Half a mile to half marathon in 4 months?

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  • LJSmith1989
    LJSmith1989 Posts: 650
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    if you do a firm walk it's 4 hours.

    So anything faster is the goal.

    Yes it will hurt.
    Yes U feel great.
    Yes U can do it.

    So please ad some pics the day after...

    Like it.
  • sammyneb
    sammyneb Posts: 257
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    You can do it. i just ran my third half on Sunday. It was the first I ran the whole thing. When you say you want to run the whole thing, I would suggest for your first...walk through the water stops. And train that way. When you training schedule gets you up to 10--11 miles...look at the course map of the half you are doing..see where they have water stops..and on your long training runs walk and take water at those same mile markers (and if they have gatoradate or power aid figure out what kind they will have and train with that)..it will make your race day a little easier.
    Other than that, find a training plan that fits into your life and FOLLOW IT.
    Find someone to run with, maybe not all runs, but for some runs.
    DON"T TRY TO RUN TO FAST!!! seriously the biggest mistake I think almost all first time runners make (including myself!)
    And make your goal to finish, don't set a time. Trust me after you run one, you will sign up for a second one, use the second one to make a time goal ;-)
  • Runs4Wine
    Runs4Wine Posts: 416 Member
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    Yes it's enough time to train and be ready to cross the finish line.

    I have done about 5 half marathons and I have not once been able to run the whole thing, but I have a blast and have set personal records along the way.

    While I had up to a 10K under my belt before taking on a 1/2 (due to my own intimidation factor and training time commitment) there are plans out there to take you from nothing to a half. Like others said be diligent in your training. Do not try to do too much too fast so you can avoid injuries.

    The key to running success is properly fitted running shoes and good breathing. The rest is all mental - well for the most part.
  • ryry_
    ryry_ Posts: 4,966 Member
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    What are you stats? Height, weight, etc.

    I think 16 weeks is more than doable. You can add miles much faster than you think. At worst you could run/walk it just fine with a good training plan. May not get the best time but the experience is worth it. For your weekend long runs, you could aim for something simple like below. During the week just get in 2-3 runs in the 2-5 mile area once you work up to it.

    Week 1 – 1 Mile
    Week 2 – 1.5 Miles
    3 – 2 Miles
    4 – 2.5 Miles
    5 – 3 Miles
    6 – 4 Miles
    7 – 5 Miles
    8 – 6
    9-7
    10-8
    11-10
    12-8
    13-12
    14-10
    15-6
    16- Race Week

    ETA: If you are significantly overweight and have pain problems with movement, this advice changes.
  • vmclach
    vmclach Posts: 670 Member
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    Please disregard all this negative advice!

    When I was in High school I was a smoker. I started smoking when I was 16. I didn't know who I was. I was unathletic, overweight, etc.

    When I started college, I wanted to quit smoking, so I began running. I fell in love with running actually. I started running April 2011, and by August 2011 I was running on a college cross country & track team.

    I'm sick of hearing people telling you NOT to do it.

    YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU SET YOUR MIND TO!!!!!!

    And honestly, I wish I would have ran my first marathon sooner than I did. I waited because I was scared. but there is nothing to be afraid of. I love your fearlessness. I wish you luck
    Don't listen to those who want to place their own intimidation on you! Yes, you can! It will be a ton of work, but you can do it. I suggest you check out Jeff Galloway's Run/walk method (p.s. I don't get a single cent from him and you can get the basics of his plan on his website for free). I did this for my first half after not running for years! You will probably want to find out what the time limit on the race is, so you have a goal, and I highly recommend focusing on just going the distance rather than time. Run/walk is a great way to get your mileage up quickly. On long days, I often run 5min walk 1min, if you're not there yet, you can run 1 walk 1 or whatever you need to do. This is a great goal!

    Edit: Seriously? I can't believe how intimidated some of you are by running longer distances! I ran my first long race in high school (full marathon, that was a looooong time ago!) and my XC coach actually tried to talk me out of it! Boy am I glad I didn't listen to her, especially since she ran one a few months later and was about 40 min slower than me! As long as you get on a good training plan and are willing to do the work, you CAN do this!
    And congrats to all those who have! (Did you notice all the people who've actually done one have told you to go for it?)
  • vmclach
    vmclach Posts: 670 Member
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    Just curious to what made you want to do a half marathon when you can only run a half mile now? I can run about 6 miles now and a half marathon intimidates me. Good luck to you! Just think it's a very big goal to pick without steps in between.

    I'm not sure. Bravery? or stupidity? probably the latter...

    It's just a half marathon people. If the OP wants to do it. LET HIM DO IT! What happened to encouragement?
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
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    Took me 4 months to run my 1st 10km race, I'd never been able to run more than 10 meters before that. You want to run 21km in that time & you can on run 1.6km right now? Yeah good luck. It took me running daily to get to 10km, even when sick, even with shin splints. Good luck with that. You might be able to run half of that distance if you train daily.
  • meeper123
    meeper123 Posts: 3,347 Member
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    Only those who risk going to far can possibly know how far one can go.

    You can do it :)
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
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    With all due respect to vmclach, she was 18 years old when she made such a drastic change and had such astounding success. It gets a little harder when you are a bit older.
    But, you are -- I am guessing, based on your avatar name -- 24 years old.
    I am a very experienced runner and I think what you are trying to do is overly ambitious. But, if you want to try, go ahead.
    The only advice I would give is: Don't go so hard that you end up hating running, and quit, after the race/before the race. Running can be so beneficial. It would be a shame to do this and then quit. Better then to skip the race and establish a running habit.
  • RunnerElizabeth
    RunnerElizabeth Posts: 1,091 Member
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    Of course you can do it! You just have to work at it.

    In June of last year I just started running 5k without walking and my average time was 38 minutes. For some reason someone talked me into a half marathon in October, and it turned out that for the half I entered they take the clock down at 2 and a half hours. So I started my half plan in mid july last year (12 week plan based on 4 days a week of running for a sub 2:30 half) for an October half. Late august I did a 5k pushing the jogging stroller to practice racing and my 5k time was down to 29:52. By the time I ran the half, I stayed with my slower sister and we ran it in 2:21:30. I felt great after too, like I could have kept running.

    That being said, I think the plan I used was overkill. It made me extremely confident that I could make sub 2:30, but I could have probably done that with a less intense plan. I just used Higdon's novice 2 for my last half, a lot less running but I easily got a new PR.
  • missbrie11
    missbrie11 Posts: 108 Member
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    I definitely think it's possible. I trained for a half-marathon for 4.5 months without ever having run a long distance race before, and while my time wasn't record breaking or anything, I was thrilled to just have finished it! There are a lot of training programs online that are great resources - as long as you stick to them and increase your mileage (and make sure to taper toward the end!), you'll do fine.

    Good luck :)
  • Shampres
    Shampres Posts: 64 Member
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    It is absolutely possible. There are some basic training principles that you should stick with - take rest days, don't increase mileage more than 10% a week, whatever else Hal Higdon says about training (google Hal Higdon - he has great beginner training plans and is easy to follow).

    But YES, it is totally possible. Don't race it. Just FINISH it. That might mean walk breaks. That might mean walking half the course. Who cares? Just do it. Just finish. It's YOUR race to run, and you can do it.
  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
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    I'll take Bad Ideas for $300 Alex!

    I'm not sure why everyone is in such a hurry to run far without proper training, it never ends well.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    I'll take Bad Ideas for $300 Alex!

    I'm not sure why everyone is in such a hurry to run far without proper training, it never ends well.
    Some of the stories in this thread disagree with you and prove it can end very well
  • amyx593
    amyx593 Posts: 211 Member
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    I'm doing almost exactly what you'e attempting (from not being a runner at all, to a half marathon- in 4 months) with pretty much the exact schedule that aymetcalf laid out. I've never run an organized race before.

    Actually, I started jogging here and there back in February, but didn't even get serious and FULLY stick to my running plan (Tues/Thurs/Sat) until 5 weeks ago. I'm not saying that it's smart, but I think I'll be okay come race day. My main goal is just to finish, but my secondary goal is to finish under 2.5 hours. My HM is coming up on June 2nd. This Saturday I will jog/walk 9 miles. I've been told that as long as I can reach 10 miles beforehand, I will be okay on race day. My pace right now is 12min/mi, give or take, depending on the day.

    Again, my primary goal is to finish. I do find that after 3 miles, it does get easier for me to jog without stopping.
  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
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    I'll take Bad Ideas for $300 Alex!

    I'm not sure why everyone is in such a hurry to run far without proper training, it never ends well.
    Some of the stories in this thread disagree with you and prove it can end very well

    I can only offer my take from 40 half marathons and 26 marathons over the last 10+ years. The running thing works MUCH better when you take the time to train properly.
  • xprettyreckless
    xprettyreckless Posts: 297 Member
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    Just curious to what made you want to do a half marathon when you can only run a half mile now? I can run about 6 miles now and a half marathon intimidates me. Good luck to you! Just think it's a very big goal to pick without steps in between.

    I'm not sure. Bravery? or stupidity? probably the latter...

    It's just a half marathon people. If the OP wants to do it. LET HIM DO IT! What happened to encouragement?

    :noway:
    what do you mean it's JUST a half marathon?!?!?!

    :grumble:
  • 007bondage
    007bondage Posts: 631 Member
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    Yes, it's possible. But you are going to have to apply yourself to this goal and be prepared for some pain. Prove those cynics wrong.
  • pet1127
    pet1127 Posts: 572 Member
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    Took me 4 months to run my 1st 10km race, I'd never been able to run more than 10 meters before that. You want to run 21km in that time & you can on run 1.6km right now? Yeah good luck. It took me running daily to get to 10km, even when sick, even with shin splints. Good luck with that. You might be able to run half of that distance if you train daily.

    thinks ^^^^^ needs a tude adjustment


    I say GO for it just be smart about it and remember if you need to walk some of it WALK
  • adstar20
    adstar20 Posts: 29 Member
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    It is absolutely possible. Your time may not be the greatest but you should b ale to finish. I did a half 27 weeks after I first "ran" and by that I mean it took me over 51 minutes to go 5k. I appreciate that you probably have about 17 weeks but on my training plan, I first ran a half marathon distance in training at about 17 weeks. That training run sucked and it took me 2:20 but I finished without ever walking. With the energy of an actual race I probably would have done a bit better. However, if you give yourself more time you,will do better. For me, the extra 10 weeks allowed me to shave nearly 30 minutes off my time.

    Don't expect to set any land speed records but you can do it. Also, who cares even if you fail. You will get in better shape and lose weight in the process.

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