How it went, from start to adjustment.
There is a question I like asking after an important experience: if I started again, what would I change?
When I think of my first half marathon, the answer comes back to preparation. I wanted to reach the race. Now I also look at how I got there.
Money and time were limited then. I was balancing work, looking for extra income and trying to fit the trip into my budget. I bought the shoes I could afford. There were only a few training runs.
That context explains my choices. It also helps me see where more care was needed. Before the race, I did activities I would reconsider now, especially given the injury I experienced.
I would start organising earlier. Give preparation more room and think more carefully about the days before the race. Seek professional help if possible.
Telling you what I would change doesn’t diminish what I lived. It carries the experience forward. I want my next decision to carry the learning with it, as well as the finish-line photograph.
