1/2 marathon training milage

sharonsjones

Thank y'all so much for all the great advice! I'm going to do 12 this Sat and then start tapering down my milage. I'm so excited that's all I can think of. I'm driving my husband crazy and he's running it with me! I am no way wearing the t-shirt during the race. Don't want to look like a doofus! Lol

BTW - which one are you doing?

San Antonio rock n roll

jeffrodgers1

Thank y'all so much for all the great advice! I'm going to do 12 this Sat and then start tapering down my milage. I'm so excited that's all I can think of. I'm driving my husband crazy and he's running it with me! I am no way wearing the t-shirt during the race. Don't want to look like a doofus! Lol

BTW - which one are you doing?

San Antonio rock n roll

I love San Antonio... Fill us in on the details when you're finished! Please?

sharonsjones

I will definently let y'all know how we do! Thanks

gardenimp

I'm so excited for you. I started walking in May and by August I was running. I have gone from 2 miles in a hour to 4 1/2. It slow progress but reading posts like yours inspired me to push harder! Good luck. Please post again after you've completed your 10K!

staceyseeger

WAIT!!!!!!! One more thing .... take water from the youngest volunteer at the water stations. It will melt your heart. Assure them you couldn't do it without their help! Some of those 4 and 5 year olds have the best tasting water around. Their parents will love you for it, too.

you are SOOOO right! My daughter has been volunteering for the past 5 years for our marathon & from day 1, she remembers each thank you that she gets. she will continue volunteering at the water stop until she runs her first one in 2013, when she's 14.

Good luck on your 50 state journey....sooooo jealous! my husband teases me because our vacations are planned with a race in mind. LOL

staceyseeger

Thank y'all so much for all the great advice! I'm going to do 12 this Sat and then start tapering down my milage. I'm so excited that's all I can think of. I'm driving my husband crazy and he's running it with me! I am no way wearing the t-shirt during the race. Don't want to look like a doofus! Lol

BTW - which one are you doing?

San Antonio rock n roll

Me, tooo!! You'll love it! Those are the fastest 13 miles ever. The crowd support is amazing!

allenpearcy

I ran my last long run today (11.2). My half is on 11/5. I plan on running 3x more times prior to the Half. This week Wed (4 miles) and Sat (7 miles) and next Tues (3.1 miles).

Good luck to you!

allenpearcy

I ran my last long run today (11.2). My half is on 11/5. I plan on running 3x more times prior to the Half. This week Wed (4 miles) and Sat (7 miles) and next Tues (3.1 miles).

Good luck to you!

staceyseeger

Call me an overachiever but I usually train to a point just beyond a half marathon. I've run numerous half marathons, a few full and many more 10K's. My long runs before my last half marathon were 24 and 25 Kilometers. By forcing your body to adapt to longer distances, a shorter distance becomes easier.

However, as you have two long runs remaining, I would train up to 11 miles on one and 8-9 on the last (taper). Adrenalin will carry you the rest of the way on race day.

A few other pieces of advice...

1. Bring a change of clothes for after the race
2. Show up early
3. Avoid eating anything your body isn't used to for 24-36 hours before hand... you don't need to trots while you're running.
4. See if you can find out what beverages are being offered on the course and how often and train with them... some people don't tolerate some sports beverages well. It helps to prepare and work around if this resembles you.
5. Get to know the course intimately. I ran a race yesterday where 8-10 runners were misdirected by police volunteers. Walk it the week before and get familiar with it.
6. Avoid new shoes or clothing for the race. Run with what you know.
7. While running, carry something to cover a blister (i.e second skin, duct tape etc) A blister can slow you up.
8. Check the weather the day before. If you know its gonna rain... dress accordingly.
9. Carb loading should really start 36 hours or more before. Make sure your body has time to convert and store the glycogen.
10 Avoid alcohol or other things that cause dehydration a few days before the race.
11. HAVE FUN.
12. Don't get sucked into someone elses race. Most new runners, will try to keep pace with the faster runners. They end up burnt out by mile 4-5. Some don't finish. Run your own race at your own pace. I usually tell new runners to line up at the back of the pack as a means of avoiding this. Less people passing you leaves you less tempted to run at a faster pace.
13. Did I mention rule 11? Have Fun.
14. Eat lightly before the race to avoid stomach upset. You'll be nervous enough.
15. Bring your nutritional supplements that you trained with... we're talking Gu Chomps, Nuun, Sports Beans etc. Race day isn't the time to try something new.

Oh yeah... and Have Fun!:laugh:

Great post! Thanks for taking the time to write it...

I'm an overachiever as well...I've already ran 2 - 13 milers & 2 - 12-milers in the last month...plus I am running a half marathon this Saturday for my final long run before the half. I say that, but i just can't stop myself from running. LOL. I love it so much! Last year i think I had a couple of 14 milers under my belt by this time, but somehow the time got away from me. Not sure if I'll PR this year. LOL!

Newpilgrim

Hi Sharon,

I know for myself I try to make my longer run 15 miles before race day, but I really ramp up to that...I wouldn't recommend doing that if your last long run was 10 miles. I overshoot the 1/2 marathon mileage because I want the run to be "easy" and to improve my time. If this is your first...you're fine to do 11 miles....that last couple of miles may be a little rough because I find that when I'm in a race, my pacing picks up...there's some kind of sub-conscious competitiveness that kicks in, but if you really try to hold to your consistent training pace for the race itself..you should be fine with a long run of 11. I think the secret is not to let the racers around you screw up your pace...seasoned runners usually really kick it in around the 10 mile mark, but if you pick up your pace to early...you'll wind up walking by mile 13....lol!

Hope this helps and good luck...you're going to love it!

sharonsjones

Call me an overachiever but I usually train to a point just beyond a half marathon. I've run numerous half marathons, a few full and many more 10K's. My long runs before my last half marathon were 24 and 25 Kilometers. By forcing your body to adapt to longer distances, a shorter distance becomes easier.

However, as you have two long runs remaining, I would train up to 11 miles on one and 8-9 on the last (taper). Adrenalin will carry you the rest of the way on race day.

A few other pieces of advice...

1. Bring a change of clothes for after the race
2. Show up early
3. Avoid eating anything your body isn't used to for 24-36 hours before hand... you don't need to trots while you're running.
4. See if you can find out what beverages are being offered on the course and how often and train with them... some people don't tolerate some sports beverages well. It helps to prepare and work around if this resembles you.
5. Get to know the course intimately. I ran a race yesterday where 8-10 runners were misdirected by police volunteers. Walk it the week before and get familiar with it.
6. Avoid new shoes or clothing for the race. Run with what you know.
7. While running, carry something to cover a blister (i.e second skin, duct tape etc) A blister can slow you up.
8. Check the weather the day before. If you know its gonna rain... dress accordingly.
9. Carb loading should really start 36 hours or more before. Make sure your body has time to convert and store the glycogen.
10 Avoid alcohol or other things that cause dehydration a few days before the race.
11. HAVE FUN.
12. Don't get sucked into someone elses race. Most new runners, will try to keep pace with the faster runners. They end up burnt out by mile 4-5. Some don't finish. Run your own race at your own pace. I usually tell new runners to line up at the back of the pack as a means of avoiding this. Less people passing you leaves you less tempted to run at a faster pace.
13. Did I mention rule 11? Have Fun.
14. Eat lightly before the race to avoid stomach upset. You'll be nervous enough.
15. Bring your nutritional supplements that you trained with... we're talking Gu Chomps, Nuun, Sports Beans etc. Race day isn't the time to try something new.

Oh yeah... and Have Fun!:laugh:

Great post! Thanks for taking the time to write it...

I'm an overachiever as well...I've already ran 2 - 13 milers & 2 - 12-milers in the last month...plus I am running a half marathon this Saturday for my final long run before the half. I say that, but i just can't stop myself from running. LOL. I love it so much! Last year i think I had a couple of 14 milers under my belt by this time, but somehow the time got away from me. Not sure if I'll PR this year. LOL!

I completely agree, this post had a lot of information I needed! Thank you very much everyone also that gave me great advice. I need all I can get!

Flyntiggr

I'm training for a half on 11/5. I bought a plan from active.com and the longest run (this past weekend) was 11 miles. Next weekend is a 6 mile run, and then the race the following weekend.

Don't forget to cut back on your mileage in the weeks leading up to the race.

Good luck,

Mike

^^^ This exactly! Except my plan has me running a 7 miler this weekend instead of a 6.

IronmanPanda

I didn't read all the other posts but here is what I've been told.
It isn't your 1 or 2 long runs near the end of your training that will make the difference. It is your cumulative base of mileage you've
put together on your 3-4 short runs per week that will carry you through your 1/2.

You won't build much more fitness in the last 21 days that will effect your race, essentially you could probably skip the 12 miler and still do just as fine on your race. The only thing that 12 miler will do is increase the confidence of your nutrition and training giving you that mental edge. But by this same token, know you've trained hard and trust in it to carry you through and you will still have that mental toughness to push through the 1/2.