RunAPalooza 2018: My First Half Marathon!

Hello? Hello? Is this thing still on?

I know it's been a long time since I blogged, and a lot has happened since then (new nephew, adventures at work, changes in position at work, and ALL the races), but I am back!

The title of this post gives it away, and if you follow me on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram, you know the news:

I'M TRAINING FOR A HALF MARATHON!

Say wha?!

Yup, on April 21, I will be racing 13.1 miles in Asbury Park at RunAPalooza!

I was toying around with the idea of a half on and off for a few years. After my 10K last May which didn't go as well as I hoped (I finished, but it wasn't pretty), I swore I would never do anything longer than that again.

Fast forward six months, and the beginning of November, which was one of the biggest race weekends nationwide: NYC Marathon, Rock 'n Roll Savannah, Disney World's Wine and Dine, and the Indy Monumental. That weekend left me wondering if I could do a half. Yup, still thinking about it.

The first I looked at was the New Jersey Half on April 29. After I saw the $100 registration fee, I immediately said, "No way." Plus it is a HUGE event with a full marathon and marathon relay the same day. With everything starting at Monmouth Park. Uh, no.

So then I checked out the Asbury Park Half at RunAPalooza on April 21. I knew it was a much smaller event than the NJ Marathon weekend, with a 5K and marathon relay that morning too. The kicker is that the relay starts in Seaside Heights. That alone made that race seem more appealing. 

I also asked the Old Bridge Road Runners which they would recommend. Well, a few said the Brooklyn Half. Uh, no thanks. I didn't want to go that far for my first, plus that day is the same day as a local 5K that I've been doing since I started racing in 2012. That aside, the majority seemed to like RunAPalooza. Yup, still not signed up.

One Wednesday night, I was taking Ride and Power with my friends Carol and Jen (like I always do). I mentioned to both of them that I was thinking about a half marathon. Both of them told me that I can totally do this, and as Jen put it, "There's no way you're not finishing that."

You can say that was pretty much the final push I needed. 

About 24 hours later, I took the plunge and signed up!

13.1, here I come!

I actually found a training plan that only has three days a week of running: Hal Higdon's Half Marathon 3. Three days of running (a "normal" run, a long run, and a third run that rotates between pace, tempo, and normal) and two days of cross-training. I hate running consecutive days since my run streak in 2016, and I wanted to be able to have my gym time too. I adjusted it to have an extra two weeks of training (it's normally a 12 week plan-I made it 14 to give myself a third double digit run and a taper week).

I'm on my THIRD week of training already! Crazy! I will be using this to recap my training week by week up to the race. 

Here's to the craziest, biggest race adventure yet!