Running 26.2 or anything in between

I went from running zero miles from 2019–2022 to running my first Marathon in 2023. Here’s how it came about:

• Signed up for the St. George Marathon May 26th, 2023 with 2 friends. Race day is October 7th, 2023.
• First official run June 7th with 2 other friends (2.11 Miles, 9:08/mile)
• June Running Recap: 2–3 runs, 1 weekend long run.
• July Running Recap: Humanitarian Trip through the 7/20 meant no running.
• August Running Recap: Short runs, swims, surfing and weightlifting. Got in some form of cardio almost every day.
• September Run Recap: This is when my summer travels ended and I started to kick it into gear. Starting 8/30 I worked up to my first half marathon on 9/7 (3.1, 6, 8, 13.1). It was quick/rushed but I felt like I had stayed in good cardio shape from the August workouts. The week following I built up to my long run of 16 miles on 9/16 (6, 8, 3, 8, 2, 16). The weeks following built up to 18 on 9/27 (2, 4, 8, 6, 18). I was not great at keeping the longer distances each day but I felt good doing the long runs. RECOVERY WAS ESSENTIAL: https://medium.com/@kolby14allen/injury-prevention-recove-6ef1d6095552
• October Race Week: I ran easy because the race was 10/7. My last run was 2 days before. (2, 4, 2, 1). The first day were race pace 90% of the way. The last day was easy pace.
• 26.2 October 7th: My personal goal was to not stop running the whole race. I would slow down for water and stretch at aid stations. Getting icy hot on my legs and forearms saved my life. I was not worried about mile pace, but my first 17 miles were the pace I was training, and the last 9 miles were slower and slower. I hit a wall at 20 miles and fought until the end! I never gave up or stopped to walk despite my knees aching, hamstrings burning, and forearms cramping from being bent while I ran. Never give up! I loved it so much I signed up for a half marathon and decided to train for pacing.
• I let myself fully recover for 2 weeks before restarting training. Things I changed for improvement included: better hydration before, more consistent running almost daily, building the mileage up from a 3 mile long run to a 10 mile long run ten days before the race, I worked into a pace that pushed me, set the goal to beat 7:30/ mile pace for the race and trained around it.
• Salt Lake Half April 20th, 2024: 13.1 miles, 7:29/mile, 1 hour 39 mins. I accomplished my race goal pace and PR’d!