Zero to Half Marathon in 32 weeks

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Whatsername0413
Whatsername0413 Posts: 17 Member
in Getting Started
My Sister and I will be running in the Avengers Super Hero Half Marathon this upcoming November at Disneyland in California. Neither of have much of a base to start with- I did run/walk a half marathon last June, but I did not train nearly long/well enough, and ended up hurting my knee, and limping to the finish line. I haven’t run more than a mile or two, here and there, since then. So basically we are both starting from zero, but we have about 32 weeks to train, and we plan to start immediately. Does anyone have any tips/suggestions for us. I could use help with almost every aspect of training, like how many days/week should I be running? what are good ways to refuel during long runs (I didn’t do any refueling during my half/training last year)? What should I be doing for recovery after my runs? (Same as with refueling, I didn’t do any recovery last year, which is probably part of why I performed so poorly.) And what are good (gym-free) ways to cross train?

And help would be greatly appreciated!

-S
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Replies

  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
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    Hal Higdon has several good training routines for getting up to half marathon distance.
  • belgerian
    belgerian Posts: 1,059 Member
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    See Above ive never used it but plenty of others have. Maybe do a 5k then a 10k before actually doing the half with 32wks to go should be plenty of time I think.
  • GBrady43068
    GBrady43068 Posts: 1,256 Member
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    IN for tips. I have a 5K coming in May but I'd like to do a half marathon in the next year or two.
  • JTick
    JTick Posts: 2,131 Member
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    You'll probably get a better response if you post in either the Fitness forum or join the long distance runners group....there's lots of experienced runners there than can help. :smile:
  • liljen69
    liljen69 Posts: 45
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    The rule of thumb is not to add more than 10% to your distance each week. If you are able to run two miles now, you can probably add 0.5 mile each week until you get closer to 9-10 miles, then add a mile a week. That's how I did it.

    I have a friend who did a half at (through) Disneyland. I'll pass on something she mentioned: Get there EARLY.
  • girlschmoopie
    girlschmoopie Posts: 140 Member
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    I trained for a full marathon in 38 weeks, so you can absolutely train for a half marathon in 32 weeks. Check out Hal Higdon's plans. I have used some of them, and they are good sound plans.

    Running consistently is key.
  • OnceARnnr
    OnceARnnr Posts: 4
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    I trained for a full marathon in 38 weeks, so you can absolutely train for a half marathon in 32 weeks. Check out Hal Higdon's plans. I have used some of them, and they are good sound plans.

    Running consistently is key.

    +1

    I have run my best Half and full marathon times from Hal Hidgon. He also has descriptions of each level and who they are suited for. I am returning to running recently and starting a 12 week half marathon training program for June.
  • glassgallm
    glassgallm Posts: 276 Member
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    There is nothing wrong in doing a half marathon with run/walk intervals. Check out www.jeffgalloway.com for his training plans, too. You don't have to use his interval timer, the Runkeeper app has a workout mode that you can set to intervals, so do many running watches.
  • tiffalicious121
    tiffalicious121 Posts: 14 Member
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    Awesome!! I also would like to train for a half in the fall. I used to run quite a bit (mostly 3-4 miles). I'm running a 5k in 2 weeks, but I've noticed that since I've put a little extra weight on, I'm having a lot of soreness in my outer peroneal muscles....it doesn't seem to get better on consecutive runs either so I haven't really gotten my distance even up enough to run the full 5k yet.
    My plans are to use run/walk intervals with a long run at the end of each week.
  • glassgallm
    glassgallm Posts: 276 Member
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    Sounds like an achievable plan :happy:
  • laurieagain09
    laurieagain09 Posts: 183 Member
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    Run like Hal ;)
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
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    http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51143/Marathon-Novice-Supreme-Training-Program

    Use that.
  • SusanUW83
    SusanUW83 Posts: 152 Member
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    Rundisney posts the Galloway training program which is a good walk/run program. I followed the program for the time/distance part but didn't alternate walking because I had a pretty good running base before I started -- I don't like to alternate walking personally because I get more blisters and aches walking than jogging, even slow. You could tell there were a lot of Galloway runners at the Tinkerbell run because their watches or timers would keep going off every few minutes. Gymboss makes a good interval timer if you don't have a watch that does intervals.
  • hkristine1
    hkristine1 Posts: 950 Member
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    There is a book (and apparently a website, as I needed to look up the author's name for this post) called Marathoning for Mortals. The author is John Bingham. I found the book super inspiring and helpful. It has training plans in it, but also a lot of other super helpful, practical tips... plus, it was a good read - if I recall correctly, it was pretty funny at times. I read it several years ago, on an airplane, and while I was NOT planning to train for any long distances at the time, it inspired me and I started training again (I had already run 1 half-marathon).

    http://www.marathoningformortals.com/


    From personal experience, though, please please PLEASE follow his advice for cross-training (or my advice for cross-training if you don't get his book). I injured myself at 7-8 miles in my training last year. My sports injury doctor told me it was because my hips were not strong enough, and that is the cause of 90% of the injuries he sees in female runners. Had I been cross-training and building up those muscles, instead of solely focusing on running, I likely would not have hurt myself (still can't run much, and it's been a year!).

    He also recommended that I do 3-4 times/week something called the Myrtl routine (look it up on youtube). It's about a 10 minute routine that really focuses on the hips/glutes, etc. to strengthen them so that when you get into the longer distances, you have enough hip strength to support the stress you're putting on your body.

    Best of luck, and have fun with it! (I have found that I LOVE getting to where I can run 9-10 miles at a time, because it makes a 6 mile run seem pretty "easy" and that's a GREAT distance for me... long enough to get a great workout but short enough that I don't get bored and it's not miserably hard. You also don't need to really think about re-fueling while you run at the 6 mile distance. It's also a good distance to work on pace pushing).

    ETA: the Marthoning for Mortals book has plans for both full and half marathons (I realized that wasn't quite clear from my post).
  • dtimedwards
    dtimedwards Posts: 319 Member
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    http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51143/Marathon-Novice-Supreme-Training-Program

    Use that.

    I've been training from zero to a full marathon since about December. I was making amazing progress. I've been running 6-7 days a week, averaging 40-50 miles per week. March 4 I ran a 26 mile training run. Two day later I ran a training half and beat my previous PR by 10minutes. I figured all that stuff about overtraining was BS.

    Since then all my times have sucked, and I have no motivation. Even my strength training has suffered. Today I took a "day off" and did a 6 mile hike/ snowshoe trek up a mountain. I thought I was going to die. Talked to a friend of mine who just did a 50mile ski race and will bei doing the Boston Marathon and she was al, "dude... you need to take a break and slow down".

    I've been wondering how to go about that... looks like I'll hop into "week 20" tomorrow morning.

    tl,dr: Thanks for the link
  • MissySpring
    MissySpring Posts: 442 Member
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    Hal Higdon has several good training routines for getting up to half marathon distance.

    I second this :) I'm up to 7 mile runs Although, I started with the c25k followed by c210k.
  • prawny1967
    prawny1967 Posts: 17
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    I am so jealous, I would love to do this one. Did my first 5K in WDW in February and have decided I am going for the Princess half marathon next year.

    I have been looking at the Jeff Galloway walk/run method as I think at 47 my knees will not like the full distance running and many people seem to use this.

    I did the C25K thoroughly and now feel I have a good base to move on, I think you have to develop a good technique before trying to increase your distance to prevent injury.
  • rhenry086
    rhenry086 Posts: 17 Member
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    I agree with the other posters about using a Hal Higdon training program. I am using one right now to train for a full marathon in 30 weeks. I like it because the mileage builds slowly, so my body has time to get used to it.
  • becs3578
    becs3578 Posts: 836 Member
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    I am training for one too. I am up to running 11 miles. For what ever it is worth here are my answers to a few of your questions.

    1. Refueling during Run. This was foreign to be because I never long distances much and had never run more than 6.2. During my long runs I now use HONEY STINGERS (limeade flavor). After I hit 3 miles I eat 2 ever mile or 1.5 miles until the end. SO during my 11 miles last Sunday I had 15 total. I also had (1) 20oz gatorade and 8 oz of water during the run and the same after.

    2. After the run, like I said I had more gatorade and water. I then went home and iced my knees and took 2 advil. Later after I ate something I took a hot bath. By the next morning my legs were a little tired but otherwise felt great.

    I am somewhat new to this as this is my first time training for a HM but so far this is working for me!
  • Whatsername0413
    Whatsername0413 Posts: 17 Member
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    Thanks for all the advice everyone! I think I will try Hal Higdon’s plan, but I will start with a Couch to 5k program, since Hal’s plan calls for a base of 3 miles.

    And thank you very much Becs3578 for the refueling/recovery advice!

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