So yesterday was the Publix Georgia Half Marathon. I started training for it in January. My last few races haven't exactly been the best efforts. So I was determined to train hard for this one. For several weeks, I stuck to my training plan. And I started seeing some progress. Then, about halfway through February, I stopped training. Not just a few missed runs either. It was a complete grinding halt on training. No I wasn't injured. Just busy. Ridiculously, insanely busy. Yes, if I'm completely honest with myself, not so busy that I couldn't have snuck in a few runs. It started with 5 days in Mexico. We'd planned a trip for a friend's wedding, and I knew this would throw a wrench into my training plan. But it was just 5 days, and I figured it wouldn't be a huge derailment.
But then, we got off the plane on the way home and turned our phones back on to find out my boyfriend's grandma had passed away. So we had to turn around and drive to Illinois for the funeral. So now, we're talking Midwesterners in mourning. Midwesterners (my family is from Michigan so I'm familiar) like to cook meat and potatoes. And they like to turn to food for comfort. So Midwestern comfort food is even more meat and potatoes. So add in another 5 days of eating a ridiculous amount of carbs, and not running.
So now, I get back to work 2 weeks in the hole (yes, if you're counting, there are some extra days in there where I totally could've run. Possibly, I'd gotten a little lazy by this time). So now, I'm working 12-15 hour days for two weeks.
All this leads into a half marathon that I'm woefully under trained for. My training didn't so much taper, as take a nose dive off a cliff. Shockingly, I didn't perform so well. So, what can you learn from your personal worst time?
1. Training is actually important. Yes, that's obvious. Or it should be. Sometimes though, it's easy to fall into a trap of believing that you're fit, and in shape, and can do it anyway (or at least, I do). "So what if I haven't trained, I do this all the time." Not true. It's important to remember that the it's the training, not the racing that keeps you fit and in shape.
2. It's possible to still have fun, and not PR. It's so easy to forget the whole point is to have fun. Yes, sometimes its accomplishing a PR that is the fun. But sometimes, just running with a friend and finishing the race is fun. I ran the whole way (almost, he pulled ahead in the last mile) with a friend, and instead of pushing ourselves, we paced ourselves, talked, laughed, and generally had fun. And I've never felt soooo good to finish a race.
3. It hurts. I've also never been so sore after a race.
So in summary, it's probably better to train properly, even if you're not aiming for a PR. I'm also not saying you shouldn't train at all then attempt a half marathon. Keep in mind, I'd been running for a long time, and holding fast to training plan up until a few weeks before. If I'd thought I couldn't safely complete the race, I wouldn't have run. However, you can run a PW and still have fun and a sense of accomplishment.
