1/2 Marathon Recap: Lessons Learned

Starting line photo!  Let the games  race begin...

I totally exceeded any expectations I had for my first half, I finished in a respectable 2 hours and 1 minute FLAT!  That's my celebratory dance

So for those of you who might not know my mother passed away last year from complications of breast cancer, so naturally this run was for her!

I also ran in support of #weareboston, #bostonstrong, because they messed with the wrong city!

 

We inacted a little finish line rewind with Kate, I came across the finish line and everyone missed it!  So naturally what did I do, ran back out and finished the race again with Kate :)

Cinco de Mayo celebration at Jalepeno's in Gloucester, MA.  DElicous mexican delites for this fun, festive and celebratory day!

I wanted to end with a brief recap of the things that I learned from doing my first half marathon that will better prepare me for the future

1. Instate a better pre-race warm up.  Simply bending over and touching my toes and a couple quad stretches was relatively insufficient
2. Incorporate more foam rolling and yoga into my everyday routine
3. Fuel, Fuel, FUEL! (and not with Margaritas and quesadillas) hehe

Countdown: T-Minus 2 days

I'm getting super excited for my first Half Marathon!  I will admit that I am a bit nervous, not so much about the actual distance as the nutrition and preparation before to ensure I make it to that finish line!

Luckily for me it's Cinco de Mayo on Sunday, so I'm expecting a Margarita to be waiting for me at the finish line!

My goal is for to make it in under 2:17:00 (Esther dared me to beat her 1/2 time)  So darn it i'm gonna do it!

So I've spent the last week or so doing some research on how to properly prepare for this run and I wanted to share with you a few tips on how best to "carbo-load"

1. Fuel up on Carbs, not fat!  Leave off the butter to that bun or the Ranch dressing on that salad,  you want fuel for your muscles.  Fat will slow you down.  Some examples of good foods to eat would be whole grain breads or cereals, granola bars, bananas, yogurt, graham crackers, and rice or pasta.  Your aiming to take in at least 3-5g of carbs per pound of body weight.  Then divide that up over about 6 meals a day, Thanks Active.com
2. Start loading up on carbs at least a few days before race day.  You should gain a couple of pounds before a race this is your body storing up the fuel it's going to need for race day!
3. Taper off your exercise and allow your muscles 2-3 days of recovery.  NO LONG RUNS!!!  This will expend the energy you've been trying to store up for the big day 
4. Enjoy your race, bring along some Gu packets or Gatorade chews and take them every 45 minutes during your race to refuel your muscles and help to keep up your energy! (Make sure you've trained using these types of fuel though because this can sometimes upset your stomach if your not accustomed to them)

The team pic didn't come out so great, but oh well, we're the champs!  But the pic of me and my girl Rach came out good! Love this girl!



What do you do to improve your strength?
What exercises excite you?
What are you counting down to?