What not to do when running a half marathon

I love the great running community in the Twin Cities. There are so many fun races every weekend. I am always tempted to jump in and run one of the races even when I haven't been training or I am injured. I jumped into one recently. It was a half marathon on St. Patrick's Day.

Here are some thing I wouldn't recommend doing when running a half:

1. Wear new socks. Toe socks are not ideal running socks. I found a cute pair of green toe socks that said "Kiss me I am Irish" and thought it would be a good idea to wear them for the half marathon. I figured it would be festive. I probably should have tested them out on a run prior to the half...lots of blisters.

2. Start training the Saturday before the race. Run 6 miles on Saturday, 6 miles on Tuesday, 3 miles on Wednesday, 5 miles on Thursday and run a half on Saturday. Time to rethink the week long training plan...research doesn't support this training plan.

3. Have a nagging hip pain. Ignoring an injury doesn't mean it will go away.

4. Run with a "slower" friend the first mile. I ran into a friend and thought it would be a good idea to run with him to keep me from going out too fast...it didn't work. I looked at my watch at the mile and noticed it turn over to 7 min. I immediately slowed down.

I am on a new path. I am following a regular training plan (Daniels' Running Formula Marathon plan). I got rid of the funny St. Patrick's Day socks so I am not tempted to try running in them next year. I saw a doctor for my hip and I will be ready to run a  sub 7 min first mile in my next race.

Happy Training!