Half-marathon training

2 weeks tomorrow it is the Liverpool Half-Marathon! I can't believe it is nearly here, I still don't feel quite ready. At the moment, my longest run has been 8 miles. Tomorrow I have a 10 mile run scheduled. I will be slow, but I know I can do it. My aim at the moment is to do it without stopping (even if that means walking at points or slowing down, I don't want to STOP!) and hopefully within 2 hours 30 minutes. It is my first half marathon so whatever time I do, it will be a personal best that I can aim to smash in my next half.

My race pack arrived on Monday. The route actually includes part of my regular runs, around Otterspool Promenade and Sefton Park, so I'm quite excited to be doing it with 8,000 other runners.
My training hasn't exactly gone to plan. Firstly, I started a new job in the new year which exhausted me for about 3 weeks. While I tried to fit in runs at the weekend, I wasn't upping my mileage as I should have because I already felt exhausted after everyday and didn't want to wipe myself out. Then, the snow arrived. I put off my running for a few days until it started to melt a bit.

It didn't go too well though as I ended up hurting my ankle. Running in half melted/frozen snow is not good. Training for a spring race over winter has been the hardest thing really. The dark and cold do not really make you excited about going for a run after work. Layering is difficult - wear too much and you end up sweaty once you get warmed up, wear too little and you'll be freezing while warming up. Your lips and hands end up chapped from the cold (wearing running gloves again leaves you sweaty, or at least it does me). However, some days the cold really makes you run faster compared to hotter days in the summer when the sun seems like a burden on you.

February has been the month when my training has finally 'clicked'. I've been going out for runs three times a week and also visiting the gym once a week for some cross training/weight training.

It's been quite tiring and won't lie that I'm not looking forward to toning down the training after the race. However, it's really given me the running bug again and I'm determined this year to break my 10k PB too.

Anyone else training for a Spring race? How's it going?