Half-Marathon for the Snail-Paced Runner

baldielove13

I have a dilemma...I recently got up the courage to sign up for my first half-marathon in November. I'm excited, but I'm not a fast runner at all. I currently can maintain a 16:40 pace. I need to get down to a 13:45 pace to finish the race in the allotted time period.

Do you guys think it's possible to get down to this pace safely by November?

cw106

probably,yes.
plenty of time to follow a run/ walk plan from galloway or hal higdon to get you below target time.(search both on here and google)
i started last year at approx 28 min per mile pace(walking), 7 months later i run at well under half that,and still improving.
good luck

scottb81

Yes, but how easy that will be depends on where you are at now?
How long have you been running?
How much do you run right now?
Do you have any weight to lose? Losing pounds will automatically speed you up.

baldielove13

Thanks @cw106, I'll look into both plans.

@scottb81 I am aiming to lose weight, definitely. I've been running for about 2 years, but I just started to work on increasing distance and speed. Right now, I run around 30 miles a week. I'm looking to increase the mileage bit by bit as well.

scottb81

The informal rule of thumb is that you can get 3 sec per mile faster for every pound you lose. At 30 miles a week you have a good base. To maximize your benefit try to make your weekday runs around an hour with one 2 hour long run each week (or at least not less than every three weeks). Walk run intervals will work nearly as well in building fitness as straight running so feel free to use them as desired. If you haven't tried them before you might be able to go faster doing that.

Equus5374

Also Google Jenny Hadfield; she has some great half marathon training plans including for beginners. Perhaps you might want to re-think the race you've signed up for and find one without a time limit. You don't want to add any anxiety to race day. Find a training plan with tempo runs and speed workouts; they really do help.

jrline

absolutely just train using a run walk pattern and you have plenty of time and will do well

HillOE

Run/walk is a great way to start, Galloway and Higdon are solid programs, I also love Treadmill Trainer, that was how I began running. You don't need to be on a treadmill to do his workouts, they are easy to follow and give you a set workout which focuses on building up endurance and speed. I also trained and had good results with the FIRST method (not everyone likes FIRST which is quality over quantity based program).

Sounds like you're running a good amount a week already, you now need to step up the game and get some speed down so look for workouts that focus on speed build rather than junk miles logged. Find something you can stick with and want to get out and do even on a hot August day....stay hydrated. Good luck, definitely doable with the time you have.

Elise4270

You can get faster. I've found, for me, the key is consistency. Get out there 3-4 days a week and add plenty of walking. I run for 2-3 minutes, walk until my heart rate hits a certain number, then run it up to a certain number...