Two Non-runners Attempt to Train for a Half Marathon!
Is there such a thing as enjoying running during the actual running part? This is the question we tackled as novice runners training for a half marathon. The New York marathon was on November 6th, and after seeing a stream of TikToks and vlogs from the marathon, we were inspired. People who are avid runners make the task seem easy, but after utterly failing at running, we have a newfound respect for anyone who can run over two miles.
Laura – My running background consists of faking injuries in sports to get out of conditioning and a brief spurt of running during covid where I would lie about how far and fast I ran. I would like to add that I opted to play goalie in many sports due to the lack of movement. I also have self-diagnosed running-induced asthma to explain my inability to run for normal periods of time.
Katie – My running background is minimal. I played volleyball and tennis in high school, which are not sports where you have to run long distances. During covid, I began running on a more consistent basis, but never ran routes that were longer than a mile. Any time I began running as a hobby, it never lasted more than a month. I’ve never experienced runners high, and honestly don’t think that the phenomenon actually exists.
Day 1:
- 1 mile: 11.59 minute pace
- We originally planned to begin at 1.5 miles, but after running about .25 miles, we re-evaluated and changed our distance
- Time: 7:15am
- Temperature Outside: mid 60s
- Mindset: low expectations, tired
Review: It was nothing short of terrible. We were slow and had a friend literally running circles around us. What was supposed to be a short, easy run included many stops and an embarrassing result. Laura was sure she would have no problem with 1.5 miles, she was wrong. Kate made a playlist that did not include any energy boosting pump up music, which was clearly the reason we did so poorly.
Day 2:
- 1 mile: 11 minute pace
- Time: 9:00am
- Temp: 40s-50s
- Shaved off a wholeeee minute (11 minutes total)
- Less breaks/stopping (Kate didn’t stop… Laura did…)
Review: Tuesday’s run was slightly better than the first day. We were able to pace ourselves better and not take any breaks. This was a huge improvement! However, we still only ran 1 mile and quickly determined that this half marathon training is going to take many months.
Day 3: Off day
- We were doubling up on running and spin classes, so our legs were dead and needed a break. Hit the Theragun hard!!!! We both experienced a lot of groin pain, probably due to our poor running form.
Day 4: We wanted to change our method, and try to build endurance by running with a time goal rather than distance.
- We ran for 20 minutes straight without stopping
- 1.56 miles
- 12.46 minute pace
- 5:15pm so it was a bit dark
Review: Thursday’s run was the glimmer of hope we needed to actually continue our “training.” Changing our method actually made the run pretty enjoyable, and we both agreed that we could have kept going once we finished. We did run significantly slower, but also longer, so we called it a win. The time of day may have also improved our stamina, as we had both eaten much more and were excited for a night out.
For the future: Neither of us own running shoes, so we won’t be able to level up till we acquire those. We also both have very little drive to keep running. In all honesty, this article was our biggest motivation (non-runners need running representation). For now though, we’ll keep trying! Give us a wave or blow a kiss if you see us shuffling along😘