2 half marathons within 3 months... too much?

Snikkee

I am training for two half marathons this coming summer. The first is in may and is pavement. ( I ran it last year, 2 hours 44 minutes ) The second one is in July and is all trail. ( I have never ran trail before )

I also have 90 lbs to lose, so in the process of training for these I am trying to lose weight as well. I am 5'4 213.8 lbs.
( dont let my profile pic fool you, it is what I used to look like, it is for motivation )

Anyways I wondering if any experienced runner have any suggestions,advice, tips etc that could help me.

I currently strength train, practice runs on local trails, and I run intervals on a track to work my way up.
Such as this:

( 13 laps is a mile on the track)

Week 1: walk 1 lap, run 2 ( at a pace that is comfortable for me)
Week 2: walk 1 lap, run 3
Week 3: walk 1 lap, run 4
Week 4: walk 1 lap, run 5

and so on, and so forth, working my way up

I do this 5 days a week for a half hour at a time, I run outside when I can, weather permitting, and practice on trail when I can.

Snikkee

Anyone?

runs4me

You can do it! I have run 2 halfs in two weeks! I also trained a friend and paced her in both of those halfs. Our first time was 2:45 and our second was 2:54. We followed Hal hidgon training plan for half Marathon. The goal in between is to maintain a nice even running schedule but not to burn yourself out. Most importantly have fun!!!! Good luck :happy:

kgb6days

I think you could do it if you stick to your training, and run a realistic pace. Have you considered Jeff Galloway run/walk/run method? Check it out.

Snikkee

thanks!

arc918

May & July sounds reasonable to me. You'll want to jump right back on your training after the first one (once you recover) and you should be fine.

bonjour24

it is do-able. my only question is what kind of trail run is it? trail runs can be really hard, and totally different to road running. trail running is also going to be very affected by the weather (read: mud run). if you want to trail run, you need to get out there and do some trail running to see how different it is- it's definately a different style!
FWIW i started out running at 230lbs, and within 6 months ran my 1st half. i can heartily recommend you get a proper plan to follow to give you some structure and more focussed direction. i started with c25k, then bridge210k, then hal higdon's beginner half plan. and throw some trails in there for good measure!

good luck.

CaptainSwab

Sounds fine to me.

trijoe

My first thought was you were worried about bouncing back quickly enough from Race1 to do well on Race2. Now I'm starting to think that you're asking about training help.

As far as recovery goes, there's plenty of time between the 2 races to bounce back and do well on both. So, no worries there.

As far as racing 1 road and 1 off road goes, make sure you train on both terrains. Keep those trail runs going, even if it's your second race. You want your feet, ankles, knees, hips, body to understand the differences in the terrain. And yes, your body will run differently on the two terrains. Also, MAKE SURE you have 2 sets of shoes - regular running shoes, and trail shoes. Really. Do that.

Also, keep in mind the difference in how the races are produced. Road races tend to have many more "fun" aspects to them, like oh you know, aid stations, and crowds. Many trail races - even the long ones - expect you to be more self sufficient than road races do. So make sure you know for a fact that your nutrition and hydration needs are all taken care of. Consider a nutrition/hydration belt.

I don't know the size of your road race, but: Road races can have racers from a few dozen to thousands and thousands. Trail races tend to be small affairs. No matter the size of your road race, your trail race won't have many people. So you're probably going to have some miles (maybe many) where you're out there in the woods all by yourself. Make sure you've prepared yourself mentally for that. Because you'll be surprised how disconcerting it can be, out there in the woods, you haven't seen anybody for miles, you've followed the trail signs (you thought...) but... Doubts and worries can spring up quickly and be pretty consuming. Knowing your trail route helps immensely. But just be prepared for the singularity.

I hope this helps.

californiagirl2012

Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. Full marathons take a bit longer to recover from but half's aren't such a big deal. But everyone is different, that is what I found for myself.

Go for it. You will know better how you feel after the first one, but there is plenty of time between the two races. You might even have a better time on your first one.

Have fun!

3dogsrunning

There was an article in Runners World this month about doing multiple long distance races and how long to recover/train/taper.
I'll see if I can find it online.
But I agree with PPs. It's doable.