Question for Half Marathoners

JMCade

How do you train for a half marathon? My furthest running distance so far is 7 miles. I think I might want to try to do a half someday... Any advice?

Topsking2010

Try Hal Higdon Half Marathon novice training!! I used it last year and did Baltimore Half Marathon!!

EricNCSU

Try Hal Higdon Half Marathon novice training!! I used it last year and did Baltimore Half Marathon!!

I'm training for my first half and also using this trainer. I'm on week 6 (6 miles) right now. If you can already do seven then you should have no trouble with the first 6-7 weeks of his trainer.

scubaruby

Ditto Hal Higdon novice.

sjtreely

There are many training programs out there, but I like Hal Higdon's, too. He has Novice to Advanced. Find the one that works for your ability level.

Whichever one you choose, stick with it. Trust the program.

bigdawg62

You run and run and run some more, but seriously Hal Higdon Half Marathon novice training works great for beginners.

ButtercupSprad

I take a lot of advice from the "Runners" Magazine. It gives great advice on marathon and half marathon running. Its worth getting a subscription.

DisneyRunner1981

Jeff Galloway also has great programs. He uses the run/walk method.

ButtercupSprad

I've been using the advice of running HALF of the half marathon (6-7 miles) at least three-five times a week.

momof3and3

You can run 7 miles? You are in great shape to train for a 1/2...rule of thumb is increase mileage no more than 10% a week...runnersworld has great training schedules based on what you want your finish time to be...

Mix your runs up...one day do shorter (about 3 miles), next day do hills or intervals, next day rest, next day tempo, short, rest and than long run....

If you google for training for 1/2 marathon, you can find training tips and suggestions...

kopmom

Try Hal Higdon Half Marathon novice training!! I used it last year and did Baltimore Half Marathon!!

I followed the same for my first half and am doing this schedule again for my second half in April. Good Luck !

georget84

You can run 7 miles? You are in great shape to train for a 1/2...rule of thumb is increase mileage no more than 10% a week...runnersworld has great training schedules based on what you want your finish time to be...

Mix your runs up...one day do shorter (about 3 miles), next day do hills or intervals, next day rest, next day tempo, short, rest and than long run....

If you google for training for 1/2 marathon, you can find training tips and suggestions...

Agree with this. Hal Higdon is good but it should really be common sense and hopefully you shouldn't need to pay for that! If you can do 7, add half a mile a week or so. Don't push too hard too soon but also if you feel you can do something safely, do it! I found that once I was comfortable at around 7/8 miles I was able to ramp up the distances fairly quickly and went from 8 to 9 to 12 in under a month. Maybe not the best advice but I did it and was fine.

bahacca

I like Jeff Galloway as his program is only 3 days a week, so I also have days I can cross/weight train as well. I'll start his program in a few months when it gets closer to my race.

pucenavel

I do two runs a week - one short, one long.

The short run is almost always mid-week and is 5k distance.

The long run is usually on Saturday and is not less than 10k and not more than 20k. I try to rotate the long run in a sort of incremental fashion.

Week 1 - 10k
Week 2 - 12.5 k
Week 3 - 15 k
Week 4 - 12.5 k
Week 5 - 15 k
Week 6 - 17.5 k
Week 7 - 15 k
Week 8 - 17.5 k
Week 9 - 20 k
Week 10 - 10 k (start over)

then again, I might just do whatever feels good on that day.

On other days I swim, ride and weight train.

missyfus

I've done 3 and I'm training for another in May. I used runnersworld.com contributor John Bingham's advice quite a bit, and got most of my training advice from Jeff Galloway. If you can go 7 miles, you will have no problem doing a half marathon! Message me if you want to train together!

valeriebpdx

You will definitely be able to run a half. I am not as strict training for a half as I have to be for a full--I just try to do three runs a week, one short (3-4), one medium (4-6), and one long (10-15% more than the week before up to 10 miles, then I just add one mile per week). I have done this a lot, though, so I do have some muscle memory that kicks in. For your first one, try to stick with adding 10% or less per week to the long run and the total mileage. For one run a week, I try to do something different--fast strides, add in a few hills, repeats on a track, upping the tempo of the whole thing, or running at race pace (do this for only a portion of your long run if that's the run you add speedwork to). The general wisdom is to make your long run a slow one, but at some point you need to get used to running as fast as you want to in the race for longer than 4 miles. A half is a great distance--a bit of a challenge but not so hard on the body. Good luck and happy running!

macpatti

USA Fitness has good training programs for the full and half. You run 3 times a week, with your long run on Saturdays. I used this program in conjunction with the Jeff Galloway method. You can totally do a half if you've run 7 miles before. Good luck to you!

mlachance9

My husband used Hal Higdon. Another option to consider is if you have running stores in your area they might offer training programs (for a fee) for half/full marathons. I did it twice last year and really enjoyed it. They give you a training program, support, and the one I did had group long runs on Saturdays so you had a group to run with and pace leaders. I would highly recommend this method for your first half marathon training. Good luck!

JMCade

Thank you all! I guess I have been doing some of the suggestions, just didn't know it. I usually run 2 miles 4-5 days a week before going to work and then on the weekends I pull in my long distance runs at 6-7 miles on both days. I will definitely check out the sites suggested.

jdaddy615

I am training for one as well. We usually do 6-9 miles on Fridays before we started training...now we do 2 miles every morning, and then started at 2 miles on Fridays and went up a half mile every week (only on Fridays)

whouwannab

Bump

rybo

Lots of good advice already given.

Thank you all! I guess I have been doing some of the suggestions, just didn't know it. I usually run 2 miles 4-5 days a week before going to work and then on the weekends I pull in my long distance runs at 6-7 miles on both days. I will definitely check out the sites suggested.

You have a good base established. Depending on what you are looking for going into the race, I'd suggest building your long run to 14-15 miles. I think that is a great confidence builder on race day.

kellymcampbell

Check out anothermotherrunner.com - they have lots of great tips for runners, and a great and active Facebook page too. They also have a great book out (run like a mother) and a new one coming that has specific training plans in it (train like a mother). I haven't been able to run in over a year due to a knee issue, and I still read the blog and Facebook page, just for motivation.

Chagama

I've used FIRST. www.furman.edu/first

Runningirl7284

You can run 7 miles? You are in great shape to train for a 1/2...rule of thumb is increase mileage no more than 10% a week...runnersworld has great training schedules based on what you want your finish time to be...

Mix your runs up...one day do shorter (about 3 miles), next day do hills or intervals, next day rest, next day tempo, short, rest and than long run....

If you google for training for 1/2 marathon, you can find training tips and suggestions...

Agreed!

jdelot

Check out www.runnersworld.com. You can register for free, then find the "Smartcoach" under the training tab. There, you can build a training plan for whatever distance race you want. I'm currently using it to train for my first 1/2 marathon. It's really cool.

tbloor

Runner's World (online verion of the magazine) has free programs that you can download. One is a training program for a half marathon. The others that I found helpful/interesting included one on nutrition for runners, and injury prevention for runners. They also have a strength training program online (with video demonstrations) that can be used on cross training days!

http://www.runnersworld.com/

savlyon

Try Hal Higdon Half Marathon novice training!! I used it last year and did Baltimore Half Marathon!!

Bump!
If you can run 7 miles now, you can train for a half easy. I was running about 6 and I trained for a half in 6 weeks following the last half of the Hal Higdon model. I would consider adding strength training to it though. I injured my leg during the last few weeks. It was fine for running and with Ibuprofen, but walking was killer...so I wish I had been stronger.

Eaglesfanintn

I used Hal Higdon to train for my last full marathon. It was my third marathon, but I felt better prepared for this one than my other two.
I think his program is pretty sensible and, as others have pointed out, you're already doing 7 miles - you're over halfway there.

zippo32

There are these threads as well..........
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/429328-anyone-crazy-enough-out-there-to-take-on-a-half-marathon
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/417844-mfp-half-marathon?hl=half+marathon&page=2#posts-6187961
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/444780-any-one-doing-half-marathon?error_user_id=9949627&error_username=zippo32&hl=half+marathon

bshedwick

Ditto Hal Higdon novice.

Another vote for Hal Higdon's Novice program.