Last year, I had the opportunity to be an official ambassador for See Jane Run, and I am honored to have that opportunity again for 2014. Having this opportunity was memorable and meaningful because it marked my first race in a half marathon, I was able to establish a PR for myself at this distance, I challenged myself with long runs, and I had an incredible time on race day. Oh, and post-race fuelage Ethiopian style, was another plus Image may be NSFW.
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This year, SJR will be hosting three summer races in SF Bay (June 22nd), Seattle (July 13th), and Witchita (September 13). All events will have a half, 5k, and kids’ run taking place. Free chocolate, champagne, and massages are also a given, and the vendors that participate during the post-race festivities never seem to disappoint!
The course for this year in SF Bay looks to be the same as last year’s SF Bay race, so I don’t expect for there to be any surprises:
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I do however plan on doing a few things to improve even more from my experience last year.
Increasing my time, and setting a new PR – I would like to improve my running pace in the half marathon distance. Seeing that I’ve only run 13.1 miles twice in my life, it makes sense that I’m not exactly running at my 5k pace when 10 more miles are tacked on (it was more like 10:50-11:00/mi). I’m hoping that now that I’m back into a better weekly running routine, my long runs on the weekends and short speed workouts during the week will help me at least get to a 10:00-10:30/mi pace when running this half marathon.
Treating LSDs with utmost importance – This relates to my increasing my pace goal. I have made it a priority to make time for LSD runs on the weekends, but now it’s all about sticking to those commitments penned in my planner. I don’t exactly categorize the thought of running 8, 10, or 12 miles on a Saturday or Sunday morning as exciting, but I know running them is important. Speaking of LSDs, I have a 10 mile one scheduled for this weekend…
Staying to a schedule as consistently as possible – Again, this is a goal that relates to the other two. In the past, I sometimes had the mentality that if I ran a long run earlier in the week, I could be more lax as far as squeezing in short workouts and weekday runs. It’s only the long runs that count when training for a half marathon, right? Wrong! I’ve learned that lesson now, and understand that a mix of short runs and LSDs are imperative for building the endurance (and speed!) needed to be successful in a half marathon. And this time, I want to not only finish but be successful Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Hydrating like a fish – This is the most important goal for me in terms of half marathon training. No matter how much water I seem to drink per day, I never feel hydrated enough. The summer weather and long runs are not the perfect mix, and even if I plan to run in the early morning, I need to be hydrated. I think waking up each morning and chugging down two full glasses of water may help, but I believe I will need to be more conscious of my water consumption as I continue with training.
Now as an ambassador for SJR, I have been given the exciting opportunity to raffle off a free race registration to any of the SJR races in 2014! You can enter below, and I will have a winner by next Friday:
If you already know you want to sign-up right away (or perhaps you want to run two SJR races…), you can save 10% off race registration with the code: SJRAMB253
Have you run a half marathon yet this year?
