This is how I ran a half marathon with just about 2 months prep… First thing’s first, I hate running. Yes, I hate it so much I can’t describe it. It feels so lonely. But it doesn’t mean I can’t run and won’t do it. I usually only ever run if my husband sugar-coats it into an activity we’ll do together, obviously we run around a track and he passes by me on his first loop haha Let’s just say I never found it appealing because I can think of so many other things more exciting to do *insert cricket sound* no, but really, I like active sports, competitive sports, or fun things to do with other people. Running is just boring for me and it depresses me when I do it by myself. Luckily, Lisbon is gorgeous and I do love walking by the water for hours on, mostly until the sunset, but sometimes I still go in the evenings.
Since we got here in Lisbon I’ve been procrastinating and giving a bunch of reasons why I haven’t really exercised regularly. For months, I’ve been telling my husband that I’ll join a marathon to force myself to exercise haha! I did tell him that he should join me, unfortunately, (or maybe fortunately) we feel the same way about running. So that was never going to happen, and I think I kinda knew that off the bat. Come January, beaming with the new year’s high I set out to find others who I can convince to do a half marathon with me and with a great selling point that the run will be on the beautiful bridge that only opens for foot traffic once a year, just for this (half) marathon. A couple of people finally bit the idea and SH*T got real!
A few weeks passed hoping it was all a dream, someone registered and I had to register myself right after. EDP Meia Maratona da Lisboa 2019 on March 17th here we come! My friend who’s obviously more excited, was already planning for the training days we’ll be having and I told him that our friends were visiting so we can do it “next week” ahahahaha our friends came and my loving husband told them I registered and they were teasing me to run with them during their 3-day visit… daheck! Even without the bullying, I was aware that I should take this event seriously. Around 2011 – 2014 I used to join organized runs with friends in 10Ks and shorter but it was all for “fun” and I was a lot younger. There was one time my friend and I went straight from a night out and ran with a hangover haha we were a bit late to the run but a photo of us ended up as a cover image for that event with WWF lol! Those were the days… this time is different, maybe I should take it a bit more seriously… Well, I thought I’d take you through my silly journey to March 17th. I used 3 different trackers – Runtastic, Strava and my iPhone Health app which automatically counts every time I lift my phone thus the unexciting numbers on the table.
So that’s it! I didn’t exactly train. I had to unexpectedly book a trip to Las Vegas to visit my grandma and family which to everyone who knew I had a race thought was a bad idea. I managed to squeeze in 2 runs during my 3 weeks there but obviously, that wasn’t close to enough, together with the fact that I mostly was sedentary or the times I went out was to go eat out haha I even considered (many times) to just not run anymore. I arrive back in Lisbon at 11PM on March 12th after a very long flight and I knew I couldn’t do any more runs before the race. On Friday though, I decided to go for a long walk and on Saturday strolled through the forest which maybe also wasn’t such a good idea so close to the day.
Race Day! Cloudy but no chance of rain. Perfect. Carlos and I met at the train station and it took us about 3 train rides and some long walks to get to the start line across the bridge (I was already tired just getting there!). Then the (unheard) gun was shot, people slowly were walking towards the bridge and it was happening. We started jogging and then running, passing and maneuvering the crowd at a very good pace. Then I had a booboo. I experimented on taping my feet to prevent blisters, and instead of helping me it became my downfall. I had to stop after 3K to check on my tape and when I saw that there wasn’t anything wrong I put my shoes back on and continued. Another kilometer and it was pricking again and I had to stop to remove it, voila, it was a huge blister. Luckily it was on the arch of my foot and it didn’t affect my run but that whole process took so long so everyone we passed overtook us and we were almost at the end. (I never realized taking off your shoes and putting them back on took so much time, until then!)
I expected the race to be challenging, physically but more so psychologically. I over prepared and brought too much – 250ml water, 250ml iso, 2 energy bars, skittles, a GU gel, my phone, Body glide, tied a shirt on my waste, a cap, and had a small un-open heat blanket in my drawstring (which I felt bad tossing). It wasn’t that heavy and others were carrying way more than I was but I definitely could have done w lesser things on me, I do feel they were essential maybe in smaller amounts was doable.
I’m very grateful that Carlos was there, who promised he would stay with me until the end, and he did, even after I told him many times to just leave me. I really did want him to go ahead because I knew he could finish in a good time and I felt I was overbearing with my shoe situation and wanting to stop when I felt tired lol he was such a trooper and I think it was highly likely that I would have just quit if he wasn’t there. Running with a friend is always fun and beats the excruciating pain your body is in! Ha!
Overall, I think that even without proper training I could have finished the race in better time (eff that tape!). When I got to the finish line my friend said that I looked like “nothing happened” and my husband told her that I was good at not overexerting myself LOL I had a banana, a Whopper at Burger King, 2 kinds of ice cream and a soda. Life was good again. We went home and I made sure to foam roll, slowly but surely, I also took an Ibuprofen just in case. I woke up the next day, muscles are sore but I am mobile :p
Everyone says that once you do it you get hooked. I remember joining all the runs before because my friends ran with me but I can’t see myself doing a marathon by myself. I get that people want to beat their previous times, maybe collect medals, tell their friends their awesome by joining hundreds of marathons around the world but it doesn’t strike me in that level much. And it’s expensive! This half marathon was €23, sure other runs are cheaper but on average they’re costly especially full marathons, not counting the travel expenses, food and accommodations some people need when they run outside their cities. I guess I’ll just leave these marathons to the rich haha Also, my husband and I (most of the time) feel guilty when we have to ride a plane so that might contribute to my views too.
I’m up for trying to do the same half marathon next year just to prove I don’t suck that much (eff that tape!) and maybe I’d try some marathons too. But this didn’t really create a “bug” and I’m not rushing to join another one anytime soon. I’m not closing my doors for some bike-swim combos :p I still feel a “dislike” for running and now that it’s done I’m a bit pressed to find something I can do regularly (physical) here in Lisbon. Maybe stick to swimming for now.
Are you planning to run long distance? How was your first half-marathon race?
The Remote Island Girl 