HALF (NO PUN) ASS TRAINING
NYC Marathon (Nov. 2017)
I also have this issue with full-marathon training. At the beginning of every training cycle, I’m so overcome with putting 13.1 miles in my running book. However, about halfway through my training plan, I start losing interest because of several factors – not meeting time goals, the weather, injuries, life getting in the way, a full moon, etc. What typically happens: I’ll take 1-2 weeks off to find my ‘why”, but it becomes difficult to get back into the groove. Actually, I don’t mind taking skipping a couple of weekday training runs, but I lose my steam once I start missing my long runs or shaving miles off of them.
PROCRASTINATION THE DAY BEFORE RACE DAY
I am getting better at this one
NYC Marathon (Nov. ???)
After a few struggles with race day logistics, I realized that I’m one of those people that needs to prepare EVERYTHING the night before. Normally, I would lay out the main things that I would need for the race (e.g. clothes and shoes). For additional odds and ends, I would say to myself: Oh, you can grab those things (e.g. your hat, gloves, calf sleeves, etc) right before leaving. What happens the next day? I cannot find what the hell I need so I start tearing up my drawers, looking for said item(s), and stressing the f*ck out. Now, EVERYTHING is prepared by 5 pm (at the latest). By everything, I mean clothes, breakfast, and even putting the coffee in the moka pot. Since moving to VA, I really had to nip this procrastination in the bud because race day logistics now involve driving to the race and finding parking.
TOO MANY PRE-RACE CELEBRATIONS
I’m getting better at this
Rock N Roll Madrid Half Marathon (Oct. 2021)
On several occasions, I have been known to hang out late on a Saturday or Sunday before a half or full marathon. Prime example: Rock n Roll Madrid Half Marathon. Out of the gate, I changed my registration from a full to a half marathon. The night before the race, I told myself that I would let the hubby hang out with his friends, and I would return to the Airbnb by 9:30 pm at the latest. So what happened? Yeah, I was drinking gin-tonicas with my husband and his friends until about 3:30 am for a race that started at 8 am. Let’s just say that I was still a bit drunk when starting the race, at least the organizers started the race about an hour late. That half was a struggle, and there was some vomit involved around mile 6 or 7. BUT, I powered through and finished…barely.
I take back the downgrading from the full to the half. If memory serves me correctly, I originally registered for the full marathon (scheduled in April), but it was canceled because of the pandemic. The organizers rescheduled the full/half for Oct, which fortunately coincided with our trip. Since I was running NYC Marathon in November, I was like there is NO way in hell I’m running TWO full marathons within 30 days.
LOL something similar happened with my 1st NYC Marathon experience. Normally, folks are super scared before their 1st marathon. What was I doing the night before? Having bud lights (you know, for hydration) in Hell’s Kitchen. In this case, I wasn’t too bad because I was home by 10 pm.
LOWERING MY STANDARDS (AKA THINKING LESS OF MYSELF)
Rock n Roll Va Beach Half Marathon (May 2021)
Since my running fitness has gone downhill over the past few months . . . years, I have fallen into a cycle of running a half or full marathon just to finish instead of having some sort of time goal. Sometimes, this causes me to go into a race thinking what’s the point. Followed by placing myself in slower corrals where I will not feel the need to really keep up.
succumbing to Too many distractions while running
I've gotten better with this one.
NYC Half Marathon (Mar 2014)
For quite a few races, I would fall into the trap of taking a bunch of pictures during the race. While this should not significantly affect my time, I think it does because it throws me off of my grove. Recently, I have limited myself to taking 1-3 pictures while I run. Come to think about it, snapping photos probably contributed to me not meeting my 1:45 time goal for the NYC Half back in the day (above pic). The first time running the NYC Half, the entire race was in Manhattan (now, you start in Brooklyn and finish in Manhattan). If memory serves me correctly for my 1st NYC Half, we ran 6 miles in Central Park, through Times Square, down Westside Hwy, and finished in Battery Park. Since I had to wait in line to poop during the first 6 miles, I figured that I would not make my 1:45 goal. So, I took a bunch of pictures and probably spent anywhere from 60-90 seconds just to get the “perfect” selfie in Times Square (and it still didn’t come out great). The NYC Half is one of two times a year that Times Square is closed to motor vehicles (the other is New Year’s Eve), so of course it was a perfect reason to get that “perfect” selfie. So what was my official time? It was somewhere around 1:48. Even with waiting in a porta-potty line to take a poop during the race, I might have hit my 1:45 goal IF I didn’t BS with taking a bunch of pictures. Since I lived in NYC for at least 12 years at that point, it’s not like I was taking pictures of things that I have not seen a million times before.
Not experimenting
Norfolk Harbor Half Marathon (Nov. 2022)
No, I am not referring to trying new things on race day, I’m talking about not trying new things while training. To this day, I have yet to try any Nunn or Honey Stinger products. I’m the type of person who is like if it ain’t broke then don’t try to fix it. However, I probably should change my mindset to if it ain’t broke, why not try something to make it better.
NOT RUNNING FOR CHARITY
Brooklyn Half Marathon (Apr. 2022)
Ok, I don’t think this is a mistake per se, but it’s something that I have always brushed off doing. Perhaps, running for a charity would really help me stay focused and run for a reason outside of a time goal (or running just to finish). In terms of focus, several charities tend to have group runs and coaches that can help runners meet their goals. I guess my main issue with running for charity is feeling like I’m begging people for money to run.