Mury says:

Awesome. Nice job.

dearnold says:

Tremendous! What training program did you follow? I am attempting my first half late this summer.

MidwesternWoman says:

Whohoo - what a fabulous run. Very inspiring, especially regarding sticking to a training program. Congratulations.

tdeyesu says:

dearnold -

I have basically made up my own training program. I have been seriously running for about 4 years now and have learned what works for me and what I need to avoid. For instance, I don't run on back to back days. Once I made that switch, I have cut down on my injuries greatly. I was a college catcher and my knees still bother me at times so I have to listen to them. The best thing I have learned (the hard way) is to progress slowly. I try to follow the 10% rule as best I can. I believe in rest and stretching. I stretch on a daily basis.

Long story short - I mapped out a plan for myself about 2 months ago for what I wanted to accomplish each week in terms of mileage and pace and stuck to it pretty well. The last 3 weeks were tough due to some shin issues so I cut back on the mileage but tried to keep the pace where I wanted it to be.

For this particular race, I credit the pace setters. They had 1/2 Marathon pace setters and I stayed with the 2:00 pace group until the 5 mile mark. I then thought that I should get ahead of them so that when I slow down towards the end, I could latch on to that group for the last bit of motivation to get me to my goal. It turned out that I was able to keep my pace til the end.

I did learn some more about fueling during the race. I was methodical about eating the Gu Chomps. I ate one at every mile marker from 6 miles on. It gave me something to look forward to at each mile marker and was a nice distraction.

I also did not wear a watch at this race. Normally, if I was ahead of my intended pace, I may actually slow down as to not to burn out at the end.

I have definitely found that there are many plans out there but you need to use those as a base but create one for yourself.

Good luck.

empty_sea says:

I have had shin pain in years past when I run too much on pavement. What works for me is stretching after every run. The best stretch I have found is the alphabet stretch. Let your foot dangle in the air and use your toes to write the alphabet. I find cursive easier to write in the air than print. :) This seems to help me a lot.

cloneal says:

I've been running on the tread mill a lot lately. Just started putting a little hill in there. I can really work up a sweat that way.

johnnyk8 says:

I love treadmills. Especially the presets. The 10 km preset on mine goes to 9 mph at a 6 ° incline for 3 mins! Brutally delicious

jdoty1977 says:

Great to hear! Excellent job on the Mill! Yes, 7 miles in terms of distance is pretty much the same. I think the treadmill is slightly easier because you are not dealing with the world. Wind, hills, curbs, potholes, unleashed dogs, crazy drivers, etc. The treadmill surface never changes, but the streets are always changing. However, the treadmill speed also never changes. And you dont have that air to evaporate your sweat and cool you. In other words, the arguements go both ways, but it really doesn't matter. You got your workout on and that is a great success!

dearnold says:

Now I am inspired from you both. Thanks for paying it forward! I haven't run that far on a treadmill before, but will try for a little more distance today. I been a stuck in a rut as far as my treadmill workouts go. Mostly 30 minute increments.

I know there's always been debate on the mill vs outside running. For me, I use the incline to make the mill slightly more challenging. One thing I do know is that when I finish my workouts, I am soaked like a sponge. Ahh yes...