Today’s Friday Five linkup is a topic that I’m passionate about. My co-hosts Courtney, Mar, and I picked Five Reasons to RACE! Errrr, no wait. We picked Five Reasons to RUN!
Wait, which one is it? The answer? Either! Both!
We’re not the Theme Police, we just love to toss out a topic and see how YOU put your own spin on the theme and make it your own. In honor of completing my fifth half marathon of 2014 last Saturday at the Baltimore Running Festival, I picked Five Reasons to Run a Half Marathon. Get it? Five half marathons in 2014, and this is the Friday Five… see what I did there?
First, let’s recap the five half marathons I’ve done this year – this is the Friday Five, after all:
- Disney Princess Half Marathon in Florida – this was the second part of the Glass Slipper Challenge.
- Seashore Classic Half Marathon in Delaware – a nice, beachy, local-feel race.
- Frederick Half Marathon in Maryland – my “Goldilocks race”. Not too big, not too small.
- ZOOMA Annapolis Half Marathon in Maryland – this is a sure thing for 2015 since I’m a ZOOMA Ambassador again for 2015 (use CYNTHIA15 for a ZOOMA discount!)
- Baltimore Running Festival Half Marathon in Maryland – sick, runny nose, but yeah, I ran that thing anyhow.
I achieved “Half Fanatic” status in the Spring (hello from HF#7608!) and really do love the half marathon distance race, I always have. In my life, I’ve completed many more halfs, I just didn’t have a blog so my family and friends had to hear me go on and on (and on) about them. I think they’re all thrilled I finally have somewhere to talk about my running adventures.
So why do a Half Marathon? Here are 5 Reasons to Run a Half Marathon!
1. It’s a solid challenge. Training for a half marathon takes a significant amount of time and commitment. It’s not easy to just whip out a half marathon on no training, without getting injured of course. It’s a solid, BIG goal to train for and that kind of training plan can keep you focused for many weeks.
2. It’s manageable. It may be a solid challenge, but it is manageable. It is doable. You can do it. YOU can run a half marathon with training and dedication.
3. It doesn’t take over your life like full marathon training. Half marathon training doesn’t take over your life as much as full marathon training. It’s manageable to fit into your life, especially if you’re a busy mom like me. I ran my last marathon in 2007 when I had only one child. When I had #2 (and then #3), I decided to stick to half marathons so that it didn’t take so much time away from my time with the kids.
3. It’s a good test of your endurance. If you’re considering a full marathon or another endurance activity, managing the feeling of pushing past your limits during a half marathon can be a good test for you in those hours out on the race course.
4. It’s a good way to practice your fueling and race strategy for a full marathon. If you’re training for a full marathon, running a half marathon as part of your training is a great way to practice race-day fueling and your attire. Did that gel work for you after running for an hour and a half or did it cause you some stomach distress? Can you handle coffee on race morning? Is any part of your outfit chafing? These are good ways to test things out for a full marathon. If you have no intention of ever running a full marathon, move on to #5. Nothing to see here, people…
5. The atmosphere. Hands down, the reason I love to run half marathons is the atmosphere. From the super fast and elite runners to the newer runners, everyone is there for one thing. They are there to run this awesome distance, to challenge themselves, to push themselves, and to enjoy it.
Today I’m having lunch with my Friday Five co-hosts Courtney from Eat Pray Run, DC and Mar from Mar on the Run. We’re excited to get a chance to chat in person and do some Friday Five future planning. The DC Trifecta hasn’t been all together in a while – here’s a pic of us at ZOOMA Annapolis from May!
If you have any theme suggestions for future topics, please shout them out in the comments and we’ll discuss at lunch!
Have you run a half marathon? If so, how many?
Join the linkup below if you have a Friday Five post! If not, go check out all the other blogs linking up on our theme (or with their own five post!). Be sure to visit at least 3-5 other blogs and leave a comment.
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