I Ran 13.1 Miles Today

I've been training for the Platte River Half Marathon in mid-April. It is one of my Fitness Goals to finish a Half Marathon in 2026.

Other than running while playing and practicing for various sports when I was younger, I've never really been a runner. In fact, my first run on Strava was in April of last year.

So, in about a year, I'm basically going from running zero to running a full Half Marathon.

According to ChatGPT, 0.6% of Americans run a half marathon in a given year. 1-3% of adults have ever run at least one half marathon in their lifetime. About 11% of runners have completed or are training for a half marathon.

I don't care enough to double check ChatGPT's stats on this; I'm just going to trust that they are close. 

So, by finishing a Half Marathon, I'll be an elite group.

To prepare for this long run in April, I've been following a Runna Half Marathon plan. It tells me which days to run for how long and how fast to go. Sometimes, I've moved a run to a different day, but for the most part I just do what it tells me.

Thursday (today as I type), Runna had me running 13.1 miles "Half Marathon Hotspot Long Run with Runna ✅".

7.5mi at a conversational pace
0.5mi at 9:35/mi
5.1mi at a conversational pace

I'm not 100% sure what the purpose of running a little faster for 0.5 miles in the middle of the run was, but as I mentioned, I just do what the app tells me.

And, I was able to complete the full 13.1 miles. I ran to a park about a mile away, then around the lake in the park until I thought heading back would bring me to the 13.1 miles. Easy peasy.

I didn't finish particularly fast, but now I know for sure I can run a Half Marathon distance.

My goal of "just finishing" the "real" Half Marathon in a month and a half seems like I set the goal too low. I guess I'll see how fast I can get it done.

So, I'll continue doing what Runna tells me to do. This Half Marathon Hotspot Long Run with Runna ✅ is the longest run I have to do until the official Platte River Half Marathon.

I'll share how I do on this blog.

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