I DID IT!!
This morning I woke up at 4:30am so that I could get to Columbus around 7am for the race. After 12 weeks of consistent training, I'm happy to say that I accomplished my long time goal of running a half marathon in 1:44:28 & I placed 22nd out of 664 women! There are a number of things that I gained from this experience and I highly recommend that anyone complete at least at some point in their lifetime.
1) I learned that if you REALLY want to do something, just decide you're going to do, and do it. Don't waste time second guessing yourself or making up excuses. In late June, I decided once and for all that I was going to run this half marathon, and had to very deliberately push out any doubt from my mind that tried to sneak in. I just signed up, found myself a training plan, and got straight to it!
2) I lost weight! Over the course of my training, I lost about 10 pounds! So.... that's pretty cool :)
3) I learned about my potential. My goal was to finish under 2 hours but I learned I could've decreased that time goal a little bit. With the right consistency and amount of training, your potential to improve is insane. I hope to get even faster!
4) I learned that a schedule is key! Without a doubt, this schedule (below) combined with my strict sleep schedule was key to my accomplishment. When I started training, I did my best to wake up at 6am, run first thing in the morning, and go to bed by 10pm. I feel like anyone can create their own variation of this schedule, but consistency is very important. If I didn't run in the morning, I found it way more difficult to find time at night. That being said, I still found time to do it, and did not once stray from this schedule (even in Week 8 when I shredded my legs playing volleyball & in Week 11 when I was as super sick).
note: "Week 0" was an optional "pre-training" week
5) Super cliche, but I learned that I can do anything I put my mind too! I hope to apply the same amount of devotion and consistency to other goals in my life!
xoxo - Michelle
