________________________________________________________________________________________________
Self Health, Inc. September 2010
Newsletter
Kate Cronan Sawert, MA
The Over-40 Woman’s
Guide to Half-Marathon Training:
It all started in the autumn of 2005. I was going through a dreadful break-up when
one of my dearest friends (a marathon runner) said the portentous words, “You
know, we could try running a half-marathon.”
By way of history, our highest mileage together to that
point had been a 10 K (roughly 6 miles) at a blistering 15-minute mile pace,
and a half marathon is 13.1 miles. It’s
the .1 that gets you.
After manually returning my lower jaw to its former location,
I tentatively agreed. Beth pointed me to
Hal Higdon’s website, which confidently proclaims that if you’ve been running
for at least a year (I had) and could comfortably complete between 3 and 6
miles (I could), then you could use Mr. Higdon’s 18-week novice training
schedule to pull off a half-marathon.
For reference: http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/Mar00novice.htm
Since I had no physical excuses and I definitely needed the
mental therapy, it looked like I was destined to run this previously unheard of
(for me) distance.
I trained faithfully, and Beth and I pulled it off together
in January, 2006. It was a fabulous
feeling of accomplishment, but afterward, I pretty much retired from distance
running. I figured I was done.
Until this summer.
There was Beth (I’ve mentioned she’s one of my dearest friends?),
sitting with me under the stars on a moonless Flagstaff night. We were sipping wine with good friends and I
was enjoying a new romance; utterly unprepared when she flew in well below my
radar with the following:
“I was thinking, maybe we could run the other half of that
marathon this January..?”
I had been having such a heavenly evening. But there it was – the gauntlet had been innocently
thrown down and there was no turning back now.
Fast forward to race week.
I more or less followed the training schedule, and when the race (at my
pace, I use the term loosely) was one week out, I completed my longest training run:
12 miles. And as an homage to
other runners, I wanted to immortalize the experience for anyone who might
undertake the same journey.
1. Wake up 2 hours
before departure time.
2. Silence loud inner
voice which groans, “You’ve got to be
kidding me.”
3. Prepare
carbohydrate/electrolyte beverage to bring along in Camelback, pack energy gel,
extra socks, iPod, cell phone and some ibuprofen to appease the over-40
musculoskeletal gods.
4. Suit up, warm up,
and depart.
5. Mile 1: Sluggish – legs as unhappy as if I hadn’t run
a step in the last 4 months.
6. Mile 2: Slowly warming up to the idea; Nice day. Roadrunner crossed my path.
7. Miles 3 & 4 : Feeling downright perky, enjoying my 70’s
musical selection. Beautiful day.
8. Mile 5: Administer
first Gu packet.
9. Mile 6: Experience
combined high of new carbohydrates and a few endorphins coursing through my
bloodstream. What a great day!
10. Mile 7: Change socks.
Give cheerful thumbs up to passing motorists concerned at the sight of
my bare feet on the median.
11. Mile 8: This
isn’t bad at all! So glad I had the
foresight to agree with Beth! Where’s
the other Gu packet…? A hawk circles poetically overhead.
12. Mile 9: Entering trance state. Pretty sure I see Elvis about 10 paces ahead,
leading the way.
13. Mile 10: Definitely in the Twilight Zone…having the
occasional out of body experience, calling on Hindu deity Ganesha to inspire me
onward. Occasionally repeating mantra
from #2 above.
14. Mile 11: Endorphins have worn off – have to stop and
walk for a song or two in deference to right hip pain.
15. Mile 12: Euphoria returns. Elvis has been joined by Jim Morrison and
they part ways at my humble home, unfurling a toilet paper finish line between
them, through which I burst triumphantly, arms flung overhead, overjoyed to
still be standing.
And so it was.
I share this because, if I can do it, anyone with a similar
level of fitness and lack of musculoskeletal contraindications can.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!
Best,
Katie
