The truth about my half marathon training this year

My training in 2022 turned out to be less than desirable. I finished 2021 on such a high, but I couldn’t get that to carry over into the new year. What was the problem? I can’t nail down just one thing, but I was burnt out on training, family life got busy, and the motivation to do my best and better than before wasn’t in me. 

I spent 2021 getting into the running groove to prepare for a half marathon. I spent most of the year building my base for training. My half-marathon goal race turned out to be a flop, so I signed up for another race a few weeks later, leaving me feeling satisfied. But then the desire burned off.  

A year of running. What happened, what went right, and what went wrong

I kept a very steady race schedule of one race a month. My motivation started to fade the closer we got to our family vacation in April. I had enough of scheduled runs and workouts, but I persisted. Summer rolled around, and I was determined to keep pushing because taking off summer running doesn’t make a fun fall. But the weather was HOT, and the time allowance bumped into the hot temperatures. I needed to stay consistent, and then I caught COVID.  

I had not signed up for any fall races when August rolled around, so to get myself motivated, I signed up for the Texas Bridge Series (two 10k races and a half marathon) and the Dallas Marathon weekend (1 mile, 5k, and half marathon).  

But at the end of September, I suffered some IT band issues, hampered my running even more. I felt confident finishing my September and October 10K races with IT band syndrome, but I didn’t know if I could cross a half marathon finish line. I couldn’t walk any distance without feeling any pain. These issues forced me to buckle down, do my stretches, and strengthen my problem areas. 

I did my training runs, even if they turned into walks, and things started to look up. Finally, in my last long run, I could walk without pain. I decided not to push the race by trying to run, so I walked all 13.1 miles of the half marathon and felt no pain.

Fast forward to now, I’m doing better and incorporating my run/walk intervals into my training. My half marathon is this weekend, and I will try to run some parts of this race but will walk when I need to.  

I plan to be back in full swing for the Louisiana Marathon weekend, where I plan on running the quarter and half marathons. 

What went wrong?

My main running goal for 2022 was to get a faster half marathon, but I can only achieve my goals if I put in the work.  

  1. I stopped working with my running coach because of the extra monthly cost. This mistake may have been because I thought I could take that consistency into a new season. That was not the case.
  2. I should have taken time off between training cycles instead of pushing forward. A break is necessary to keep the mind positive. 
  3. I should have set a firm goal regarding running a faster half marathon. I still needed to develop a plan for achieving my goal. My goal was just an idea because I never implemented the system to make the goal become a reality.
  4. I was not getting great sleep. Sleep is vital, and sometimes I couldn’t make it through the day. 
  5. Running never used to be my workout; it was something I did for fun. I put too much pressure on myself to work out. And then, I became a mom, and my workout time shrank to an hour a day, so running had to be incorporated into my workout routine. Something that shouldn’t be stressful became a burden in my life.  

What went right

  1. When summer came, I wanted to focus on my strength training. I wouldn’t say I like strength training, but I could run for days and days. I knew something needed to change, so I put strength training into my workout schedule. 
  2. I worked hard and stayed patient through my injury. Most people aren’t willing to wait it out and do other things to help things get better. But I took the time to let myself rest when I needed to and kick myself into gear when things were on the line. Most importantly, I took the time to learn the stretches I required and took the time to stretch.
  3. I learned to give myself grace with getting my workouts. If I missed a workout, it was ok. Sometimes I did my best to do the exercise on another day, and other times I just had to let it go. I can’t beat myself up for some days being busier than others. I had to learn to adapt to life and have a healthier mindset about working out.

What’s next

I am seeking my running coach certification. Studying for my running certification is something else I fell behind on this year, but this will be my main goal for 2023. 

I wish I would be training for a marathon in 2023, but I don’t have the right mindset to train for a marathon. I need more hours in the day to prepare. But never say never; I have the itch to run the New York City Marathon. 

But I will train to run a faster half marathon by increasing my run/walk intervals. I also hope to have a better back half a race and cross every finish line with a positive attitude. I sometimes don’t enjoy the moment because I’m thinking about what I could have done better. That’s the right mindset to have. That mindset shows I have the drive to get better and be better. 

I am looking forward to training for the Louisiana Marathon in January! The Louisiana Marathon weekend is my FAVORITE race of the year. The vibes are upbeat and fun, making me excited about running year after year. I plan to run a solid race to set the foundation for my running year. (If you want to run any race during the Louisiana Marathon weekend, use code  BibRaveTLM15Off for 15% off.)

Do you have any fitness goals for 2023?  Please share, and let’s cheer each other on!

Weekly wrap Up #2 2022: half marathon weekend and changing …

Weekly wrap Up #2 2022: half marathon weekend and changing my diet

Welcome to the weekly wrap-up, and it’s late. Work has kept me busy, but I was about to plan things out for the first time and feel a bit “normal.” I changed my diet, meal prepped some food, and the Louisiana Marathon weekend was my favorite race weekend of the year. No excuses; it just needs to get done. Workouts for the week: Monday: 40 min run. I went into the run wanting to take it easy, and I could go in the morning because I didn’t have to go to work. It felt great getting my workout done in…

View Post

Having fun at the Louisiana Marathon weekend

Having fun at the Louisiana Marathon weekend

It’s currently 2am and I can’t sleep.  I really thought I was going to sleep the whole night but I woke up around midnight and couldn’t go back to sleep.  I thought I should do some productive things so I packed up my stuff, uploaded some pictures and now I’m blogging.  Some people sleep well after a marathon, and then there’s me.  There’s no sleeping for me.  This is not news. The Louisiana Marathon weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the year.  There is just something about this race that I just can’t get over.  The atmosphere is…

View Post

Race Recap: The Louisiana Marathon

Race Recap: The Louisiana Marathon

I had no skin in the game here.  I just ran the Mississippi Blues Marathon the week before and I just wanted to finish.  I won’t lie when I tell you, I chose to run the marathon so I could eat some of the delicious food at the finisher festival.  Spoiler alert:  I was too tired and worn out when I finished to enjoy any of the food. As the week went on, I just wanted to do better than I did last year.  I finished last year in 4:57:53 so coming in at 4:56:59 would have been plenty for…

View Post

Race Recap: The Advocate 5K at The Louisiana …

Race Recap: The Advocate 5K at The Louisiana Marathon

The Louisiana Marathon race weekend is one of my favorites of the year. I can’t explain why but it just is. Maybe it’s the energy, the friendly people, the beautiful course and even the great finisher festival. It’s a race I don’t think I’ll be missing. Willie and I usually run the 5K the day before our big races. This year I was running the 5K and the full. Willie was running the 5K and the half. This year the race included the quarter marathon (6.55 miles) and I wish I would have signed up for that instead of the…

View Post

Race Recap: The Louisiana Marathon

Race Recap: The Louisiana Marathon

I love this race because it’s a pretty course, the people are friendly and it’s just an all around good time.  I am so happy to share this race recap with you because this was a very positive experience for me. The morning started off well. I had gotten a good night’s sleep and I woke up in a very positive attitude. After battling some bad mental running issues since Memphis, waking up and feeling this good and excited meant I was already a winner! We arrived at the race and did all the necessary things but we lined up…

View Post

Race Recap: The Advocate 5K at The Louisiana …

Race Recap: The Advocate 5K at The Louisiana Marathon

Hello all!  I’m proud to be typing this blog post as a MARATHONER!  The weather for the weekend was great and complete opposite to Memphis, so I was truly blessed!  Last year was my first year to run this race and I knew I would be coming back.  The race hasn’t gotten too big and everything goes off without any problems.  The race is well organized and the people are fun! I loaded up the cooler with some good food and snacks and we were off. I was trying to keep the eats on track for a little bit of…

View Post

A/B/C Goals for The Louisiana Marathon …

A/B/C Goals for The Louisiana Marathon Race Weekend

It’s the moment I’ve been waiting for: it’s race weekend.  All of my buddies are off running The Houston Marathon though which is a bummer.  There are two lovely ladies I would have liked to celebrate our first marathon finishes with, but we’ll have to wait until Monday for the good times! This race was my first race of 2013 so I’m super excited it’s going to be my first race of 2014.  Last year I did the 5K on Saturday and ran the half marathon on Sunday.  I remember thinking that was the most miles I had ever run…

View Post

Lost and broken

Lost and broken

I hate to do this to you but I’m going to have a “let’s get real” moment with you.  It’s just something I need to get off my chest because I really think it’s been weighing me down.  So here it is: When the St. Jude Marathon was canceled it broke me! I know I ran the miles, but in my mind it wasn’t good enough! I started training for that marathon in June and I did almost every single run on my training plan except for 5 runs and those were always short runs I bailed on.  I invested…

View Post