The Half Marathon - How did YOU train?

jrosed

Right now, I'm running 5-6 miles 3-4 times a week. While interested, it's hard for me to fathom 21K! Tips for upping my milage?

Thanks!

Run50nutter

Hi Have a look at Hal Higdon's Marathon, half marathon training plans. I used Novice 2 for my first marathon and it was very doable. Builds up gradually

emilynw10

I also did Hal Higdon's Novice 2. Easy as pie and I ended up running my race under 2 hours.

kristy6ward

Definitely find a training plan. The website for my half marathon supplied a suggested plan. For my half, I had 4 runs a week of varying lengths with a long run on Saturdays. Mileage increased weekly with a taper the week before the race. I really enjoyed this plan and have already created a new spreadsheet with updated dates for my next race.

http://www.emeraldcityhalfmarathon.com/pdf/emeraldcity_half.pdf

zoom2

Hi Have a look at Hal Higdon's Marathon, half marathon training plans. I used Novice 2 for my first marathon and it was very doable. Builds up gradually

I still build a lot of race plans off of Higdon's plans, but typically add tweaks of my own, depending upon the race and what sorts of goals I have involving my bike. I used Higdon's plans for the 3 marathons under my belt, too.

hecham

I'm certainly not an expert, but I have run 2 half marathons recently, and felt I was well-prepared for them. I started out running 5 times a week and quickly discovered that was too hard on my body. To train, I mostly ran 3 times a week with cross training days in between runs. I would usually do something like this:

Sunday: long run (started my long runs at 6 miles, worked up to 16 miles over the course of about 8 months)
Monday: rest/yoga
Tuesday: 5k
Wednesday: strength/cross
Thursday: 3-5 miles
Friday: walk
Saturday: light exercise/cross

No science, no plan, it's just what worked for me. The first race went great, felt good, injury free. I did not rest enough after my first race, and quickly did a second half just a few weeks later. I'm now sidelined with a minor ankle injury. Just take it from anyone who has been injured; better to take it slow and safe than over-train and be on the bench.
Safe running!

ZenInTexas

Another vote for Hal Higdon. He has plans for every level of runner. Look him up and choose what would be best for you.
http://www.halhigdon.com/training/

LishieFruit89

I didn't really train...
I ran the Army Ten Miler 2 weeks before my half.
I ran like 11 miles the week before my half.

I've never run more than the 13.1...

I looked at Hal's programs and sort of adopted them.

Don't do what I did and actually train =]

M_lifts

Another vote for hal higdon plans, you can also use runners world smart coach. I tweaked both and adapted them to suit me.
Good luck!

disneygallagirl

I have done a half...definitely get a training plan to gradually increase your distance. I ran one long run each week. Running 3 to 4 times a week plus some cross training...for me my body could not handle running every day

jasonpclement

I'd only do a long run 10 mile + once every week, or once every two weeks. The worst thing would be getting hurt and not being able to be part of it.

My wife followed this and crossed the finish line with a smile on her face, and no pain or fatigue at all. And she had only been running around 7 months.

justal313

http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51312/Half-Marathon-Novice-2-Training-Program

I picked his Novice 2 over the Novice 1 because the novice 1 had a 10 mile run as it's longest and the novice 2 had a 12 mile run as it's longest.

My hardest part, at first, was to slow down to a 1/2 marathon pace since I am a 5K junky. Once I was able to train properly for the 1/2, pace wise, it was just a matter of lacing up and putting miles on my feet and legs.

Try to find out in advance what they'll be handing out to the runners mid race and when. As you train, stick to those things at those places to make sure they won't cause you issues. I am a big fan of the Cliff Shot Blocks, so I brought my own to have during my run and I knew I wasn't going to have issues because I've been using them during my long runs leading up to the race.

I also made sure I ran in the clothing for my race a few times on my long runs so I knew if I was going to have any problems with chafing and the like.

What that all boiled down to was this: "Do NOT try ANYTHING new on race day"

I cannot recommend the Hal Higdon training plans enough, pick one for your level of expierence/skill and follow the plan as closely as you can, but don't freak out over minor deviations.

You can do this!!

jrosed

Thanks, everyone!

KristiRTT

I used runners world smart coach! You input race date, distance, what your long run is starting out and how many runs per week and it spits out a custom plan!! It worked best well! And it's free