Second Half Marathon Syndrome

8 miles, done 🙂

I was beginning to get worried I’d never hit mileage above 6 at the rate I was going. Training for this half marathon has been one big struggle-fest thanks to the endless winter chill we’ve been having in New York. It finally hit me though about 2 weeks ago that I need to get serious and start actually training for this race or I’m risking injury. Since then I’ve been trying to stick to my weekly running plan of 2 short runs a week (4-5 miles) plus one longer run.

This morning I set out telling myself I had to run 8 miles. No chickening out early, no excuses. Planning my walking breaks ahead of time really helped me when I was training last year, so I decided to stick with that method and allow myself a quick walking break after every 2 miles. When I’m actually racing I will most likely  only slow down for water and refueling, but at this point in my training it helps me mentally knowing I have a slight “break” every 2 miles, aka roughly every 20 minutes. I guess it worked because I did in fact do my 8 miles!

It also helped that the weather was kind of perfect. At first it was a bit chilly but started warming up. Towards the end of my run the breeze felt rather refreshing. Fingers crossed that mild spring temperatures are going to stick around.

I think some of my reluctance to train this winter has also been thanks to a case of “second half marathon syndrome” where I kept telling myself if I can do one half marathon, obviously I can do another easy peazy! When I started training for my first half marathon 5 miles was a BIG BIG deal to me. Now I’m filled with this sense of “eh been there done that” since my first half marathon went smoothly.

The first time around there was this legitimate fear that I would never make it to 13.1 miles. I’m not sure what I thought would happen to me during the race, but I had these horrifying thoughts about not finishing the race for one reason or another. Now I know I can run a half marathon. I can do a 10 mile training run and still smile afterwards… so I got a little cocky this time around thinking that I didn’t need to train as diligently as I did last summer for my first half. Even though running feels easier now than it did last summer, I still have to put in the miles and build up to those double digit numbers safely.

Today was the first day I felt that confidence that I can definitely run another half marathon. I’ve been worried about minor aches and pains I’ve been feeling in my hips and knees, but didn’t have any issues today once I got into my running groove. So here’s to sticking with my plan from now ’til April 27th :).

I haven’t posted my workout plan in awhile and thought I’d keep you updated on what’s on the agenda for this week. I’ve found it helpful for me to go back and read  what workouts I did at this point in half marathon training the last time around. It also keeps me accountable to get those runs in!!!!

Workout plan for the week:

Monday: Body Camp class @ Body Space Fitness
Tuesday: Short run (4-5 miles)
Wednesday: Uplifting Strength @ Uplift + Fitness Night Out even with work (aka play Capture the Flag!)
Thursday: Short run (4-5 miles) + maybeeee yoga or barre
Friday: 45 minute cycling class @ Revolve 
Saturday: 9 mile run woot woot!
Sunday: rest!

Question of the day: What’s your workout plan for this week?
Anybody else suffer from second half marathon syndrome?