Half Marathon Tips

Fani2003
Fani2003 Posts: 195 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am a fairly new runner.

I walked the Music City Half Marathon in late April and that started the bug. I completed the Couch to 5k this summer and now am on the 5k to 10k (week 6) program. I regularly run 5k's at about a 12 minute pace (about 2 a month all summer). I run 5-6 times per week, around 2.5-5 miles depending on the day and about 20 miles per week.

My running buddy and I are doing the Women's Half here in Nashville in 10 days. We have no goal to run the entire race but would like to run some of it. Are there any recommendations on how to "partially" run a half? I don't want to run as much as I can and then crash and not finish. The idea of alternating run/walk per mile sounds good but wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions. Originally we were just going to walk with a large group but they have all bailed. Now, since we are the same speed, we want to at least run as much as we can.

Here is the race course.
http://womenshalfmarathon.com/nashville/half-marathon-course

Thanks so much!!!

Replies

  • pdworkman
    pdworkman Posts: 1,342 Member
    I run 4:1 (four minutes running, one minute walking) throughout.
  • Fani2003
    Fani2003 Posts: 195 Member
    What an awesome idea.
  • rhvandan
    rhvandan Posts: 185
    I did a half 3 years ago and I had only trained for about 8 weeks (oops.. can you believe I FORGOT I had a half to run?). I wound up running the first 8 on pure adrenaline. Once I slowed to walking I walked for a while until I felt like I had that "surge" again... then I ran for as long as I felt comfortable, then walked again. I'm by no means a fast runner, but I did the hald in 2:45:47 which was better than my target time! Congrats on your run and good luck! It's such an AMAZING feeling to cross that finish line!
  • Andi_Mo
    Andi_Mo Posts: 243
    Great question! I'm doing one in November and was wondering the same. I have been doing a training regimen such as the one recommended that is 4:1 ratio. It helps with boredom and exhaustion. Good luck!
  • simplyeater
    simplyeater Posts: 270 Member
    I would think intervals would be the way to go. If it were me I might try 10:1 or 15:1, but then again I don't like stopping once I get going:)
  • moonmistmm
    moonmistmm Posts: 178 Member
    bump. I have my own half marathon in October, I'd like to hear what people have to say.
  • cattracy0829
    cattracy0829 Posts: 177 Member
    BUMP
  • krisiepoo
    krisiepoo Posts: 710 Member
    I run 3 mins, walk 1 min and it works great for me... I will also be runing a full marathon with that format.
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
    http://www.jeffgalloway.com/

    Check out the Jeff Galloway method. It is a run/walk interval approach for longer distances. Which interval you use depends on your current speed and goals for the race. I am using this for a half in January and will probably be doing a 2:1 ratio or thereabouts.
  • Carla4less
    Carla4less Posts: 3
    I am signed up for the Rock and Roll 1/2 in Las Vegas on December 2nd. There is a great app called 13.1 for Pink, a portion of the $9.99 app fee goes to the Breast Cancer Foundation. It's all about training with intervals, which I have recently heard that interval training - running is actually better for your heart/body. The app tells you to have 1 day of rest and 2 days of another type of exercise. I love it. It does not measure distance, it's just timed, tells you when to walk, when to jog/run. I use my Nike GPS to measure the distance.
  • cbeutler
    cbeutler Posts: 667 Member
    I did a 10 mile race 1:1 intervals. I'm in better shape now so for my first half I'm going to run the first 10-15 minutes then switch to 2:1 intervals.
  • josavage
    josavage Posts: 472 Member
    First I would check to see if the race has a pace group that you would fit in to. A lot of big races will have a run/walk pace group around the 12 mm pace. If not, I would do a 4:1 ration or a 3:2 ratio. You could also try running the first 5 or so and then switching to that run/walk ratio.
  • SlimsLiftingMoreThanLipstick
    SlimsLiftingMoreThanLipstick Posts: 122 Member
    I have never tried to mix run/walk but one of the training sites I read suggests:
    Run-walk-run ratio should correspond to the training pace used:
    8 min/mi—run 4 min/walk 35 seconds
    9 min/mi— 4 min run-1 min walk
    10 min/mi—-3:1
    11 min/mi—2:30-1
    12 min/mi—-2:1
    13 min/mi—-1:1
  • MorganLeighRN
    MorganLeighRN Posts: 411 Member
    I did my first half in July and it was so much fun! Start out slow. Make sure that you pace yourself. I wore a little pouch that had PowerBar Energy bursts in it. I run the first 7 miles with out stopping and ended up running 99% of.

    Here is a great training program that I used:

    http://grandmasmarathon.com/site/index.php?page=training-program

    Just scroll down and find which one works best for you!

    Another thing that really helps is to stop for water and the aid stations (if they have GU make sure that you drink water with it). If the race has pacers run with them!

    Good luck!!
  • Adsnwfld
    Adsnwfld Posts: 262 Member
    If you can do a 10K without it killing you for a day or two you can finish the half. Slow and easy. Since you will be going for over 1 hour make sure you have something to give you energy (my favorite are the beans, the gel is too messy) Try a 10 mile run and experiment with the beans.(you never want to make a major change on race day) Also if you think you need new shoes, replace them now (again nothing new on race day)

    Good Luck

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