Highlights 22/45 Half Marathon Challenge
This article is part of the major series that I called 45-day half-marathon challenge. You can read my whole story here:
My longest run so far was 12km. Today (Tuesday) I didn’t want to go home without setting a new high. I made a few mistakes that wont repeat again (hopefully) which I will tell you all about in a few moments.
This is not my first time to run on a treadmill. As a matter of fact, I used to prepare for HM during winter, and I would go to gym to run. I think this is an excellent way to improve your endurance since you are training in the perfect environment and all you need to do is to run. You don’t need to look for other people on the track, potholes, cars, stop lights or any dogs that might chase you.
One interesting thing was that I had a guy running next to me on another treadmill. It was weird but after a few kilometers I realized he is also in for a longer run. Subconsciously I thought I wanted to challenge his endurance, which I did. He took a small break around 5th kilometer, and jumped back on to continue to 8th kilometer. He then jumped off. (Win #1)
The way these treadmills are positioned is that you are basically staring at the white wall while the gym and all the equipment is behind you.
Entertainment
I like to do something else while running, as you know. It helps to keep my thoughts away from suffering. :) This time I wanted to go back and listen to Simon Sinek and Tom Bilyeu, and their talk from 2016.
Mistake #1
I started running around 9PM and it was still quite hot. One thing you lack when running still is all the air blowing in your face, so your ability to cool yourself down with the incoming air virtually does not exist. My first mistake was that I had a shirt made of cotton. After 15 minutes of running it was weighing almost 0.5 kg since it was soaked in sweat. Wear polyester and those running shirts next time! They will help you lose that sweat, keep you light on your feet and cool you down.
Mistake #2
I also had a white, thick, cotton, tall socks that probably didn’t help but I usually like to wear them while running because my shoes fit nicely with them.
Mistake #3
Didn’t take a break to hydrate, even though I had almost 2 liter of water with me. I just wanted to run and keep the momentum going.
Giving Up
And of course, you always get this moment. My moment was around 6th kilometer, then another on at 8th.
Second Gear
It is amazing how your body works. It is almost like there is another gear that automatically kicks in after some time. For me, this was at 12th kilometer. I slowed down just a bit, and I felt like I could have gone for another few kilometers. But I will leave that for next time.
Race Day Conditions
Keep in mind that your race will be different in a way that every 3–4km you will get some refreshment, and then you will have people around watching the race. All of this will result in stronger adrenaline rush and you will generally perform better than you do in your training. Plus, it is OK to be broken after the race, but you can’t afford to give 120% every training, because you have another day to go.
You can check my stats in the link above.
