Half marathon training. Where to go next?

rach__b
rach__b Posts: 34 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey guys,

So I’ve signed up for a half marathon which is in June next year.

At present I currently run 3 times a week. One short run of about 3-4 miles at a moderate pace (about a minute quicker than half marathon pace about) another run consisting of intervals (4 miles) and 1 long run.

Tonight I’ve hit 10 miles on my long run and I like to increase my long runs by 1 mile a week. So in 3 weeks I’ll be hitting 13 miles.

So I was just wondering what I should do when I hit those 13? Should I taper off and increase my mileage on my shorter runs? Or should I focus on increasing speed? My average pace for long runs is 10:14 minutes per mile. On those shorter ones it ranges between 9:00 and 9:30.

Sorry if it’s a bit confusing. I’m a newbie to running.

Thanks :)

Replies

  • hapa11
    hapa11 Posts: 182 Member
    I highly recommend Hal Higdon's training plans. Do a Google search for them, and you can find specific day-by-day plans for beginners through advanced runners. I followed it to a T and had a great race.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,744 Member
    You have several months before you need to begin HM training. I would spend that time increasing your base mileage to 30-35 mpw. Add one day of running a week. In a couple of months, if you have the time in your schedule, add another. Increase the mileage on your short run days. For your long run, you can do runs of varying lengths. When I'm between training cycles, I run between 10-14 for my long run.The long run should not be more than 50% of your total weekly mileage. One third is better. (So for a HM, 26-39 mpw to support 13 mile long runs.) When you have a good base that you have maintained for several weeks, add in some speedwork one day a week. Alternate short intervals, tempo runs, hill runs and fartlek runs. Twelve weeks before your race, start a HM plan. Higdon intermediate or Pfitzinger have worked well for me. If you prefer, start a 10k plan now, using that to build your base and introduce speedwork, then switch to the HM plan 12 weeks before the race.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Adding some cross training and strength training will serve you well in the future if you don't already do it?
  • _nikkiwolf_
    _nikkiwolf_ Posts: 1,380 Member
    +1 both for Hal Higdon plans (I training for all my long races with his plans) and for strength training.
    Although most Hal Higdon plans are 5 days per week (with exception of HM3), so if you currently run 3 days/week, that might be a bit much.

    You wrote you want to increase your long run by one mile per week. You should also include "cutback weeks" every three or four weeks where you run less instead , to give your body more chance to rest & recover.

    You have plenty of time to do everything: continue building an aerobic base by increasing the distance of your other runs, maybe add another running day per week, ... Then you can schedule in a training cycle where you don't increase the distance, but make 1 day per weel your speedwork day, with intervals, hill repeats or tempo runs.

    And, you know, if June is so far in the future that you don't know what to do until then, maybe you find a second HM in March... :wink:
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    Increase your base mileage. The long run length doesn't need to be excessive (many programs have you peak at 10 miles or so), and making your 'bread and butter' runs a bit longer will do more for your conditioning than slogging through one really long run each week. It also reduces the dependence of your training on that one run per week.

    I'd get your weekly mileage up to at least 25 to 30 with your normal daily runs somewhere in the 10K range. Don't worry too much about speed until you're regularly putting in that kind of distance.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    i would get a plan too. hal, or there are other free training programs out there. if you have a garmin, they have plans. i just googled my marathon plan and found one that met my style of running.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    edited October 2018
    If it were me...
    1. I'd start by increasing my "short" runs - I'd want to be good/comfortable at 6ish miles. Then...
    2. I'd push my long run to 12 miles. Then...
    3. I'd push my short runs to 8 miles. Then...
    4. I'd consider myself to have a good base. At that point I'd look to work in hills, fartleks, etc to really hone in my training relative to my goal(s) for the race.

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