Halfmarathon

EnneOrra
EnneOrra Posts: 12
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey there :)
So my friends and I are thinking about joining an halfmarathon in june.
We are all not really trained, I have to admit.
Do you think it is possible that we can actually finish the run with training for 5 months?
We all dont care about how good we'll do it, we just want to finish it, within the timelimit of three hours.
Is this possible or a waste of money because actually the prices are quite high?

Replies

  • nturner612
    nturner612 Posts: 710 Member
    i will b runnin a half marathon in may. i started training yesturday.

    the training program i am on is a 12week training program. :) will keep liftin to keep my legs strong
  • Im_NotPerfect
    Im_NotPerfect Posts: 2,181 Member
    Personally I would love to do a half at some point in my life just to say I've done it, so it wouldn't be a waste of $ in my book. If you can somewhat run now...and you're not just starting out, I would think 5 months would be enough time to train.
  • tallgirlshelley
    tallgirlshelley Posts: 108 Member
    You can totally do it! Most training programs are 16-18 weeks, from what I've found. To finish under 3 hours, you'll have to walk/jog approx 13 min miles. I just registered for my 3rd Half this summer. I'm totally stoked. Such a feeling of accomplishment when you cross that finish line!
  • ValerieMomof2
    ValerieMomof2 Posts: 530 Member
    You will be fine. And Hal Higdon's training programs are what I hear most people use. Our group is doing a half in April and this is the guide for our newer runners
    http://www.halhigdon.com/
  • drgndancer
    drgndancer Posts: 426 Member
    How "not trained" are we talking here? Can you run a 5K? Can you walk a few miles? Are you 350 pounds and unable to get off the couch? Five months is plenty of time for a runner with a little experience to get to a half marathon distance. It would be harder, but still doable for a reasonably fit person who can walk 3-5 miles without serious problem. It would be very hard for someone very out of shape, and pretty much impossible for someone who can't walk at least a couple miles at a brisk pace.

    If you're a runner with some experience, check out one of the plans from Hal Higdon or coolrunnings.com. Both have good intro training plans for the half marathon for people who can run at least 15 miles a week now. They're mostly three month programs, so even if you can't quite do the 15 miles a week yet; you have plenty of time to get your mileage up before you need to "officially" start. I'm personally a big fan of this: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_4/134.shtml I used it for my first half, and it worked great.

    If you're not a runner now, you have just enough time to get through Couch to 5K (C25K) before you need to start the 3 month half training plan. It won't be easy, but if you're in decent shape it should be possible. If you're not in at least decent shape (i.e. you don't think you can get up to a 5K before three months out), you probably should aim a little lower. Most big races have shorter races associated with them. If you can't run at all now, a more reasonable goal might be a 10K for this year, and a half marathon next year.
  • moustache_flavored_lube
    moustache_flavored_lube Posts: 849 Member
    How "not trained" are we talking here? Can you run a 5K? Can you walk a few miles? Are you 350 pounds and unable to get off the couch? Five months is plenty of time for a runner with a little experience to get to a half marathon distance. It would be harder, but still doable for a reasonably fit person who can walk 3-5 miles without serious problem. It would be very hard for someone very out of shape, and pretty much impossible for someone who can't walk at least a couple miles at a brisk pace.

    If you're a runner with some experience, check out one of the plans from Hal Higdon or coolrunnings.com. Both have good intro training plans for the half marathon for people who can run at least 15 miles a week now. They're mostly three month programs, so even if you can't quite do the 15 miles a week yet; you have plenty of time to get your mileage up before you need to "officially" start. I'm personally a big fan of this: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_4/134.shtml I used it for my first half, and it worked great.

    If you're not a runner now, you have just enough time to get through Couch to 5K (C25K) before you need to start the 3 month half training plan. It won't be easy, but if you're in decent shape it should be possible. If you're not in at least decent shape (i.e. you don't think you can get up to a 5K before three months out), you probably should aim a little lower. Most big races have shorter races associated with them. If you can't run at all now, a more reasonable goal might be a 10K for this year, and a half marathon next year.

    ^^ This is solid advice ^^
  • EnneOrra
    EnneOrra Posts: 12
    thanks guys :)
    well, i would say i'm not in such a bad shape. i've been playing handball for 15 years, with training at least twice a week, but for the last 5 months i hardly did any sport. but when i went running a few days ago i've done 6 kilometres (sorry, i dont know how many miles it is :P ) and i was still "fine" afterwards.

    and thanks for those tips, i'll look what i'll find :)
  • marycmeadows
    marycmeadows Posts: 1,691 Member
    I started training for a half marathon in august 2012. Ran my first one on Nov 10, 2012. Ran my second one on Dec 9, 2012. Just be committed to the training,.. seriously. I'm currently participating in another half marathong training group - because I like the long group runs on the weekends.... but I'm using it as a jump start on training for tribal quest (my goal for this year) :) and if 5k is 3.1 then 6k isn't very long, when you want to run 13.1 - it's a whole different ball game. do long runs on the weekends.... a couple weeks at 5mi, a couple weeks at 6mi and then add a mile each week on up to 12mi. weekend before the race, do a short 4-5mi run, as this is your taper week. during the weeks leading up to the race - run 2-3 times a week for 30 minutes or so, and do cross training 2 days a week - rest 2 days a week.
  • EnneOrra
    EnneOrra Posts: 12
    I started training for a half marathon in august 2012. Ran my first one on Nov 10, 2012. Ran my second one on Dec 9, 2012. Just be committed to the training,.. seriously. I'm currently participating in another half marathong training group - because I like the long group runs on the weekends.... but I'm using it as a jump start on training for tribal quest (my goal for this year) :) and if 5k is 3.1 then 6k isn't very long, when you want to run 13.1 - it's a whole different ball game. do long runs on the weekends.... a couple weeks at 5mi, a couple weeks at 6mi and then add a mile each week on up to 12mi. weekend before the race, do a short 4-5mi run, as this is your taper week. during the weeks leading up to the race - run 2-3 times a week for 30 minutes or so, and do cross training 2 days a week - rest 2 days a week.


    wow, thanks :D
  • drgndancer
    drgndancer Posts: 426 Member
    thanks guys :)
    well, i would say i'm not in such a bad shape. i've been playing handball for 15 years, with training at least twice a week, but for the last 5 months i hardly did any sport. but when i went running a few days ago i've done 6 kilometres (sorry, i dont know how many miles it is :P ) and i was still "fine" afterwards.

    and thanks for those tips, i'll look what i'll find :)

    if you can run 6K non-stop you should have no trouble getting to 21K in 5 months. For the next two months, try to slowly increase the length and frequency of your runs, then start one of the 3 month programs. One mile is approximately 1.6 kilometers (American runners learn to convert, most races are in km's but we train in miles), so you went around 3.8 miles. That's a good base. Try to get to where you can do about 10km before you start a 3 month program.
  • RaineMarie
    RaineMarie Posts: 158 Member
    When I ran my first half marathon, my longest run had been about 5 miles when I started training. My training program took a whole 12 weeks and I was fine - finished 30 minutes faster than I had set my goal at. And then I did another one 3 months after that. As long as you take your training seriously and dedicate the time, you can totally do it. There are tons of great training plans out there. I personally do two short runs during the mid-week and one long run on the weekends - I prefer not to run more than 3x per week. Cross-training is equally important! For both of my half marathons, my longest training runs were 11 miles, and I felt that was enough to get me to 13 on race day. :)

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