Go St. Louis Half Marathon Training + Running Wishlist

Well, here I am last minute posting it up at campus on my lunch break.  I should probably be working on my 8 page Marketing paper, but that’s not how I roll.  I plan almost EVERYTHING in my life.  If you know me, you know that.  I would go into panic mode if I lost my planner – seriously.  The older I get though, the less I actually like to plan…some things.  Like Vivian a la Pretty Woman I’m a fly by the seat of my pants kinda gal (but not really.)  = )  A few of the things I do not plan for much anymore:1.)  Having kids.  That is probably part of the problem.  I’ve learned that apparently this will not “just happen” for us without planning it (and some expensive IVF.)  Cue the denial.  If I have to plan it, then that means I have to actually admit that is the only way we’re having kids.

2.)  Meals.  Don’t get me wrong – I think about where I want to go out to eat all the time, and I even have a spreadsheet of restaurants I want to try on my iPhone, but meal planning – absolutely not.  Maybe one day when I’m a mom.  Then I’ll have no choice but to plan it out, but until then I’m going to drive home from work and then be completely shocked when I’m hungry and have no clue what I’m going to eat.  Cue the breakfast food for dinner routine and this yummy recipe!

3.)  Races.  (If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I just signed up for my first Half Marathon today!)  I love to run, and I run either at the Downtown Y, in my neighborhood or on my lunch break, but I just don’t like to prepare for organized races.  When I do run by myself, I normally only run 1-2 miles.  Nothing far.  Nothing long enough to actually prepare for a 10K…or dare I say half marathon.  I used to prepare for long bike rides by riding between 20-75 miles a couple times each week for months at a time, and I think that is kind of what burned me out.  Now I just go out there and do it.  And that’s okay for 5K’s and maybe even for some 10K’s, but that is not gonna fly for a half!  I will go ahead and tell you that my training (or lack thereof) is not the best way to do it…at all!  Training is very important, especially if you’re just starting out.  You want to make sure you don’t injure yourself, and pushing yourself too far can definitely do that!  You also want to train so that you know what to expect when running this far and can actually work on your time and maybe even have a PR.

So with that being said, I have ran 2 10Ks and have never trained for them.  I’ve ran about 60 5K’s and didn’t really train for them either.  I did not, however, have a really good pace like I wanted for the 10K’s.  See number 3 for the reason that my time was not that great.  If I want to run faster (and longer), I NEED to train!  I know I’m obviously procrastinating, but my Half Marathon training begins this week.  I’ve already ran 6.2 miles before, so I’d like to build from there.  This weekend I am going to do 7.5 miles, 10 miles the next week, and then 13 the next week.  Yes, that may be a bit much in a short period of time, but after this weekend I will be much closer to finishing up my semester and honestly the Go St. Louis Half Marathon is only 17 days away.  Holy crap, that snuck up on me!!  Is it not still January?!  It’s also called denail.  I know that I will finish the half marathon, and I am hoping that I will not have to walk any of it.  Fingers crossed.  I have only walked one race, and that was my first 5K about 8 years ago.  Of course this is over 4 5Ks combined- holy smokes!  Either way, I am doing my first half marathon and I’m pumped.  It’s going to be fun no matter what (well after the running part is over at least.)  I cannot wait to meet up with Holly, Mel and of course Lora!  So yall wish me luck, and I’ll be doing a post each week up until the Half Marathon on April 7.

Don’t forget to enter the giveaways here for a Target gift card, here for a group giveaway and here for an Evie J hot pink necklace!

Since I am planning on seriously making up lost running time as soon as May gets here, there are a few running items I’m craving right now.

Garmin Forerunner 110.  $179.95.

Lululemon Run Bold in the Cold Top.  $69.

Brady Bands Flowers in Bloom Headband.  $6.  4 for $20.
I’ll be doing a giveaway with Brady Bands next Monday, so you might be able to get your headband of choice free!!