12 miles tomorrow

[Anonymous]

I am almost at my half marathon miles. Tomorrow is my longest run so far. Any tips as a first time runner?

[Anonymous]

Practice your planned race nutrition if you can. Sounds like you’ll be out there for more than 90 minutes for 12 miles, so some simple carbs will be good for your recovery even though the run tomorrow won’t be at your race day pacing. Temps look good!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Practice your planned race nutrition if you can. Sounds like you’ll be out there for more than 90 minutes for 12 miles, so some simple carbs will be good for your recovery even though the run tomorrow won’t be at your race day pacing. Temps look good!

Thank you for your post. I was getting stressed out that I would not be at my race day pacing. I am too hard on myself. I needed to hear it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Practice your planned race nutrition if you can. Sounds like you’ll be out there for more than 90 minutes for 12 miles, so some simple carbs will be good for your recovery even though the run tomorrow won’t be at your race day pacing. Temps look good!

Thank you for your post. I was getting stressed out that I would not be at my race day pacing. I am too hard on myself. I needed to hear it.

Sure thing! I’m actually sort of surprised any beginner training program has you running 12 miles for a long run. That weekend long run should definitely not be at full tilt.

Either way, remember what you are doing. You are stressing the body and letting it adapt. It takes people several years to become proficient at running to where they can consistently crank out 40-50 mile weeks. It’s a violent sport that requires a lot of muscle and tendon adaptation.

[Anonymous]

How did it go?

[Anonymous]

OP here. Well, I just did it. I wasn’t exactly the fastest but at least I know what to expect for the full distance. I really liked my gummies

[Anonymous]

Great job and good luck with your half marathon! You’ve got this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great job and good luck with your half marathon! You’ve got this.

Thank you. I am proud of myself. There were points on that run where I just wanted to stop, but I kept moving even if I had to walk for a bit. I still have until Mother’s Day weekend, so any further advice is appreciated.

I definitely need to rethink my running clothes. Chaffing was an issue, which I found out when I showered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Well, I just did it. I wasn’t exactly the fastest but at least I know what to expect for the full distance. I really liked my gummies

Yay! Always nice when you confirm mid-run that the fuel you’ve chosen is actually tasty and works for you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great job and good luck with your half marathon! You’ve got this.

Thank you. I am proud of myself. There were points on that run where I just wanted to stop, but I kept moving even if I had to walk for a bit. I still have until Mother’s Day weekend, so any further advice is appreciated.

I definitely need to rethink my running clothes. Chaffing was an issue, which I found out when I showered.

Body glide is your friend.

[Anonymous]

Yes, body glide. You can order it from Amazon or buy directly at REI. I use a ton of it for triathlon.

[Anonymous]

Congrats, OP!

Buying new (non-chafing) running clothes is one of the best parts of running! And yes, Body Glide is good stuff.

Very excited for you. Have you raced before? If you haven’t, or even if you have, it can be a real confidence booster to run a 5 K and reacquaint yourself with all the pre-race hoopla.

[Anonymous]

As a 15 year marathoner veteran, I remember barely getting through my first 12 mile run. How would I ever do 26 miles if 12 was so grueling?

Well, here's the thing. If you are running at least 3x per week, with 1 long run, each week the previous mileage is easy, and it's the new distance that you struggle to complete.

So 12 miles is rough. Next week's back off long run is an "easy" 10. The following week steps up to 14. You will probably easily do 12 miles, then struggle to compete 14. See what just happened? 12 miles was easy/doable, it was mile 13 & 14 that was the challenge. Then according to most plans, you will drop back to an easy 10 mile long run.

Guess what happens in 2 weeks when the long run is 16 miles? 14 miles is "fine", but mile 15 & 16 are the challenge.

Boy, I wish I had figured this out back then, that it's not that 26 miles is hard, it's just that running 2 miles further than your previous longest distance is hard. So just keep plugging away, slowly increasing your long run range, and before you know it, running a 26 mile training run will be nothing, and you will be completely ready for the eventual race.

[Anonymous]

Oh, I'm 01:07, just saw you're doing a half and up to 12 miles at this point. Well, you are practically almost at 13, so if you're training calls for 12, the 13.1 race will be really easy. Use the 12 mile training run to test out all your clothing, gear and edibles. On race day, just go with what has worked well in the past as far as shoes, socks, clothes, fuel.

Relax knowing you can easily do 12, so 13.1 is just a bit more and you will have a very fun race day.

[Anonymous]

Yes, lots of bodyglide, including all over your feet before you put on your socks. Then under elastic waistbands, bra straps, between thighs.

Plan when you will start taking your gummies to kick in a mile or 2 later.

Taking a short walking break is a wonderful way to preserve your running muscles. My marathon group actually ran the full distance faster doing 3 min run/ 1 min walk, as opposed to 4 min run. Because we were resting our running muscles periodically and using our walking muscles instead, when we did the 3 min run cycle, we did a faster run since those muscles were rested and not fatigued.