Hello everyone,

I am planning on running a half marathon next year, but I am not really sure about how often I should train everyday, what I should eat and if I can still add other sports (e.g. strength training and courses)/ what kind of exercise routine. I am a good runner and have only participated in 5k's.

Thanks in advance

Yes, you can do other things. How much you train depends upon two things.

1. How much you are currently running.
2. What your goal is for the race (to finish or to perform your best).

You can eat what you are currently eating (assuming you aren't on one of the diets that cuts out carbs). There is no special diet for distance running.

I love the training plans found in the book, "Train like a mother". They have plans for all levels. They even note which workouts "must be done" or can be "ditched" for when life is busy and gets in the way.

Finding a running club can make it more enjoyable. There is also a running club for women (Mom's run the town) with branches all over (main chapter is based around here). Hal Higdon's plans are great, I hate plans, lol (Sucks the fun out of running for me). I just try and amp up my miles slowly so my long run climbs on the weekend and my weekly miles slowly increase some. I toss in some hill work or track work every now and then. I'm still trying to figure out Tempo runs, etc.

Have fun with it, find someone to run with especially on your long run. If you can find a partner who is slightly 'better' than you, it will make you better! But not someone so much better that you're out breath chasing them the whole time.

I've done the best since joining a local running club. The first time I went out for the Sunday long run, I lasted two miles with the group before I was running by myself, this past Sunday I stuck with the group for the first five and then left them and ran faster for the last five (training for a half).

The general rules are your long runs should equal your weekly milage and you shouldn't increase more than 10% a week. These are just guidelines, I break them all the time. Make sure it's fun, try new routes and run safe! You'll love it.

The general rules are your long runs should equal your weekly milage and you shouldn't increase more than 10% a week. These are just guidelines, I break them all the time. Make sure it's fun, try new routes and run safe! You'll love it.

Great suggestions, thanks. What do you mean by your long runs should equal your weekly mileage? Do you mean if you run 5 miles on Monday and Wednesday your long run should be 10 miles?

Yes, that is what it means, but I think that's too much. The long run should be no more than 1/3 of your total weekly mileage. Closer to 1/4 of your weekly mileage is ideal.

The general rules are your long runs should equal your weekly milage and you shouldn't increase more than 10% a week. These are just guidelines, I break them all the time. Make sure it's fun, try new routes and run safe! You'll love it.

Great suggestions, thanks. What do you mean by your long runs should equal your weekly mileage? Do you mean if you run 5 miles on Monday and Wednesday your long run should be 10 miles?

Yes, that is what it means, but I think that's too much. The long run should be no more than 1/3 of your total weekly mileage. Closer to 1/4 of your weekly mileage is ideal.

Yeah, that's usually how it works out for me too, I've been running ~ 40 miles a week with a 13-15 mile long run at the moment. Amping up to some +20 mile long runs once the temperature drops a bit more. I run 6-10 miles during my normal weekly runs.

Are you going to be training for a marathon or longer distance race? If not, then there really is no need to go to 20. A long run between 12 and 16 each week should be more than enough for normal base building. Adding more mileage during the week with doubles or just extending other runs would be a better way to build mileage than driving that long run up that high.

Yeah, I'm personally building up to marathon distance.