6 Years Since My First Half (!!) + Workout Recap

Guess what!?! My Facebook memories for today are showing that I ran my first ever half marathon, the Hershey Park Half Marathon, exactly 6 years ago today!!

I wrote a recap of my first ever half marathon here, in case you missed it. I recapped the experience a few years later as I didn’t start my blog until after my first half marathon but it’s worth the read. Of course I remembered every detail — It was my first half marathon! My Hershey Park half marathon recap is actually a popular search term, I guess other runners google it to learn about the course and experience. The Hershey Half takes place today actually, I’ve been seeing the social media posts about it. It’s definitely a fun race and a good place to go if you are looking for a destination race. Can’t beat the chocolate!

I haven’t run 13 miles now in over a year I think. Funny how things change. My interest in running longer distances just isn’t there BUT my interest in keeping up with running and a regular routine still is and THAT’S WHAT’S IMPORTANT.

I was a little thrown by running last Sunday instead of Saturday but overall it was a good week. It’s funny that I used to run 3 days in a row all the time — now I much prefer a maximum of 2 days in a row followed by day of Pure Barre. I can definitely feel the difference in my strength, interest, and ability by running less.

Anyway, let’s take a look at my workouts from the week..

Monday – 4 Miles

Originally I plan to only run 30 minutes on the treadmill but I was so close to 4 miles at the 30 minute mark that I had to keep going!

I wasn’t sure how I would feel on the treadmill – I ran 7 miles outside yesterday and haven’t run much on treadmill as of late (I don’t think?). But, I felt great and ended up pushing my pace after a brief warm up,  even holding 8.5 – 8.6 for a good portion of the last mile. When I go that fast, it makes a cool down at 7.3 really feel slow.

Tuesday – 30 Min Run

It was seriously windy outside this morning! I probably should have swapped my Pure Barre day for today but for some reason, I felt like running – even though it would be three days of running a row as I ran on Sunday instead of Saturday. I never run three days in a row anymore but hey, sometimes it happens.

The wind kept me moving slower than usual but it was fine. Just 30 minutes outside was more than enough.

Wednesday – 45 Min Pure Barre

These Pure Barre workouts hurt/burn so bad when you are in the middle of them! But they are so effective.

Thursday – 5 Miles

It was cold out today! Like hat, running vest, long sleeves, and gloves cold! No plan for my run, looks like I went fast for the first 3 miles. Then I needed to send some texts so I slowed down for the rest of the run.

Friday – 45 Min Pure Barre

Saturday – 7 Miles

I ran Laura’s Tempo Cut Down Workout again and really enjoyed it! It goes like this: 1 mile warm up + 15 min half marathon pace + 10 min 10K pace + 5 min 5k pace with 3 min recoveries in between. I also ran a mile cool down to reach 7 miles but that split got cut off the screenshot.

Overall I did really well! I actually went too fast in the 15 minute section as my half marathon pace is more like 7:50 – 8:00. I don’t pause Runkeeper for recoveries so the rest of the splits aren’t accurate for speed but the effort was there. The hardest part is definitely when you slow down and then have to pick it up again! Such a great workout – definitely try it.

Sunday – Pure Barre

Do you remember your first half marathon and/or first race really well? Where/when was it?