Half in Half: Training for a Half Marathon in Half the Time You Should

It’s a new year and I am ready to start 2024 full speed ahead! I thrive with new beginnings, setting new intentions for the year and being open to a ton of possibilities ahead of me. This year I was ready to set the bar to a whole new level- I decided to commit to training (and running) a half marathon. One catch though, I am doing it in half the time you should. Come along as I share all my runs, tips, tricks and struggles while stepping (or running) into this new challenge.

Pre-Training Pep Talk

A question I have been getting recently is “Why are you doing this?” This is a fair question, but in my mind, I'm thinking, “Why not?!” I ran cross-country throughout high school, and if I am being honest, I had a love/hate relationship with the sport. I only loved it when I ran well, dropped time on my mile or ran a distance I didn’t think I could reach. I hated the pressure I put on myself, the early morning practices and only feeling like I had to stay with it because I was “good." 2024 is the year of health- both mentally and physically. What better way to challenge myself than to work towards a goal that will push me to become strong and equipped for 13.1 miles and approach it with the right mindset?

It's easy for me to want to take on a challenge and then never follow through. I’ll start strong for a week or so and then get bored or make up an excuse as to why I am over it. This is different. I have my plane ticket booked and the race registration fee paid, there's no going back now. Sometimes I think it takes making the move before you are necessarily ready to truly show up for yourself. I am wrapping up my first week of training in a couple of days and let me say, I am nowhere near ready. But according to my Google calendar, I am set to run this thing in two months.

I am excited to take you all on my training journey and share stories and lessons I'm learning through this process. I am starting at square one. This blog will be a place for me to document this process. If you are thinking about running a mile, a 5K, a half marathon or a marathon- do it! What's stopping you? Set your intention, accept the challenge and embrace the unknown. I am not sure what race day will look like a couple of months from now, but I do know that I am putting in the work to make it happen. I’ll be doing updates every other week, but for now, dust off your pair of running shoes, update your hype playlist and take those first steps (literally) into doing something bigger than yourself!