I have been running for over half of my life. My parents are both runners and started a 5k race. I've been running that 5k since I was in 3rd grade (8 years old). I ran cross country and track from 7-12 grade, with some other 5k's and 10k's mixed in there for fun. When I was in high school, I had the thought that one day I'd run a half or full marathon, once I'm done with high school sports.
Going to college, I continued to run 6 days a week on my own throughout the year. Fast forward to spring of my second year, and my friends and I decided to sign up for a half marathon. It took more time than just running 30 minutes everyday, but I enjoyed having something that pushed me more when working out. I didn't train for a goal pace, my goal was just to finish without walking.
One day after I turned 20, I ran the 13.1 miles and finished in under 2 hours! It was a fun, challenging experience, and definitely worth it!
TIPS FOR HALF-MARATHON TRAINING:
1. FOLLOW A TRAINING PLAN: Determine where you are starting from and slowly build up the mileage. The most important thing is to stick to your plan as best as possible, and get the mileage in. Here is a sample plan:
2. SET A SCHEDULE: It's easy for days to quickly fill up. Make sure to schedule in the time that you will run each day to make it fit in. It is possible to make it happen each day! This might mean waking up early Saturday mornings to fit it in, but you will be thankful that you got it done first thing.
3. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY: Some days your body might not be feeling good, and you might have to back off from your original plan. Don't get discouraged, know when you need to listen to your body so that you don't push it too far, then get back on track whenever your body feels back to normal.
4. FUEL YOUR BODY BEFORE THE RACE: Whether your race is in the morning or at night, make sure you get a good night's rest the night before, and fuel/hydrate your body for the 24 hours leading up to the race.
5. POST-RACE RECOVERY: When you're done with your race, it will be tempting to just stop moving immediately and want to lay on the ground. However, it's important to make sure you walk around a little bit and stretch out so that your legs don't cramp up. Make sure you rehydrate and refuel your body within 30 minutes of finishing your run too. No matter what you do when you finish, it's almost guaranteed that your legs will be sore the next few days. Try to do something active that keeps your legs moving (short jog, easy bike ride, elliptical, etc.) without too much intensity to help them to recover faster.