We are 5 days away from the Flying Pig Half Marathon!
I’m gonna be honest here…I had this little post idea scheduled and written down *before* I went and broke my elbow, which means my original plan was thrown out the window…and here we are with an adjusted plan.
My original plan: Train for a half marathon. Get a PR. Get a half marathon under 2 hours.
My new plan: walk/shuffle/jog the half marathon. Cross the finish line before the police escort that brings up the rear sweeps me off the streets at the 3.5 hour cut off time.
I’m honestly really disappointed in myself at this point in time. I’ve been trying to get a sub 2 hour half marathon for about 4 years now. And every year, I miss the mark by just a few minutes. And every year, I get up and try again. This year, I was bound and determined to make that goal happen. I’ve been training pretty seriously since December.
I plugged all my info into ChaptGPT and asked it to come up with a good training plan for me. I wanted to run 3x a week- one short shakeout run (usually 3-4 miles), one speed work run (usually 3-4 miles with sprints) and one long run (working my way up to 12 miles). I also wanted to cross train 2x a week- working on legs, arms and core as a focus area. That left 2 rest days a week- which I assigned to my work days, since I can’t seem to fit in a run or workout on those two days of the week.
Where I Run: When it is cold, I choose a treadmill :). We got a YMCA membership in 2025, so I would typically run at the Y 2-3x a week. When it’s warm, I will always choose running outside. I have to drive to a park or neighborhood to run, but it’s worth it to tackle some hills or just have a different change of pace. If I am running at the park, I bring the kids with me and they ride their bikes while I run and push Ori in the stroller. I also have a treadmill at home, but it’s mostly junk and so I only use it when I really don’t have any other options.
When I Run: Monday early AM before Theo leaves for work. Wednesday afternoon. Friday or Saturday morning for my long run.
Where Are the Kids: Either sleeping in bed, in Theo’s care, or riding their bikes along with me. It’s always a creative endeavor trying to fit runs in while also making sure an adult is with the children!
What I do for Cross Training: This is my weakest link in training. I have done an occasional class at the Y, but I prefer to do a workout at home with dumbbells/body weight and just watch a YouTube video.
I’m going to be honest- I didn’t follow my training plan very well in February and in March I had just gotten myself back into the swing of it. I went for a fantastic long 10 mile run on March 28, and I felt really good about going into April with a few weeks left of training. And then, on April 2nd I fell and broke my elbow. One of my first thoughts that I just kept thinking after it happened was “oh, shoot, can I still run?”
For about 10 days I was in a great deal of pain- I could barely walk without pain, let alone run. My body was also really tired and sore from the fall for much longer than I expected- I guess I’m not as young as I used to be! It seems so silly that my whole body would be affected in that way by a small elbow fracture, but this was my reality.
I have tried to keep up with walking, but I haven’t run at all in the four weeks since I broke my elbow. I know that I’ve lost muscle tone and endurance tone, which is such a bummer.
Still! I’m going to try to do the half. I know I need to throw my time goal out the window, and I know I need to be very careful to not get stiff in my joints and I especially have to make sure that I don’t fall at all, but I’m going to get out there and give it my best! It’s a FUN run and if I can just get out of my own head and let myself enjoy it, I’m sure that it will be worth the time I spend shuffling through the 13.1 miles!
If you thin of me on Sunday morning, I would love your prayers!