Getting Crazy Motivated for a Half Marathon #sm21k
I recently got crazy motivated to run the half Seattle Marathon. Three weeks ago when I went to a “See you soon” party for Maya Bisineer, founder of MeMeTales, I was talking to a few friends at the event and that’s when a group of us (Maya, Shauna Causey, and I) decided to run it. It’s a bucket list item for us which makes it pretty special to knock this one off the list.
Freak out
After talking with friends in different circles, the group has increased in size to seven people. What made it all REAL and not just talk was when friends started to email me saying they registered for it. I remember responding to one friend “yeah, I tried to register last night but they don’t take AMEX”… his response was “yeah, but I know you have a VISA”. Ha! So I registered with my VISA and after that it really sunk in… I’m pretty much committed now and there’s probably very little I can do to get out of this one.
A friend, Betsy Aoki, introduced me to Andy Dunn (aka @The-Zman) on Twitter who provided these three running tips:
- Running tips 1… new shoes every 4 months even if they still look new…. Target does not sell proper running shoes 😉
- Running tips 2. learn your chafe spots and buy plenty of body glide, nipguards.com save you from red shirt syndrome.
- Running tips 3… sign up for the race and tell everyone so that you cannot back out… train with friends to motivate
First-time Newbies
The distance (13.1 miles) of a half marathon is certainly not going to be easy. It’s also not so long that it’s completely out of reach. It’s a good stretch goal. So most of us are first time half marathon runners so if you’ve ever thought about running a half marathon but couldn’t find a fun and crazy group of people to run with, you now have no more excuse! If you’re interested in joining us, register for the Seattle Marathon and then every time you do a training run tweet out or update your status with the hash tag #sm21k. I think it starts to get pretty motivating when you look at your FB or Twitter stream and see comments with the #sm21k!
Come join us
We’re not looking to break any land speed records, we’re just looking to have a lot of fun and figure out a way to cross that finish line! Leave a comment and let us know you’re in! Also if you have any tips or words of encouragement for us newbies we’d love to hear them!
Kristin Eide
Woo hoo!! So excited to be a part of this. I think #3 is HUGE. Once you sign up and actually pay the $70+ dollars for a race it becomes real…real fast. However, when your entire family, friends, and online networks know you’ll be running the race, there really is no turning back.
Seattle is an amazing city. Two of my favorite things about Seattle is it’s strong startup and fitness communities. I love that #sm21k is bringing both of them together. Being able to mesh my two sub-cultures with an event like this is really special to me.
In regards to #1, Peter and I are going to go running shoe shopping next week sometime. I am in need of a new pair. If anyone would like to join us for shoe fittings and lunch/happy hour let us know and let’s meet up to chat about training!
I ran my first half marathon in February. One year ago, the farthest I had ran was one mile. I am happy to say that running is one of my favorite hobbies, stress relievers, and forms of exercise. Once you get going, it’s really hard to hate it!
Side note: I am not running the Seattle 1/2 marathon because I am running the Las Vegas R n’ R 1/2 marathon the following weekend- aka too much running in a week. However, I will be on a similar training schedule as everyone running the #sm21k and you will find me at the finish line cheering you on!!
Peter Chee
Kristin,
Since I’ve known you, you’ve run two 1/2 marathon’s… certainly you’ve been an inspiration in this crazy idea that I could actually run 13.1 miles. This weekend I’m going to attempt to run 6 miles and see what happens!
As for shoes, we definitely need to go — perhaps time the shopping event with a meeting out where the Blue Angels practice! My shoes are three years old and based on Andy says they need to be replaced every four months!
Jeremy
I’m all in! It’ll be my 3rd, did the Seattle half last year in 2:42, did the rock’n’roll in 2:28, hoping for 2:15 this time around…