Half Marathon training support group?

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  • summertime_girl
    summertime_girl Posts: 3,945 Member
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    I run about 12.5 minute miles for my runs. I'm not too worried about speed :)
  • lcnelson
    lcnelson Posts: 279 Member
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    Anyone else run about a 10 or 11 minute mile for long runs? I'm very consistent with my pace, but I'm not very fast and I'm beginning to worry that I'll be the slowest one by far during my race. Being my first half, I wanted to concentrate on just completing the miles and then focus more on speed for the next one.

    I am at your pace and totally okay with it. I slowed down when I found I could not run 4 miles without stopping. That was about 3 months ago and now I am up to 9 miles. So it totally worked. Like you, I just want to complete the race....time is not a focus for me for now. I guarantee you will not be the slowest. There will be plenty of 'gun jumping sprinters' that take off at the beginning of the race. I love it that I pass them around 3 miles because they have had to slow down and walk!

    Good Luck
  • sharonsjones
    sharonsjones Posts: 574 Member
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    I'm right with you. My pace is 10.30 to 11 min mile on long runs. Short runs I'm faster, but i keep my pace slower on long runs so I don't have to stop and walk. I would rather pace myself and run the entire time. I'm doing my first 1/2 marathon on Nov 13th, the San Antonio rock 'n' roll half. I'm really excited!
  • katapple
    katapple Posts: 1,108 Member
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    I run anywhere from a 10 to an 11:30 pace on long runs, just depends on my mood, how hydrated I am, the temp. Anyway, at that pace you will not be the slowest, I think it's a great pace for longer ones...here's to hoping I can keep it for a FULL instead of just a half :)
  • exacerbe
    exacerbe Posts: 447 Member
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    bump!
  • slb106
    slb106 Posts: 70
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    Thanks so much for the responses! I really needed that encouragement!!
  • summertime_girl
    summertime_girl Posts: 3,945 Member
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    Just did a 3.5 mile run. Sluggish today!
  • M_lifts
    M_lifts Posts: 2,224 Member
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    hi guys!

    im interested in signing up for a half marathon. can you tell me what sort of training you are doing? i can manage up to 10k now.
  • M_lifts
    M_lifts Posts: 2,224 Member
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    hi guys!

    im interested in signing up for a half marathon. can you tell me what sort of training you are doing? i can manage up to 10k now.
  • KimertRuns13_1
    KimertRuns13_1 Posts: 705
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    Anyone else run about a 10 or 11 minute mile for long runs? I'm very consistent with my pace, but I'm not very fast and I'm beginning to worry that I'll be the slowest one by far during my race. Being my first half, I wanted to concentrate on just completing the miles and then focus more on speed for the next one.

    For my shorter runs I can manage a solid 10-10:10 min mile but I am considerably slower for my long runs (anything over 6). It is normal to be slower for the long runs especially starting out. Once you work on speed and increase that on the short runs you will find that the long run pace for you has increased too. I have noticed it a lot since I ran my first half in the spring. In the spring (april) I was super slow for most of my long runs pacing anywhere from 11:30-12+ min miles and now I am between 10:33-11:15.

    I am running with a buddy this evening. I have an "EZ 3" on the training plan. My usually easy 3 milers are 10-10:15 min miles but she is slower and asked if we could do 11 min miles. So, I left my Garmin at home and plan to just go run!
  • Rice27
    Rice27 Posts: 29 Member
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    I am training for a half as well. I found a 17 week program and more than doubled it so I can draw out my training and avoid stress fractures in my tibias(again). I plan to run a half in May or June. Until then I plod on and throw in a few 5 and 10ks.
    Where did you find the 17 week program? I can only find 12.

    Want to do 1/2 in spring - just need to find time to run farther than 5 miles at one time lol
  • sjcply
    sjcply Posts: 817 Member
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    Anyone else run about a 10 or 11 minute mile for long runs? I'm very consistent with my pace, but I'm not very fast and I'm beginning to worry that I'll be the slowest one by far during my race. Being my first half, I wanted to concentrate on just completing the miles and then focus more on speed for the next one.

    Yes, I an right where you are. I am just focusing on distance.....then I will work on speed!! I am a slow runner, so I am not sure that speed will ever be my strength!
  • mlb929
    mlb929 Posts: 1,974 Member
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    I run anywhere from a 10 to an 11:30 pace on long runs, just depends on my mood, how hydrated I am, the temp. Anyway, at that pace you will not be the slowest, I think it's a great pace for longer ones...here's to hoping I can keep it for a FULL instead of just a half :)

    I do all my long runs under 10, but when I ran my full marathon a year ago, it was before I did any speed training and had only a finish goal and was at about 11:30, I had trained that way and was able to maintain it. You by far won't be the slowest, but I did have a walker pass me :(

    You may check out Marathon Nation, they have a great plan to split long runs into two runs in one day or back to back long runs for slower individuals.
  • summertime_girl
    summertime_girl Posts: 3,945 Member
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    hi guys!

    im interested in signing up for a half marathon. can you tell me what sort of training you are doing? i can manage up to 10k now.

    I'm doing the Hal Higdon program on my iPhone. I like it compared to the others because it emphasizes distance over time.
  • kated930
    kated930 Posts: 132
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    I am at about a 10 minute mile pace too for long runs. Its tough to fight the urge to pick up the pace, but I know if I want to finish that I'll need to keep it down. Its the 6-8 mile runs that get me though, because they're not so long... so sometimes I'll try to do a faster pace! It's all about listening to your body :)

    5 miles bright and early tomorrow!
  • youngmomtaz
    youngmomtaz Posts: 1,075 Member
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    Very good info runnerdad!! Thanks! I am a very consistent 5mph runner(jogger). I have a hard time picking it up even though I probably could push a bit harder. Part of it for me is that I train in a small hilly town, no way to find just a flat course, which is good for training but makes me always wary of tiring out too soon and having to walk. I am one of those who finds it hard to run after slowing to a walk. Anyway, I got in a nice 6.5 miles today. Cool to start at only 5 degrees C, but beautiful with the mist rising off the river!!

    They say 'if you always run the same (12 minute) pace, you will always run the same (12 minute) pace'. Said another way, if you don't work at pushing the pace, you will never get faster, no matter how much you run. The beauty of interval work is that you don't have to run long periods at the higher effort. Just pick a time interval or distance you find manageable. like 2 minutes hard, one minute jog / walk recovery, or 400 m hard 200 m recovery, Gradually increase to ratio of hard/recovery, or increase the distance of the work interval. I am also one of those who find it hard to get going again after a walk break. I find the key is to not take too long a break. Your recovery period should never be longer than 1/2 your work interval. When you get to longer intervals, like running a whole mile, let's say at 10-11 minute pace, I wouldn't rest longer than 4 minutes. You want to recover but not fall into cool down.

    Thanks!! You explain things so well!
  • youngmomtaz
    youngmomtaz Posts: 1,075 Member
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    I am training for a half as well. I found a 17 week program and more than doubled it so I can draw out my training and avoid stress fractures in my tibias(again). I plan to run a half in May or June. Until then I plod on and throw in a few 5 and 10ks.
    Where did you find the 17 week program? I can only find 12.

    Want to do 1/2 in spring - just need to find time to run farther than 5 miles at one time lol

    THis one is similar to the one I have. I could not find the exact one but the numbers are pretty much the same. It is going well for me! http://www.towomensruns.com/images/215-230-17wks.pdf
  • bjbixler
    bjbixler Posts: 258 Member
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    You've got me all in the dust!

    I've just now gotten to 11:45-12 mm for anything under 4 miles... my long runs I average 12:30-13 mm.
    But considering when I started all this 10 months ago I could barely run 2 minutes at a 14 mm pace, I think I've made great strides.

    For my first half, the goal is only to finish :)
  • katapple
    katapple Posts: 1,108 Member
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    I run anywhere from a 10 to an 11:30 pace on long runs, just depends on my mood, how hydrated I am, the temp. Anyway, at that pace you will not be the slowest, I think it's a great pace for longer ones...here's to hoping I can keep it for a FULL instead of just a half :)

    I do all my long runs under 10, but when I ran my full marathon a year ago, it was before I did any speed training and had only a finish goal and was at about 11:30, I had trained that way and was able to maintain it. You by far won't be the slowest, but I did have a walker pass me :(

    You may check out Marathon Nation, they have a great plan to split long runs into two runs in one day or back to back long runs for slower individuals.

    thanks for the info! I just don't have the time to split my long runs like that, I am a SAHM with two youngins and my husband is in an accelerated Master's program! Early morning is about the only time I get to myself on the weekends :) I try to base my runs off of my HR, so under 160 and I feel great. I do one day a week of speed work. Right now I am helping a friend train for her first half, so I run a bit slower than I would like, but it's for a good cause ;-P We'll see how fast I am when that is no longer 'holding' me back!
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    I am training for a half as well. I found a 17 week program and more than doubled it so I can draw out my training and avoid stress fractures in my tibias(again). I plan to run a half in May or June. Until then I plod on and throw in a few 5 and 10ks.
    Where did you find the 17 week program? I can only find 12.

    Want to do 1/2 in spring - just need to find time to run farther than 5 miles at one time lol

    I am using an app - Half Coach by Running Method and that is an 18 week program. As I started with 24 weeks to go it also gives me pre-training runs which I'm doing currently.

    It works ontime not distance, so I'm modifying a bit to suit my slow pace but still get the miles into my legs. Basically I'm running three times during the week by time, then measuring the long runs by distance. It's still increasing the length of runs gradually, but measuring them a different way.

    One of the things I like about this app is the "report" function. It shows a visual graph of the runs you've done and the ones planned for the whole program. It also gives you a percentage done - and as my planned HM is not til Feb it doesn't feel like I'm doing much going for an 8 or 10km run, but I can see the progression on the graph and it tells me 15% complete already, so I can see that although I'm far from running 21km at the moment, I am progressing along the right path.

    Oh, and it's a freebie. There is a paid version, but don't bother with it, the only difference with the paid version is that it has programs for different length races from 5k to marathon, but you can only setup/view one plan at a time anyway, just like the free version.

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