After the triathlons were over I thought I better at least think about the half marathon I was supposed to be completing this year, errr that didn’t end up happening as life just got away from me.
I did my first ever half marathon with NO training at all. Eeep! It’s definitely not something I would be recommending at all.
I knew that I could go out and do a 10km run comfortably with no training as I have done it a handful of times before in my life. I also knew that it would come easier to me than the triathlons and that I was mentally strong enough to get through it.
I think a lot of running a longer distance is a mental thing, you can talk yourself either into it or out of it. If you are mentally strong it can definitely help push you through those KM ahead of you.
I had no great expectations for my time given my complete lack of training, although I had always hoped to do a half marathon in under two hours.
Fast forward to the start of the half marathon and I was surprised at how casual it was. We were moved onto the road and I walked my way to the side near the front but not too far forward and the gun went off right as I was turning my iPod on.
I was wearing my ankle strap for the run and I wasn’t too sure how it would go. I was torn between not using it at all and giving it a go. About 3km in I decided that it had to go and I couldn’t do the whole half marathon with it on.
I bargained with myself and said I needed to make it too the 6km mark drink station before I stopped to take it off. It was tough getting through those last couple of km with it on but as soon as I whipped it off I felt such a relief I knew it was the best thing to do.
I was then stuck with holding my ankle strap for the rest of the run, unless I managed to see Kyle when we ran past the start point at about the 7.5km mark, unfortunately I didn’t spot him so had to hold onto it for the rest of the run.
The 8.5km mark saw me not paying attention to where I was running and I rolled my ankle (yep the one I had screwed up last year and wore the ankle support for!), I knew it wasn’t too serious so just ran it off and then at the 11.5km mark I did exactly the same thing again!
It was unlike me to be so careless while running and I realised that the signals from my brain most likely weren’t quite connecting with my feet so around the 13km mark I grabbed a couple of Jelly beans out of my back pocket and chewed on them.
I didn’t roll my ankle again as I made sure I grabbed a cup of water and had a few sips then dumped the rest over my head at each station, and every second station or so I grabbed a lolly to chew on to keep me going. 
The 13km mark was a milestone for me because I knew that every step after that point was the further-est I had ever run in my life before!
The rest of the half marathon was rather uneventful with me bargaining with myself at each km, make it to the next km marker and you can have a jelly bean. Make it too the marker after that and we were almost at a drinks station, make it too the marker after that and you can walk to the next cone etc.
In the end I ended up walking two times during the half marathon, both times would have been for less than 20 seconds and were just what I needed to keep myself pushing on to the end.
I had put on my 2 hour half marathon Rock My Run mix and when I was almost at the end realised that I hadn’t come to the final track yet which meant that there was a chance that I could meet my under two hours goal.
The final track was playing right through that last km and when I crossed the finish line it just stopped so I knew I was pretty darn close to that 2 hour mark!
The final results came out and I finished in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 21 seconds!! I even somehow managed to wrangle top 10 in my category – although I’m not sure how many were in it. I am super proud of my results for the half marathon, especially considering the lack of training.
While the Half marathon was definitely a huge challenge for me and I was ridiculously sore even a few hours afterwards (something a long hot soak in Epsom salts couldn’t even begin to fix), unlike the Triathlons, I would definitely consider doing another half marathon!
Have you ever done a half marathon? Would you consider doing one?
wow that is crazy!! Imagine if you’d trained! Depressing for me though as even when I trained I haven’t yet cracked the under 2 hours hah. You must be a natural. Awesome stuff
You should try the Ohope express, 100% flat course pretty much one minor hill which I wouldn’t really consider a real hill, makes it easier for PB’s. But yes I have always been a decent runner, swimming on the other hand :/ Although to be honest I doubt I would have done much better with training.
Wow that’s really impressive you were able to do a half marathon with no training! I haven’t done one myself but I’ve just signed up to my first 10km which is pretty much a marathon for me. Love how your post really describes the mentality of running though – it’s such a massively overlooked part of it (as I am learning!). Bargaining with yourself is what I try and do.
PS: I am a new reader of your blog and first time ‘commenter’, love it 🙂
Thanks so much for reading Shelley, so lovely to have a comment from you too! Running any distance is definitely a mental game, just knowing that up front definitely helps I reckon! Good luck for your first 10km!! P.s I am a Chartered Accountant as well #teamgeek
It definitely does! Thanks 🙂 Haha yes I did see that! #teamgeek for sure!
Wow that is so amazing. I really admire your motivation – I don’t think I could make it to the next street without some training!
Congrats on your first HM 🙂 glad it hasn’t put you off.
I think I’ve done 7 HMs in total and really enjoy the distance. Like you say, it’s that combination of mental and physical toughness that makes it a really good challenge. I’ve done a couple without much training but I’m a lot older than you and came to running late in life 😉 so when I don’t train I’m a bit over 2 hours. An injury has been keeping me off my feet but getting good treatment now so will hopefully be back to new in a few months.
As for those pesky multi sport things, hope to see you at the Scorching duathlons later in the year 🙂