Top 20 Mistakes During Half Marathon Training

There is one thing I know about my training - I have made many mistakes.  As we tackle the Half Marathon Challenge and talk about training, my first thought was to all the lessons learned the hard way.   To try to spare you the pain of making the same mistakes, here are the top 20 mistakes I have made during my half marathon training: 

Try to fake it without training.

Build a training plan of running only.

Forget the even the best plans need adjustment.

Ignore mental conditioning.

Decide there isn't enough time for stenghtenening and stretching.

Focus only on one event - "eggs all in one basket".

Skip "dress rehearsals"

Copy/paste week after week without a lot variety

Use well intentioned advice from a runner not like you or with different goals.

Start from scratch instead of expert resources.

Don't write down my plan or track my progress or results.

Forget about nutrition.  Eat like I am running 100 miles a week. Put on some weight. 

Don't involve family and friends.

Forget to plan your plan and skip the step of using a calendar to schedule my plan.

Stop being reasonable or flexible.

Forget to "phone a friend" - find someone who will keep you on track, sanity check.

Copy/paste a plan.  Forget to customize it and make it my own.

Think it all is supposed to be easy.

Think it all is supposed to be hard.

Don't break down the plan into smaller milestones.

Don't start.

Comments

[dr dre beats]

Right now, I'm longing for the melting sun & exhausting heat. But, I'm sure I'll change my mind in a few weeks and I'll be wishing for the ice cold air & killer winds I wished away a few weeks ago.