OK first of all, I just want to congratulate you if you have registered for participating in a half marathon event! Or maybe you are thinking about doing so? Well, I can tell you, it’s so much fun! The atmosphere and adrenaline is amazing!

I also want to point out that I know many people do even crazier and tougher challenges than running a half marathon, so, you’ve got my respect! This blog post is mainly focused to those who are new to sport events like running a 10 km race or a half mara.

My first one in Finland 🇫🇮

On September 14th, I ran my 3rd half marathon, this time in Tenala, Finland. I had actually never run a half marathon in Finland before, it was my first time here. My earlier races were in Switzerland (along Lake Geneva) and in Denmark (Copenhagen), both very flat. This time if felt pretty cozy to run in the same village where I’ve spent my summers since childhood. However, some of the roads we ran on were completely new for me, which means that I even got a bit of sightseeing, hehe.

I think that at this point it was only about 3-4 km left of the run! Still smiling! All good.

Wasn’t really planned 💭

I had put a note in my calendar a few months ago, that on September 14th, there is a half marathon event in Tenala. I wasn’t sure if I should attend, but I wanted to keep it open. During summer, I went running on a regular basis, my longest run was maybe 11 km, so not even that far. But when running or jogging regularly, we keep our body and mind in shape. At least I think so.

Anyway, on September 7th, one week before the event, I saw a reminder on Facebook that there are still spots left to the half marathon in Tenala. I thought… Oh my God. I should attend! So I sent an email and got registered.

How did I prepare mentally, only having one week?

So the thing is… I strongly believe, that if we are taking care of ourselves holistically, we don’t even need to prepare THAT much. I mean, if you are well (free from illness and disease) and used to running and do it pretty often, if you are eating nutritious and healthy food on a regular basis, if you sleep enough, if you are feeling well mentally and physically… it’s basically just to… run! And to run a bit longer than that 6,7 or 9 km jog. You just do it… twice after each other… kinda! It’s really important to have the right mindset. My thoughts went mostly like this: “You can do this, Sara. Come on, it’s just to run a bit further than you are used to. It’s easy!”

So how did I prepare? ⏰

Since I am the instructor of quite a lot of trainings during the week, I held the classes as usual and therefore saw that as my training and exercise. On Wednesday (the 10th of September) I went for a 9,5 km run, because that is the only day during the week that I don’t have any other workouts scheduled. For making sure that my hips and back would not be over stimulated (sometimes I can get hip and back problems if I have trained or moved my body a bit too much), my only run during the same week as the half marathon, was on Wednesday before. The other days during that week, I did some body sculpting workouts mixed with calm trainings. This was my way to rest and try to save energy for the BIG day.

What did I eat? 🥑

This is a bit funny, in my opinion. Some people are so stressed about what to eat and what not. My recommendation is to eat quite similar as you usually do, like… don’t do anything extreme before the big day. You don’t want to shock your body or gut with something that might disturb your focus and concentration during the actual run.

However, I did focus on getting a bit more carbohydrates than I usually eat, because I wanted to boost and nourish my brain and body with good fuel for having the energy to run a longer distance than I am used to. The timing of my mum’s dinner for some relatives visiting, was quite perfect. On Saturday, the day before running half marathon, mum (and some of her siblings) had made a 3-course dinner with a loooooot of food. So I had a variation of meat and cheese (protein), good fats (mostly from salads with ingredients like avocado, olive oil, nuts, seeds, feta cheese, halloumi) and carbohydrates like rice, fresh potatoes and oven baked root vegetables. I also enjoyed home made desserts afterwards. Gosh. I was so full! So the next day when running, I was motivated since I knew how much delicious, yet healthy and nutritious meals I had ate the day before. I had charged my batteries.

My result: 1 h 57 min ✨

It’s a bit strange, that all my 3 half marathons I’ve had the exact same result: 1 h 57 min. I was very happy that I managed to run 21.1 km under 2 hours this year again. Last time I ran was back in 2015 and 2017, meaning ten and eight years ago. It feels good to still be in the same shape as back then. As I said earlier, I believe it’s because I’ve taken care of myself holistically, my own ‘deeper’ health journey started in 2019, when studying Holistic Health and Lifestyle Therapist.

Even if my result was under 2 h again, this race was pretty tough, comparing to the previous ones, because it was very much up-and downhill all the time. So a part of me (the competitive one) is leaving me a bit curious: would my result have been even better now, if this race would have been flat? Maybe. Well, I can take it as a boost to participate in half marathon again, somewhere flat. ;)

Fun to see a friend!!

I met Emilia at the half marathon, so we warmed up together and celebrated each other at the finish line. 💞

**AAAHHH! :)**
Mum, dad and my brother Kristoffer were cheering for me at the finish line!

“Preparation”: Mindset and healthy routines matter 🧠 ⚖️

I strongly believe the fairly good result and how ‘easy’ it felt to run, even if I hadn’t really practiced for the event per se, was the combination of the current mindset I had about the whole event, not stressing too much about it, and the confidence in knowing that I am an active and rather healthy person. Affirmations like“I can do this. This is no big deal, really.” helped me a lot.

If you are curious what I wore, I had HOKA running shoes and NIKE pants plus other training gear that I am used to running in, and that I know I feel comfortable in. I really hate it if something is itchy or somehow annoys me, so before participating in a running event like this: make sure you are in fairly good condition, have a habit of eating well, sleeping well and remember to put comfortable clothes on for the race! Then… I guess you’re good to go! Good luck! 💚

Also: if you know or feel like you aren’t there yet, I would warmly recommend to start with healthier habits in your daily life. For example, start going for walks or jogging a few times a week, eat regularly, but also healthier meals and an important one: get enough sleep. And even more important: REPEAT. The cool thing here: you will slowly realize how both your body and mind will adapt and get stronger and persistent. That 2 km walk might soon be a 3 km walk in the same amount of time! 🙏

How do you prepare for running a half marathon?