First half marathon

osnola ibax

hi there,
I'm running my first half marathon in Wexford in three weeks and I'm just looking for some advice / feedback. I actually ran the course yesterday in 1 hour 53 mins. I had originally set myself a goal of 2 hours.
Not sure if it was a good idea to run the whole race - is there any issues with regards to recovery from long runs and what training should I be doing from here on in. Also I find it hard to take on water without stopping, any advice here.

robinph

For the taking on water don't worry about gulping down pints of water at each water station, just a few sips as you carry on running along past each station is all you need and then tip the rest over your head to cool down a bit if needed.

osnola ibax

Thanks Robin, that's a much better plan with the water, I'd like to improve my time by 3 mins + just to get in under the 1 hour 50 mins but not sure if that's possible at this late stage

RoyMcC

A three-week taper isn't usually necessary for a Half. However, assuming you are a new-ish runner, I'd say treat that as your last long run before the race. Decrease your mileage gradually and arrive fresh on the line.

And there's no rule about stopping for a few seconds for a drink.

griffin100

For the taking on water don't worry about gulping down pints of water at each water station, just a few sips as you carry on running along past each station is all you need and then tip the rest over your head to cool down a bit if needed.

If your gonna tip water over your head make sure you put plasters over your nipples - heavy wet T shirt and a long run equals bleeding nipples, or at least it did for me in Connemara. I swear one of nipples lost so much skin that it still looks about half the size of the other:D

edit: I'm assuming that you're male!!

Krusty_Clown

robinph wrote: »

...tip the rest over your head to cool down a bit if needed.

Make sure it's water, and not isotonic sports drink. A buddy of mine arrived over the finish line in Connemara last year covered in flies. I'm not really partial to this myself, as I'm pretty sure it would result in stinging salt being directed to my eyes.

eliwallach

griffin100 wrote: »

Heavy wet T shirt and a long run equals bleeding nipples, or at least it did for me in Connemara.:D

Rookie mistake, we've all been there :cool:.

I recommend the sensitive (white) plasters as they don't remove a sizable sod of hair from your chest when you remove them.

osnola ibax

I am indeed male, and I was wondering about all this bleeding nipples craic myself. After my long run on Sunday, the left nippaloni was bleeding, and the other fairly raw. The missus got a bit of a scare when I left a scream out of me in the shower with the sting.

I didn't tip water over my head so it must have been the sweat that did the damage, I was wearing a running jacket. Anyway, I figured that plasters on the nips would fall off with the sweat, can anyone recommend a good plaster for this purpose.

tantipie

any plasters will do,,i put them in a criss cross shape on hubby,,they stay on fine:rolleyes: