Half Marathons to Sign Up for in 2014

Since so many people expressed interest in my last blog post on running half marathons, I thought I'd share a few of the races I'm signing up for this year. One of my best friends told me yesterday that she wants to train for and run a half marathon this summer, but she seemed scared that she might not follow through.

My advice to make sure you train for that race is to sign up and PAY for it now! It's much harder to not go through with something if you've already paid to do it.

So here are the races I'm sure I am doing this year. If any of them sound good to you, sign up and run with me!


1. The Christie Clinic Illinois Half Marathon on Saturday, April 26 in Champaign, IL.
I'm already signed up and ready to go! This should be a fun one through the University of Illinois.


2. The Starved Rock Half Marathon in Ottawa, IL on Saturday, May 10.
I've got a newbie runner with me on this one and we could use more newbie company!

3.The Quad Cities Marathon in Moline, IL on Sunday, September 28. I ran this half marathon last year, and am planning for it to be my first full marathon this year. This course was great, as it goes through four cities and two states. This was my favorite race last year because it was in my college town. I ran into one of my professors along the race, and we caught up and ran together for about a half mile. It's nice because it draws a lot of runners, but it's not nearly as crowded as a race in Chicago.

4. The Des Moines (Half or Full) Marathon in Iowa on Sunday, October 20.
I also ran this one last year, and enjoyed an awesome burger and milkshake afterwords from Zombie Burger. There's plenty of training time for this one!

There are a lot of other fun races I'd like to get into, but some of these fun ones aren't as fun if you're by yourself:

• The Soldier Field 10 Mile on Saturday, May 24 (Memorial Day Weekend!). Finish on the 50-yard line on Soldier Field and see yourself on the big jumbo-tron thing. How fun is that?! Kyle and I are probably doing this one.
• The Color Run in Des Moines on Saturday, July 12. Color runs, also known as the happiest 5k on the planet, are really popular. It's not about your time as much as it is about having fun. You get sprayed with different colors at each kilometer. Fun!
• The Biggest Loser RunWalk Half Marathon in Chicago on Sunday, August 3. I've always wanted to do one of these because I'm a sucker for the TV show. 
• Last but not least, the Disney Princess Half Marathon in Orlando.      

Need I really say more? Well yes, because I need to convince somebody to run this with me. As much as I'd love to go run with the princesses, I would feel silly going alone. This year's race in February sold out LAST JUNE, which means I need a good friend to sign up with me for next year by THIS June. Who is going to be the fairest of them all and sign up with me?!?! Pretty please :) 

These are just a few good ones. There are plenty of races to be found on www.halfmarathons.net or www.runningintheusa.com. If anyone wants to know more about these races, leave a comment :)

Who's in with me??

What races are you doing this year??

I'm a Nerdy Runner

As I mentioned in the summary of this blog, 4-Layer Cake is taking on four layers of awesomeness: baking, reading, writing, and today's post topic, RUNNING!

I know, I know. Just reading that word is making people throw their phones at the wall and shout vulgar words. I was one of those people about this time last year when I signed up for my first half marathon. The thought of running 13.1 miles, equivalent to over two hours of nonstop running, sent my body into high anxiety mode for the seven months leading up to the race.

I finished the Rock n' Roll Half Marathon in July, and loved it so much that I ran two more last fall.

Kyle and I running our first 5k, two months before the Rock n' Roll Half Marathon. During that training, a 5k feels like a walk in the park! Look how psyched we are!

Yes, training for a half marathon sounds daunting and insurmountable. Here are the three things that got me through:

1. Training plan. 
2. Carb loading.
3. The Superwoman feeling.

Training Plan

I highly recommend using a training plan. Kyle and Axel, who I ran the first half marathon with, did not follow a plan. Sure, they both finished significantly faster than I did, but I felt like I could have kept going at the end of the 13.1 miles. The two of them were rather angry and tired at the finish line, and Kyle never wants to run that far again. That's just one example of course, but still, I think a training plan is a great tool to ease you into long distance running. If you follow it the best you can week-by-week, you get better and more comfortable with more mileage. Eventually, you kick butt at running.

Me, Kyle and Axel after the Chicago Rock n' Roll Half Marathon

For my first half marathon, I gradually became comfortable with running about 15 miles a week for two months, then started following the 12-week plan I found here from Fitness Magazine. This is a beginner's plan. Now I'm training for my fourth half marathon coming up in April, and following this plan which is more advanced, and will hopefully help me reach my goal of finishing in under two hours!

Carb Loading

Nuf said, right? Okay, we all know that it's exciting to eat a lot of food. It's so much more exciting to eat a lot of food for a good purpose--to fuel up. You really only "load up" on carbs a few days before the race, but any time before your weekly long run you'll want to eat extra carbs for energy. For more scientific information on this, read this great article from Runner's World. 

My favorite breakfast before a long run is two slices of Oat Nut bread topped with peanut butter and banana slices. Yummy and filling. Now that we have a waffle maker, I have been substituting my bread for a giant waffle before my run. And after running 10 miles or so, you can feel pretty good about eating a few extra carbs.

The Superwoman (or man) Feeling

This is undoubtedly the best thing about running long distance. When I was working at the newspaper, I'd have a few days a month when I could go in at noon and work til 8. Sometimes I did crazy things like run my 10 or 11 miles that morning, then go into work. No matter how hard that run is or how crappy you might feel during it, there is nothing like the feeling of accomplishment after you've finished and your watch tells you that yes, you ran 10 miles. If you've never done that before, you will feel like now you can do anything. You are Superwoman. And now you're going to go to work and kick today's butt, but you will also be very sore.

Superwoman deserves a beer!
One of the best things about these races--they usually give you a beer for all your hard work.

Moral of the story, I know a lot of people think running a half marathon or a full marathon is something they could never do. I was one of those people, and now I'm about as nerdy with these races as I am about my books and my cupcakes. If I can do it, you can do it, and I'd be right there with you.