Training for my first half marathon last year felt intimidating at the start. But I locked into a run schedule and soon started looking forward to my easy runs on Tuesdays and Fridays, and long runs on Sundays. Running farther made me feel strong and confident, and that motivated me to stick with running through the summer heat . My training plan also worked up to a 14-mile long run, which gave me another confidence boost in completing the distance. I finished my first half in 3:01:27, nearly 30 minutes faster than what Strava predicted when I first started training. I felt great. Eager to run another race, I set my next goal to break the 2:30 mark. Because training for my first half marathon felt pretty easy, and I improved my pace quickly, I thought I could do it again. What I had failed to realize: It’s hard to cut another 30 minutes off a finish time. Plus, running a pace under 11:30 is much more challenging than clocking an average 13:00 pace.…