Half-Marathon: The Breakdown

13.1 Miles…

So, how does someone who used to hate the thought of running a mile get here?

It all started with a plan. Not an expected one, but one that I was able to make work in my favor.

I am a weights guy, I love throwing iron around and staring myself in the mirror like I am some sort of psycho. So adding running into the mix was extremely difficult for me at first. How am I supposed to get push/pull/legs in if I am supposed to be training to run? What will happen to all the gains I have made in the past once I start running? I have never been able to run far, so there is no way now is the time I can change that.

And that is what I would tell myself right before every run I did, but we powered through it. Then each and every run I performed after that I became more and more confident.

Finally race day hit, and I knew I could at least trot a 3 hour time and not die. We got rolling at a wonderful pace and thank god for my buddies keeping the train rolling because I could have easily backed down to the 3 hour pace time and just chilled. An hour and 54 minutes later, I am crossing the finish line. The fastest I have ever ran in my life for the longest I have ever ran in my life. This must be some sort of miracle…

But then I remembered, we planned for this. I set out a timeframe, a training plan, and some additional buffers to make sure we were able to do this.

So how did I do this? Let’s keep it simple for my first post ever here:

• Weight-trained 3-4 times a week (Push, pull, legs, and an accessory day if you have it in ya)

• 1 non-negotiable day off (only form of activity was walking)

• 2 runs per week -

  • 1 - 45 minute run at a fast pace

  • 2 - Long run at a distance target (anywhere from 6 - 13 miles, only ran 13 miles ONCE prior to the race)

• Slept anywhere from 7 - 9 hours of sleep consistently

• Ate a predominantly (80/20% to 90/10%) whole foods diet.

Simple things to change your life. The funniest part of this whole thing is that I didn’t even come close to first. So listening to my little routine here might not be the best plan of action for your goal. But that’s not really the point, I was able to gain the confidence, strength, and aptitude to complete something like this that I would have never thought possible. That’s the point.

Someone who stepped off the operating table a couple of years ago and told to basically never run again, worked up to a half. Health and fitness opens these doors consistently and this is just a small example of it. Give it a go and make the journey for yourself!