My first half marathon - lessons learned

On June 1, 2014 I ran 13.1 miles for the first time in the Windermere Half Marathon in Spokane. I'm certainly glad I did it but I have to say it was hard. Here's what I learned...

What I will do again

• Train with friends. I had Linda and Sarah to run with during work lunch breaks and Brenna to run my long runs with on the weekends and that was key for successful training.
• Race with friend(s). I had Brenna by my side for the race and for that I am so grateful. It meant I had someone to anxiously wait with before the race and someone to push me when I wanted to quit during the race.
• Recruit cheerleaders. We had Matt, Luca, Colin, Evelyn, Ciaran and Finn following along the course with us and then I say other friends along the way which just gives you that added boost of energy every so often. 
• Hang with the right people. I have to thank Matt for being such a good support during my training and for being so proud of me. And thank people like Linda who kept me accountable and reminded me to have fun with it. So grateful.

What I will do differently

• Start with base mileage. I went from running 0 miles to 13.1 in twelve weeks and that was a lot for my body to handle. If I had been running at least 5 miles on a regular basis before my training plan started, I would have been much better off.
• Run more. I followed Hal Higdon's Novice 2 Training Plan and it was good, it did get me across the finish line, but I'd add more week day mileage to go along with the long runs and probably stretch it out to be longer than 12 weeks so I could have more than one week running distances like 10-12 miles. I felt GREAT six miles in and wanted to quit at 10/11 miles so I want to push it so the feeling I had at six miles lasts longer into the race.
• Eat differently. I don't know what the magic combination is for me leading up to my race day but my stomach could have been much better off than it was for this race. 
• Break the rules. I stupidly didn't wear headphones for the race since the race rules say they are discouraged. Never again.