Half marathon end of September

yirara

I know, it's only 8 weeks left and it's going to be very tough for me as I'm a real tortoise runner and have some health issues. I'll try it nontheless.

So, I've been running for a bit over two years now but health reasons have always stopped me and thrown me back to the beginning. The longest run I ever did was 16km, and that was a year ago.

Friday I decided to see if I can run 11km, and then decide to sign up or not. I ran 12km, in 95 minutes with a short hydration walk after each 5km. So that was very positive. My HR didn''t go up much and stayed within the old and tested long and slow run range, and I didn't feel exhausted. I'm sure I could have run further. So I signed up.

I have a progressive 12 week training plan, which I'd kind of followed without knowing for the past few weeks anyway. Thus I jumped right into week 4 which required a 11km long and slow run at the end.

Yesterday I walked for 4.5 hours (geocaching, sightseeing, running a few errands) to see how long I'm able to be active without food. Worked well. I'm aiming at running the half in 3 hours, and will be experimenting with gels and electrolytes the coming weeks to be sure I don't hit a wall or one of my many mineral deficiencies forces me to stop.

One problem is that I've planned a vacation on Svalbard in three weeks time. I'll be very tired from traveling there (three flights), probably very tired from the excursions I've planned and the unfamiliarly cold climate, and another three flights back home. I'll still try to put in some shorter runs while being there.

So, that's my plan really. Sounds pretty stupid, but lets see if it works out

dewd2

Good luck. Enjoy the vacation. When it comes time for the race don't be afraid to walk some of it. The worst thing you could do is try to cram 12 weeks of training into 8. It is better to be dead *kitten* last than to be injured.

yirara

dewd2 wrote: »

Good luck. Enjoy the vacation. When it comes time for the race don't be afraid to walk some of it. The worst thing you could do is try to cram 12 weeks of training into 8. It is better to be dead *kitten* last than to be injured.

Thanks a lot Lets see how it goes. I don't mind walking, and my walking pace can be as fast as my usual running pace, thus no problem there. I certainly don't cram 12 weeks of training into 8 but I'd decided I wanted to be able to run longer distances and had done the first three weeks of that plan to the i without knowing

yirara

Ugh, great start: I got a cold And as I tend to get proper manflues (I hate that word) with aching muscles, just a bit of fever, complete brain absence and generally feeling rubbish it's probably not a good idea to work out now.

dewd2

Take it easy for a couple days. Then when you feel better your body will be recharged and ready to rock.

Good luck.

TavistockToad

sounds doable to me. my next half is at the start of september.

hope your cold doesn't linger

yirara

TavistockToad wrote: »

sounds doable to me. my next half is at the start of september.

hope your cold doesn't linger

Thanks. Usually I feel rubbish for nearly two weeks. That's what worries me most. This would be my first half. I've been waiting for this moment for over two years as I have a few health issues and just cannot run as most people. Hope I still manage it despite the missing training.

heybales

I doubt for a slow paced 3 hrs you'll have to worry about the wall in a half marathon.

If you were attempting to run it full speed with a bad fitness level and training - perhaps.

Electrolytes will likely be more important if still warm enough or you sweat enough, but a good snack however early you need it should keep your blood sugar high enough for your brain so you don't start thinking wrong is probably all that is needed then.

At least your last long run, if it's not half distance, tack on enough walking time before and after to equal total expected time - and confirm your clothes will work well enough for that much feet-time. Don't want to discover during the race something is rubbing you the wrong way. Or your choices of electrolyte doesn't sit well with actual jogging.

BrianSharpe

Given that your goal time is 3hrs you could practically walk it in that time ( a very brisk walking pace of 7 km/h.....something a little over 8 min/km) it should be very doable.

yirara

heybales wrote: »

I doubt for a slow paced 3 hrs you'll have to worry about the wall in a half marathon.

If you were attempting to run it full speed with a bad fitness level and training - perhaps.

Electrolytes will likely be more important if still warm enough or you sweat enough, but a good snack however early you need it should keep your blood sugar high enough for your brain so you don't start thinking wrong is probably all that is needed then.

At least your last long run, if it's not half distance, tack on enough walking time before and after to equal total expected time - and confirm your clothes will work well enough for that much feet-time. Don't want to discover during the race something is rubbing you the wrong way. Or your choices of electrolyte doesn't sit well with actual jogging.

Well, I run at that slow pace because that's what my body allows me to do. It probably feels like the equivalent of going full out for others. Every attempt at running faster has landed me in hospital or calling 999 in the middle of the night. No idea why. There are also days where I hit the wall from just one hour of walking. Thus yes, this is massive for me, and I have no idea if I'll be able to go on for three hours. But I want to try it at least.

heybales

It'll be good for you, and right combo of jog/walk as suggested - very likely.

You may also discover the difference between 2 states that are reached while running at fast enough pace to really use up the glucose.

The point at which blood sugar gets low because the liver glucose that can be put into the blood stream is getting low - this can cause hunger signals, difficulty thinking since the brain wants that blood sugar, and general feeling of tiredness. You can get your brain to push through this one if you recognize it for what it is.

The wall is where you have used up the glucose stores in the muscles - that happens later, and that is super noticeable - because for your body to still burn the fat fuel that is left at the ratio it needs now, closer to 100% - the body has to slow waaaaay down to accomplish that.
You can have great mental fortitude here and perhaps even eaten enough sugar to keep it thinking straight - but you can't overcome with willpower what the body is lacking in this case.
You'll usually be walking - and slow.

You could accomplish that latter one in 3 hrs - hence the need of any marathoner - pick the right pace to stretch those carbs out.

And slow down in training so body knows how to burn more fat at higher levels of intensity instead of those limited carbs.

yirara

Thanks a lot heybales. I plan to run for 5km and then walk for a moment to replenish water, electrolytes (I'm currently superdeficient in several - another thing under investigation) and maybe take in some energy. Rinse and repeat. Not sure if it will work, but something like Galloway doesn't for me as walking always disturbs my running rhythm and I need between 1km and 1 mile to get back into the run. So this is the plan at the moment. I can still adjust as needed. I'm curious anyway if it will work out.

yirara

Right-o. Seems like this was a very mild cold. Woohoo! Certainly something new as most colds tend to floor me for 2 weeks. Ran 4 miles today as per my training plan. I had to skip one 5k run yesterday, but I did walk to my supermarket instead of taking the car. Thus I guess that counts as somewhat of a training. Tomorrow it's 5k again. I'd planned to do hills, but my airways are not quite up to it, thus I guess it'll only be a 5k without hills then. Sometimes this weekend I'll do my long run. Last one was 12km. This one will be 13km.