Once upon a time, there was a girl who signed up for her first half marathon in November of 2011. The half marathon was runDisney’s Princess half marathon, for in those days you didn’t have to sign up the day registration opened to be able to participate.
She trained for the February 2012 race in two and a half months (in hindsight it probably wasn’t enough training for the distance) but she ran the races with supportive friends who whispered encouraging words in her ear and walked with her when her IT bands no longer wanted to run.
And she did it!
From there, she went on to run another half a month later, where her IT bands fared much better and she helped Cam achieve her first half marathon.
She continued to register and run the half marathon distance, although her long runs weren’t always quite long enough and she didn’t always follow the training plan exactly like she should. Read: SHE WAS FAKING IT.
Faking it got her through the half marathons. Not as fast as she wanted though, and not without injury. Make that injuries, plural. After her most recent injury, she said, “Enough is enough.” (Actually, she used more colorful language, F this S… just so we are keeping it real.)
Her injuries have lessened significantly, for which is she very grateful. She’s been treating her Plantar Fasciitis with medicated gel and Thorlo socks. Custom orthotics just joined the mix as well and while she’s not 100%, she’s feeling about 85% better.
She’s been pushing herself harder than ever before with training. She doesn’t skip or skimp. Three days a week she’s achieving at least five miles a day. She is following the training schedule to the letter; her long runs on the weekend have been accomplished as she works her way toward her next half. Her A, B, and C goals are in place and she’s confident in her abilities to hit one, if not all of them. And while the winter-y weather might have deterred her in the past, she is saying I can and I will now more than ever. She’s hoping for a happily ever after in the land of PR.
Have you ever faked your way through a race (or two, or three)? Come back after an injury (or two)? What types of goals do you set for races?
Rooting for you!!!!!
Thank you! I appreciate it!
Great post, I hope your plan works well for you. I find 3x a week running training is perfect for me too! I am type A, so I always follow my plan exactly, but I think I may be in the minority!! 🙂 Good luck!
Thanks Sara. You know it’s so funny because I’m very TYPE A too, so you’d think that I would have been doing this all along. I think my problem is that sometimes I take too much on and I’m like – oh, training can wait. But it can’t. So now I have carved out time out of my week that is just for that and get it done! 😉
You need to prove that it can be done, because I was reflecting back this weekend and came to the realization that I have actually never followed a training plan for a half. I usually get about two weeks in before I have that moment where I decide, “f this s, I’m just going to do whatever.” This includes the first half I ever did a few months after I started running… So please show me that it works and is beneficial!
Dude, I really, really hope that it does work. Because I’ll be sad if I put all this work in and then I hear the sad trombone noise. Really sad.
This has always been my reasoning for NOT putting the training in. I can always live under the delusion that it would work if I’d actually done it–and why put in the work if it’s not going to work?
But I’m sure it will work for you.
Good luck, I’m sure all of the hard work will pay off!
Thank you, Kristy! I’m truly hoping that this helps me not injury myself AND maybe even get a bit faster. xo
I totally faked my way through that first Princess Half, and my knee paid the price! Now I make sure to follow my training plan as closely as possible, at least for longer distances. Injuries are no good!
And I’m glad you’re at 85% – that much closer to 100%. 🙂
Injuries are the worst, Leona!!! 😉 I’m really happy that I’m moving forward to healing completely – I just hope it continues in the right direction.
I’m impressed how dedicated you are to your training plan this time around! Put in the work and you will see results! 🙂
Thanks Vic! You’ve seen me through each one and like we said, if I ever get to the full marathon point, I won’t be able to fake that. 😉 Seriously though, I’m looking forward to seeing how the next few races go. If my foot behaves, I’m pretty sure the PR will be a substantial one.
I have faked it through many a half marathons. Honestly, you probably could even look at my NYC Marathon training in this same way. I have definitely left a lot of effort on the table, rather than on the road where it belongs. I’m hoping to stick with a more regimented plan for Brooklyn Half in May. Good luck with your training – it sounds like it’s going great!!
Thanks so much, Kim. I’ve never tackled a full marathon yet but I’m thinking I really need to focus on the training if I ever want to get to that point. Can’t wait to hear about how the Brooklyn Half goes for you! Best of luck with your training as well! 🙂
I liked this post! I think I actually trained correctly for my first half since I didn’t hurt as much as I thought I would, but half #2 which is a month away might have some faked training. My legs are more tired than I thought they would be and this weekend’s long run turned into a longer rest period than I though. We’ll see how this goes!
Following along with your blog, I think that you trained the right way for the Princess too – you know, just from a blog reader’s standpoint. 😉 I can’t wait to hear about the LOVE run from you.
The first part of your story sounds like me. I ran PHM with a strained IT band. I did train for over a year though. I hope I can get back on track after this. I hope you can too!
Thank you Meranda! I hope that your IT band is on the mend! xo
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