I’m not a firm believer in the term “panic training,” but I did so when I prepared for my first half marathon.
It kind of contrasts with my statement, but as someone who has gone through the pressure of representing your school in national sporting competitions and wanting to break your personal best just for the sake of breaking your personal best, panic training is still training.
It’s just that you’re doing it twice as hard in hopes of achieving that peak condition that you want come race day.
Let’s rewind for a bit: I registered for the Bacolod City Marathon on May 17th. The event was sent on June 18th. This gave me a 29-day window to train for my first half-marathon.
Was this the perfect time for panic training?
BUSINESS AS USUAL
In all honesty, I had no special training for that entire window, let alone panicked. I ran three to four times a week and swam for extra endurance. I even tried to eat right, although that didn’t work well for me. Come to think of it, the only real “training” that I did during that time was to rest. I trained myself to take a breather even though I wasn’t tired. I appreciated the benefits of going slow and stopping when I was about to puke during my interval sessions. I even took every opportunity to sleep—a lot—even when it was just “tulog manok” after eating lunch.
I followed the stock half marathon plan of Coach Greg McMillan on Garmin. I could’ve asked for free workouts from friends and well-acquainted coaches, but I decided not to. For one, they would talk me out of it. They know the sport of running better than me, and training for a half marathon with only 29 days just won’t cut it.
The other is that I juggle a 9-5 job, which requires me to stay up late from time to time. I would sometimes skip a session or move it to a later date to accommodate whatever workload I might have for that day. I was not exploiting the virtual coach, though, but it was this flexibility to change my schedule and be just lazy on some days that made me stick with Coach Greg.
NO PRESSURE, NO EXPECTATIONS
Before I agreed to take on Coach Greg’s challenge, Garmin Coach asked me if I was running for a certain time or just finishing a race. Of course, I chose the latter for obvious reasons.
Beginner runners will enjoy Gamin Coach. Aside from a half marathon, they also have workouts for 5K and 10K and a couple more coaches that offer different sessions to suit your fancy.
What I liked about Garmin Coach is their workouts. Everybody starts with a benchmark run that will eventually progress to drills, intervals, long slow distance (LSD), and run-walk-run if you’re just starting. Sessions and distances will vary based on your pre-determined metrics, while the Connect app will let you know if you’re being unproductive, maintaining, or peaking.
It was a subtle approach for me to have someone who would remind me to train for that specific day. I put no pressure on myself, and I wasn’t expecting anything. All I wanted was to finish the race in two hours and 30 minutes, cross the finish line without injury, and get that coveted finisher shirt that says “I conquered 21KM.”
I’m not suggesting that it’s okay to run a half marathon or any race for that matter without proper training. I could list all the “what ifs” here if I had enough prep time, but I didn’t. I grabbed the opportunity to rekindle my passion for running, and it did.
