How I did it: Part of my "race in every state" goal, I ran the Canyonlands Half Marathon in Moab, UT. Totally amazing scenery, but the 4500 feet of elevation were quite the test for my flatlander South Jersey lungs. Fortunately it was mostly downhill.

I subscribed to a training plan via Active.com, and ended up joining a gym because it just got too cold to run outside in the winter. But it was tough to run more than about 45 minutes on the treadmill, I just got so bored! Had slacked off training a bit, but my race buddy and I had a good time.

My time for the half was about 3 hours. I had a hard time getting into a good rhythm for the race, and was a lot more uncomfortable than I had expected for the first five miles. I think this was because of the altitude.

I remember thinking at the 10 mile mark, "Just a 5K left!!" and then immediately afterward "I don't think I have it in me!" I walked most of the next 2 miles, but forced myself to run the last mile. In great pain, but I did it!

Have three half marathons next year though, so I better stick with it!

Lessons & tips: Find a good training program, and a training partner to motivate you! Also changing your environment is probably not a great idea for your first half (ex. elevation, temperature, etc.)

Resources: Active.com's training program was really helpful, although it looks like they charge now (I think I was in the beta version, it was included with my active membership). But I've also seen plans like this in magazines like Fitness & Self.

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Jul 01, 2012, 09:20PM PDT | 2 comments | 12 cheers