Advice for Half marathon training

[caroliner555]

I'm participating in my first half marathon in October and I'm looking for advice on how to train.  Currently, I interval run/walk about 3-4 miles twice a week and try to get 10,000 steps every day (15,000 for the days I run).  

Any advice would be super appreciated!  Thank you!

[Heybales]

How experienced are you?

Done shorter distace races?

Is the interval method merely because easier on joints during training and you could run full time, or your fitness level is so poor you must walk every once in a while?

How much time for exercise weekly, what days of week?

Are you trying to lose weight at the same time?

If so how much to lose for healthy weight?

Be aware that most training plans you can get are NOT intended for someone on a diet - where recovery takes longer. You'd have to modify them.

Here are some common suggestions to think about in regards to planning your weekly routine.

You need 1 long run weekly, eventually it'll be best to proceed and follow it by rest days. This is the one that will increase distance by no more than 10% of your weekly distance (if total run last week was 10 miles, the long run increases by 1 mile).

You need at least 1 short (1 hr) run for training the aerobic fat-burning system.

Another shorter (30 min) run for really training the fat-burning system, first thing in morning before breakfast if possible.

You'd benefit from only 1 more intense interval run to increase lactate threshold and endurance. This should be followed by rest day, and proceeded by easy day. Actual interval time is only 20 min, warmup/cooldown walk is 5 min each, warmup/cooldown jog is 10 min each, so 50 min total. Intervals is 30 sec all out sprint, best you can do, followed by 90 sec walk. Repeat 10 times.

You'd benefit from at least 1 strength training day that includes lower body, and 1 other day of just upper body. What do you have available for weight training?

Schedule that follows the rules to allow proper recovery, and properly rested for a hard effort.

Sun - rest

Mon - lift full body

Tue - 30 min fasted slow jog (try to get this to straight running)

Wed - 60 min aerobic jog (jog/walk fine, though jogging time should be longer than long run version)

Thu - sprint intervals and upper body lifting

Fri - rest

Sat - long run (jog/walk is fine)

For weight loss, as those long runs get longer than 60 min, you'll need to start eating with less deficit at least on Sat, but probably on Fri too, to properly fuel them.

A HRM would be great to allow proper zone training, but the long run should be mid-aerobic zone, short run upper aerobic, shorter faster run lower aerobic, and sprint is, well, all out sprints HR doesn't matter.

If current running time isn't yet at 60 min, keep doing your routine and get 2 runs up there for that time. Then you'll keep increasing one.

At some point, you'll want a foot-time run to confirm everything fits well, and you have proper hydration and fueling if even needed (probably don't).

This is taking your expected finish time, divide by 3, and walk 1/3 the time, run at race pace 1/3 the time, the walk 1/3 the time.

So now on your feet just as long as the race, and this doesn't require nearly as much recovery as if you did the whole thing.

[Lissany]

If you don't mind me asking, where is your half marathon? I ask because I am also running my first in Oct and noticed that your name is caroliner, so thought maybe it refered to SC? I'm doing the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon.

Anyway, as far as training, I have made my way through the Couch to 5k and and 5k to 10k programs on the iPhone aps C25K and 5K210K released by Active. I just downloaded the Run Keeper iPhone app and selected a half marathon training that starts tomorrow and ends on Oct 18th (as the race is Oct. 19th). 

Feel free to add me as a friend as we both go on this journey!

[flyboy]

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@caroliner555 wrote:

I'm participating in my first half marathon in October and I'm looking for advice on how to train.  Currently, I interval run/walk about 3-4 miles twice a week and try to get 10,000 steps every day (15,000 for the days I run).  

Any advice would be super appreciated!  Thank you!

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Check out any of the reputable half marathon training plans and follow the one that best fits your lifestyle and realistic training abilities.  Hal Hidgon has several plans that my wife has used in the past with good success, same with Jeff Galloway.  You can google half marathon training plans and come up with a ton of links, check the free ones and see what fits your needs.  Then get a calendar and work backwards from race day and plot the plan out so that you know what you're supposed to do every week and start building your base so that you come into your training able to easily complete the first few weeks of the plan. 

Congratulations on your first race, have fun, be safe, train hard and enjoy your journey.

[emreagca]

What would u recommend for 4months into running 60-65km each month runner about half marathon i usually run 5-13km non stop depending on days.

[Heybales]

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@emreagca wrote:
What would u recommend for 4months into running 60-65km each month runner about half marathon i usually run 5-13km non stop depending on days.

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4 months running already, from 5K to 13K distances, with about 13K weekly total distance.

How many weeks away is the half-marathon?

And based on your pace of the 13K, how long do you think the whole 21K will take?

And is every run as hard as it can be, training your upper aerobic carb burning system?

Or do you purposely do the long runs slow to train your lower aerobic fat burning endurance system?

[emreagca]

Its on 1march 2015, my pace is around 5.50/km so i guess ill finish in around 2hour 5min.I dont do long runs to train my lower aerobic fat burning endurance system.

[Heybales]

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@emreagca wrote:
Its on1march 2015, my pace is around 5.50/km so i guess ill finish in around2hour5min.Idont do long runs to train my lower aerobic fat burning endurance system.

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So you'll need to do those long runs, and actually for awhile, you can get their quicker by making all your runs in the recovery zone.

That means you should easily be able to carry on talking full sentences, multiple, without getting out of breath.

This will likely mean you slow down.

But your ability to speed up for distance was going to be very limited anyway only doing upper aerobic training, in this case you need to slow down to train aerobic system better, in order to speed up.

You'll find you can go faster at what feels like the same level of effort.

So here is a training program based on time, starting from basically nothing. So you find the week where you are currently at for total weekly time, and adjust your workouts accordingly, and start there.

Day before and after long run day should be rest days, or at most upper body lifting days, walking day after perhaps.

The short run day could follow a lower body lifting day, since it's done easy enough to still allow repair. Or when it moves to faster you could do it right after lower lifting, to mimic doing it tired like in a race.

Don't proceed a lower lifting day by the medium run, it'll leave you too tired to get a good lift in the next day. At least in a diet.

So this schedule is for attempting half in 2 hrs as you are doing. It's based on time not distance, and increases are the recommended no more than 10% weekly. So while you are training slower, you will get up to the same time on your feet, and when you go faster during the race at tempo pace, no problem.

For the 30 and 60 min runs, you should notice distance increasing as you improve your aerobic system, showing you are speeding up. When the 30 min run no longer shows increases in distance, time to make them harder. Only the 30 min.

And there should be one taper week before the race, where you do not do all that time, and you stay an recovery pace.

So hopefully you are fitting in at week 11 or later it appears (if I backtracked correctly). If so make the increases, and make your max run 120 min total for whatever weeks are left before taper week.

Long - Medium - Short - Total time - Week
15 ___10 ______10 ___35 _______1 good to have long run on weekend like race day is
15 ___15 ______10 ___40 _______2
20 ___15 ______10 ___45 _______3
20 ___20 ______10 ___50 _______4
25 ___20 ______10 ___55 _______5
30 ___20 ______10 ___60 _______6
30 ___25 ______10 ___65 _______7
30 ___25 ______15 ___70 _______8
35 ___25 ______15 ___75 _______9
35 ___30 ______15 ___80 _______10
35 ___30 ______20 ___85 _______11
40 ___30 ______25 ___95 _______12
40 ___35 ______30 ___105 ______13
45 ___40 ______30 ___115 ______14
50 ___45 ______30 ___125 ______15
55 ___50 ______30 ___135 ______16
60 ___55 ______30 ___145 ______17
70 ___60 ______30 ___160 ______18
85 ___60 ______30 ___175 ______19
100 __60 ______30 ___190 ______20
115 __60 ______30 ___205 ______21

0 ____60 ______30 ___90 _______22 taper week and then race