energy drink, they may make you feel refreshed but they dehydrate you. Avoid them!
At one point of your training you will run alot but you will have to eat alot too, just make sure that you don’t over indulge into anything, keep a balanced diet which includes proteins and carbs! There will come a point where you wont lose weight neither will you gain any, that is the time when you are giving body what it wants, if you want to lose weight the only thing you can do is increase your protein intake and cut back on anything fattening but maintaining your carb intake!
http://www.runtheplanet.com/trainingracing/nutrition/
I am a food lover, i eat and over indulge, so my habit of running has kept my weight constant for a long time!
I would advise anyone to run 3 times a week and do weight training 3times a week, so alternate between running and weight training, work on your legs and shoulders, people don’t realise but when you do long runs you need strong shoulders, so work on them and your back muscles, i ignored my lower back and everytime i run i regret!
I started my training sometime in july/august, started running on the treadmill (rainy season), gradually went up to 7kms but wasn’t regular, then in November i started road running and training seriously, theres a huge difference between running on the treadmill and on the road, its freaking hard to run the amount you can on the treadmill plus on the treadmill your legs do all the work! There i went back to running 3.6 kms 3times a week, but running on the treadmill had increased my stamina, went up to running 10.8 kms within 3weeks, then i met this guy Pierre D’souza, we used to run in opposite directions around the park, he invited me to run with him and 2 others for the long run, i jumped from 10.8 kms to 21kms within two weeks (not advisable).
Your 1st long is always going to be easy (if you can run 10-11kms 3times a week) but days that follow your run, you have to be prepared, you will feel weak, need to keep yourself hydrated, drink fluids all the time, recovery is faster if you hydrate your body properly, sleep in early don’t stay up!
When you do long runs theres a lactic acid build up in your legs muscles, so keep walking throughout the week but don’t weight train if its your 1st time running 21.
Sometimes when doing your runs alone you might not feel motivated, what i do is i listen to music or when i don’t carry music i talk to myself, push yourself, motivate yourself!
You can use various gadgets if you are a geek like me to record your runs and all, that will motivate you or make your run interesting! I use gps on my phone to record most of my runs, gives me a kick out of looking at all the run charts
Why do i Run?
I love everything adventurous, have always been an active person, i like to cycle, hike, trek, you name it...
Running keeps me fit, it is exhilarating, when you finish the 21, you get a kick out of knowing that you can run non-stop for so long time, sometimes i run everywhere, i even love to walk!
It helps you to make you love your own company, running with a group or friends is awesome though, you push eachother to finish, i would have given up at 20kms if not for Pierre who pushed me to run last 1km.
My aim for my 1st half marathon was to run 21kms in less than 2hours!
I did good with a time of 1hr 52 mins, I continue to plan running 11kms 3times a week with speed work, i would love to push myself to run the half marathon in 1hour 30minutes before i move on to 42 kms (full marathon).
Ps: some of you can use the link below. :D
http://www.lululemon.com/community/blog/the-run-date/?cid=blog
