Half Marathon??

skinnygurl02

Hey! I have been running for a few months now and am interested in maybe doing a half marathon. What should I expect and is there a time limit???

michellekicks

Great idea! A training program will take about 12 weeks from a base of maybe 20 miles/week beforehand. There is usually a cutoff for each race but I wouldn't really worry about that. There were people coming in on my last half mary at about 3:00... you could, honestly, walk one in that time if you had to. There are loads of great training programs out there for first timers... you could do a walk/run or just get right into running the whole thing.

BrianSharpe

What kind of distances and how frequently are you running now?

Races are both intimidating and a lot of fun. What I would suggest is to enter a few shorter races first and work your way up to a half. The reasons are both physical (even if you have the aerobic fitness to run a half it takes your body time to make the adaptations necessary to run these distances injury free) and mental (get more accustomed to racing culture & etiquette, get some of the jitters out of the way and decide if you even like racing)

Distance running can be very rewarding but trying to do too much, too quickly can lead to injury and frustration. Take your time and enjoy the training - this truly is one of those things where the journey can be just as much fun as the destination.

RGv2

You've been running a few months, but what kind of distance? May want to think of a 10K or 10 mile to gague yourself.

Culley34

Don't make a marathon or half marathon your first race.

If possible - start with a 5k or 5 miler. Trust me, you'll want to get used to all the pre-race jitters, understanding the importance of pacing etc... I should mention that most half marathon plans do tell you to participate in a 5k, 5 miler, or 10k somewhere along the way.

If you're looking for a plan, I always suggest Hal Higdon (www.halhigdon.com). Others may suggest Jeff Galloway.

Here's a link to Hal's Half Marathon training plan for beginners:
http://halhigdon.com/training/51131/Half-Marathon-Novice-1-Training-Program

rlbs

all the advice above is good. You should probably be running 3 times a week with at least 15-20 miles a week total miles before you start a training plan. Also, consider finding a local running club that has group runs once or twice a week -- it is much more fun to do your long runs with company. Check with local running stores, they can usually recommend a group, or may even have organized runs from their store. If you have a local half marathon, check their website and see if they have a training plan or training group -- for example, there is a half marathon in my town that has free group training runs every Saturday for the 12 weeks before the race, with pace groups and coaches. Each race has its own time limit, but most are 3 plus hours, which allows for walkers to complete the race.

RGv2

Don't make a marathon or half marathon your first race.

If possible - start with a 5k or 5 miler. Trust me, you'll want to get used to all the pre-race jitters, understanding the importance of pacing etc... I should mention that most half marathon plans do tell you to participate in a 5k, 5 miler, or 10k somewhere along the way.

If you're looking for a plan, I always suggest Hal Higdon (www.halhigdon.com). Others may suggest Jeff Galloway.

Here's a link to Hal's Half Marathon training plan for beginners:
http://halhigdon.com/training/51131/Half-Marathon-Novice-1-Training-Program

Agreed, I guess I was assuming it wasn't the OPs first race.

skinnygurl02

You've been running a few months, but what kind of distance? May want to think of a 10K or 10 mile to gague yourself.

Anwhere from 5-10 miles 5-6 times a week. It is still the run for about 10 minutes then walk for a minute then over and over again...