There was this one time, many years ago, that I ran my very first half marathon. It was the RnR Roll Dallas 2010 and it was epic.
Now way back then, we didn’t have nearly as many bloggers and running experts at our finger tips as you do now. Odds are, you can find all this many different places, and maybe you already have! You’re pretty smart, after all.
But maybe the experts left a few things out. I am NOT an expert. I’ve just done it a lot. And there are a few things you need to know that very first time you run 13.1 miles in a race. Ready?
You wear your bib on the front. And you won’t ever get it perfectly straight.
No, seriously, at almost every race I see somebody with their bib on their back. It goes on the front. And I think my body must be lopsided because I can never get mine straight. And if I put it on the first time and it’s almost straight, all future attempts will be WORSE, not better. So just let it go.
You need to wear Body Glide or wear capris if you have any extra weight on the tops of your thighs.
Chub rub at mile 10 is NOT fun and actually very painful. Once it starts happening it’s really hard to remedy during the race, so please take my advice on this unless you weight 110 pounds and have a large thigh gap. You’re probably OK then. I highly recommend either the Happy Girl or any of the skirts with built-in capris from Skirt Sports. Use my discount (JL20) to get 20% off your order.
NoT all port-a-potties will have toilet paper.
Yeah, so take a couple tissues and stash them somewhere. If you don’t end up needing them, fine. But if you do and don’t have them you’ll be mad.
You may not feel like eating anything for awhile after the race.
I never feel like eating. A nice cold coke and a small thing of potato chips usually go down great, but it takes an hour or two for me to be truly hungry after a race.
But even though you may not feel like eating a lot, plan a celebration!
My first half was a local one and I literally came home and did laundry. We didn’t even go out for brunch. Lesson learned. Always plan a party for after!
You’ll want to lay around after. Don’t. That will make you MORE sore.
Something about the pooling of lactic acid, but you need to move around. Swimming is THE BEST if you have access to a pool but at the very least walk around, slowly.
It’s perfectly normal to take your finisher’s medal to work the next day.
Well, others may not think it is but I do so you’re good. Also, work it into every conversation. For at least a week and a half. People love that.
You may gain a couple pounds and keep them around for a few days after the race.
Actually, just don’t get on the scale because it’s a weird recovery inflammation thing and perfectly normal. Seriously, it’s just your body settling down again. It will fall back off again. Unless you celebrate too hard for days afterward. Then you’re on your own.
I could go on. For hours. I’m super fun at cocktail parties with non-runners. But that’s enough to get you started. And by the way, guess what? You’re going to rock this race. I’m so proud of you.