thebabyperks

On Saturday I completed my second half marathon in Kansas City. The weather was perfect and the atmosphere was incredible. I completed my first half marathon in April and my training was a little different than this time around. I still did a 12 week training program, but I found that I wasn't enjoying running 3 times a week like I was back in the spring. I made the decision around week 5 to only run 2 times a week while also focusing on strength training 3 times a week. During my first running session I would do a short or medium length run and my second run of the week would focus on increasing my mileage. This was so helpful in getting me to actually complete my long training sessions because I had the flexibility of choosing what day fit my long training session the best.

I completed my first half in 2 hours and 13 minutes but I knew I could get closer to the 2 hour mark which is honestly why I ran the KC race. While I wanted to run in under 2 hours, my times when training were around the 9:30-10:30/mile pace. With this in mind my goal was to finish in 2 hours and 5 minutes. I lined up with the 9:30/mile pace (2:05 finish time) and began running. Miles 1-10 had some hills and challenging points but I honestly felt so much better than I did when running my first half (probably because the weather was significantly better, my nutrition was also a lot better). Miles 10-13.1, though, felt like 6 miles. It was so hilly. The race had so many spectators which really boosted everyone's mood, but what wasn't great was them at mile 10 saying it was all downhill from there because it wasn't. Not even close. Miles 10-12 were excruciating, but finally at mile 12 the spectators were right and the last mile was downhill. I flew down that hill toward the finish line. When I crossed I was just a little bit behind the 2:05 pacers and I thought I didn't meet my goal (which would've been fine, I was just proud of myself for doing it), but when I got my ticket I saw that I finished in 2:03! I seriously beamed with pride.

The KC Half Marathon was just what I needed to celebrate what was a tough week of classes before fall break started. I love being a part of the running community, everyone was so encouraging the entire race.

With my race recap being done, though, what are my future plans?

I love running, I always have. I've been running on and off since elementary school in a variety of Turkey Trots, 5Ks, relay races, etc. I've decided that I'm going to take a bit of a break from running and work on getting my strength back to where it was this summer. I saw a lot of positive changes in my body composition and I would love to make even more progress.

I've ran for 24 weeks out of the year and I am so excited to switch up my training. I am going to give myself a few rest days to recover from my half, but then I'll be ready to hit the gym. I'll be sure to keep you all updated on how my training goes!

Until next time,
Taylor xx